The torches inside the Althos Manor burned with blue fire, casting long shadows on the granite walls. Every step Zehn took echoed in eerie silence — not from fear, but reverence. This wasn't just a house. It was a fortress. A mind's domain.
Daryn Althos stood at the head of the great hall, silver armor glinting in torchlight, sharp grey eyes fixed on Zehn. His presence hadn't changed — posture perfect, expression unreadable, a strategist through and through.
Kael stood at Zehn's side, silent but alert. Every instinct screamed don't trust too easily.
Zehn spoke first. "You've done well for a ghost."
Daryn's mouth twitched. Almost a smile. "And you've returned from the dead, Sovereign. I thought I was the last of us."
Zehn raised an eyebrow. "You knew I lived."
"I suspected. A storm like you doesn't just vanish." He motioned toward the long table. "Sit. Or do you no longer trust me?"
Zehn didn't sit. "That depends. Are you still with me, or have you found comfort under a royal collar?"
A pause.
Then Daryn stepped forward, eyes gleaming cold.
"I took this position to survive. To plan. To wait. If I'd openly declared my loyalty to Silent Fang, I'd be ashes now."
> ❖ [System Scan – Truth Reading Initiated]
❖ [Surface Thoughts: Cautious. Unbroken. Calculating. No betrayal detected.]
Zehn nodded slowly. "Then listen closely, because the world is changing again — and we are the storm."
---
Daryn led them into a sealed war chamber behind a hidden wall. The walls were covered with old maps, mage movement charts, noble bloodlines — and, in the center, a long-forgotten sigil: The Fang in the Crescent Moon.
Kael murmured, "You kept it all…"
Daryn turned. "Of course. We were never just assassins. We were balance."
He pointed to a section of the map — the Central Crownlands.
"The empires are uneasy. The Crimson Lotus Guild is rising in the west. The High Chancellor has formed a new secret police force — the Inquisition Corps. And you, Zehn… they've placed a bounty so high on your head that even kings may be tempted."
> ❖ [System Alert: Global Bounty – 10 Million Gold | Priority Omega Target]
❖ [Warning: Empire-Linked Diviners Now Monitoring Shadow Signatures]
Zehn's voice dropped. "Let them come."
Kael crossed his arms. "What's our move?"
Daryn didn't hesitate. "We rebuild the Silent Fang — not just as a guild, but as a sovereign force. Shadow Nation. Hidden territory. True independence."
Zehn nodded. "And our next target?"
Daryn hesitated, then handed him a scroll. "She's alive."
Zehn's hand clenched around the scroll before he even opened it.
> ❖ [Target: Myra Lune — Ex-Third Fang | Status: Unknown | Last seen: City of Solgrith]
❖ [Note: Suspected defection. Possible betrayal.]
"She betrayed you in the final hour," Daryn said. "But she also saved your life."
Zehn's jaw tightened. "She poisoned me to slow my heart. Faked my death… and vanished."
Kael muttered, "Then why track her?"
"Because she still has my mark," Zehn said quietly. "And because I never removed her Fang."
> ❖ [System Notification: Myra Lune's Blood Contract Still Active]
❖ [Bond: Weak – Interference Detected]
Zehn crushed the scroll.
"I'll find her."
---
That night — Outside Tyronvale
Zehn stood alone near the cliff's edge. The wind howled, but his mind was calmer than it had been in years.
Kael approached from behind. "You trust Daryn?"
"No," Zehn said flatly. "But I trust his ambition. And I trust his hatred of the empires."
Kael nodded slowly. "Then we start the war?"
Zehn turned toward the stars, voice quiet.
"We start the hunt."
---
Elsewhere — Deep beneath the Elmaria Empire
A cloaked woman walked through firelit halls. Her silver hair shimmered like moonlight, but her eyes were hollow — emotionless, ancient.
In front of her, the High Chancellor knelt.
"You summoned me," he said, voice shaking.
She nodded once. Her voice was soft, but it chilled the bones. "He has awakened."
The Chancellor dared not speak.
She continued, "The world thinks I'm dead. Just like they thought him gone. Now... we both rise."
She removed her hood.
> ❖ [Unknown Entity: Myra Lune — Shadow-Blood Lineage Confirmed]
❖ [Status: Waking Artifact Core | Power Sealed]
❖ [Intent: Unknown]
She whispered to herself.
"Find me, Zehn. Let's see if you still remember how to kill the woman you once loved."
---