Dusk found Shade on the trade road again, cloak heavy with dried blood and sea-salt. The severed head of the Vein-Eaters' leader—wrapped in oil-cloth and tagged with the Academy seal—swung from her belt like a lantern nobody wanted to light.
< 18 days remain >
She walked alone; Umbren kept to her shadow, tail brushing the dust. Behind her, the cliffs of Duskriver Gorge were already bruised with night. Ahead, the walls of Aramore Academy rose pale against the sky, lanterns beginning to bloom along the parapets.
---
The gate guard—a senior disciple she barely knew—lifted his lantern. "Name and token."
"Shade. Core mission return."
The guard's eyes flicked to the dripping bundle, then to the wolf-shaped shadow that dissolved into nothing at his stare. He stamped her entry without another word.
---
The Mission Hall still bustled; torches hissed in brackets of whale-oil. Shade laid the oil-cloth on the counter. The clerk—an older woman with ink-stained cuffs—unwrapped it, recoiled once, then methodically tallied bounty marks.
"Vein-Eaters leader, confirmed death. Sub-leaders… six bodies. Full completion."
She slid a ledger forward. Shade pressed her thumb into the red wax; the seal hissed shut.
Reward followed in practical coin:
• 300 merit points etched into a jade plaque
• 2 Arcane Orbs sealed in silk-lined boxes
• A sealed scroll stamped with the Academy crest—permission to requisition any Tier-3 cultivation chamber for three days
No questions, no ceremony.
In the Heavenly Dawn-Song Sect < High within the Celestial Spire >
Crystal bells hung from silver chains—every one of them cracked. In the council hall the air tasted of cold iron and incense too thick to breathe.
High Priestess Lyralei stood at the head of a crescent table of white marble. Her robe, once the color of sunrise, now seemed bleached. In her hand she held the broken bell that had once sung for Aurora alone. The sound it made when it shattered still rang inside her skull.
"Explain," she said, voice soft as falling snow—and twice as sharp.
First Elder Caldus, a man whose beard was braided with tiny runes, slammed a blood-stained parchment onto the table. "The saintess's soul-lamp died at dawn. No body. No ashes. Only this."
He unwrapped the parchment. Inside lay a single silver bell, cracked in half, still wet with something darker than seawater.
A hush swept the room. Second Elder Seris, a woman whose eyes had seen three centuries, spoke without raising her voice. "Her Celestial Mandate was forcibly severed. Someone ate her system."
The word ate drew a collective shudder.
Third Elder Morven struck the marble with his staff. "Then we hunt the shadow. Every sect spy, every merchant's ear, every guild blade we own. I want the killer's name before the next moonrise."
Lyralei lifted the broken bell. "And if the world will not give us the name, we will tear it open until it does."
She turned to the youngest of the inner council—Acolyte Rael, barely seventeen, whose hands trembled even as he saluted. "Send the Ghost Lanterns to every corner of Etheria. Light the Relic Bell if they fail. Let the killer learn what it means to kill a saintess."
The acolyte bowed, hood shadowing his face. "By dawn, the bells will ring."
Outside the great doors, the first storm bell tolled—low, mournful, promising ruin.
Back in her narrow room, Shade bolted the door, drew the curtains, and laid the Arcane Orbs in a triangle on the floorboards. Salt residue still clung to her cloak; she ignored it and began carving sigils with a sliver of obsidian.
Each line hummed as it locked into place. The air thickened; the torch flame bent inward until only a blue core remained. When the last glyph sealed, the room vanished behind a wall of absolute silence.
Umbren lay along the threshold, ears flat, violet eyes reflecting the circle's glow.
Shade sat cross-legged in the centre, scythe across her lap, and opened the system interface.
< Serena Valen – Core Disciple >
< Core Bloom 5 / 9 >
< System Tier: Tier-3 (High) >
< Mana: 100 % >
< Night-Sewn Path – Master (3/9) >
< Next move: Whisper of the Hollow Moon (locked) >
< Perks: Mandate Leech active >
< Inventory: 300 merit, 2 Arcane Orbs, sect token (unknown) >
She exhaled once, slow and steady. Outside the array, the Academy slept. Inside, the shadows hummed a promise.
< 18 days remain >