The night of Solaris was never meant to be silent again.
Not after fire had clawed its way into the streets, and not after shadows began to whisper over the rooftops.
From the alleys and broken shrines, they came. Thin, string-like tendrils first, curling like smoke, then thickening, coiling, dragging themselves across the stones. And with every tendril came a whisper—laughter without breath, prayers without lips.
Andy stood on the plaza steps, his blades already humming. Beside him, Nia gripped her staff, eyes narrowing as the lantern-light trembled. The glow of thousands of small flames dotted Solaris, spread across balconies and windowsills. Fires of bread, not chains.
The System burned into Andy's vision:
[Warning: Counter-Propaganda Ritual Initiated]
[Source: Clergy Shadow Rite]
[Objective: Protect Civilians' Lanterns]
[Status: Active]
"They're coming for the light," Andy muttered, his wings itching beneath his skin.
Nia's reply was steady, her tone a beacon itself. "Then we'll be the wall between them."
---
The first fiend dropped from the roof like ink spilling from the sky. Its body was half-formed—long arms with claws like hooks, its head a hollow void with only a burning ember for an eye. It hissed, reaching for a lantern glowing in a window.
Andy leapt forward. His blades flared. Resonance Guard shimmered into existence around the lantern, a dome of fire-blue light. The fiend slammed into it, screeching as flames licked its shadow-flesh.
Andy spun, blade carving a golden arc—Dragonlight Slash. The fiend burst apart, disintegrating into smoke.
The System chimed:
[Skill Used: Dragonlight Slash]
[Effect: Fire + Light infused cut — Shadow entity neutralized]
[Bond Progression: 15% → 16%]
Behind him, Nia pressed her staff to the cobblestones. Lines of white spread outward, crawling up walls, weaving themselves into glowing runes. Light Sigils blossomed, pulsing against the waves of darkness. The fiends recoiled, shrieking as the sigils burned into their bodies.
---
But there were more. Dozens more. They poured from alleyways, crawling like spiders, hurling themselves at lanterns.
Civilians screamed. Soldiers of the Free Army raised spears, striking, but every time a lantern guttered, morale trembled. Andy saw it—fear creeping back into the people.
And then, the first shout.
A boy no older than sixteen, his hands shaking, lifted a bucket of saltwater and hurled it onto a fiend. The shadow screeched, sizzling, its arm half-melting away. Others followed—women, men, even children, carrying sand, firewood, anything they could find.
The lanterns wavered, but they did not die.
The System responded:
[Passive Trigger: Shared Conviction — Embers of Courage]
[Allies' Morale +15%]
[Shadow Spawn Suppressed in Civilian Districts]
Andy exhaled, the corner of his mouth twitching upward. They're fighting back. Finally.
---
The air grew heavier. In the very heart of the plaza, stone cracked open.
From beneath the cobblestones, a black tree rose—its roots snaking into buildings, its trunk made of screaming shadows. The lanterns nearest flickered violently, their light dimming.
The System pulsed, urgent:
[Node Detected: Shadow Anchor]
[Spawn Rate: 1 Fiend / 15 sec]
[Threat Level: High]
Andy's grip tightened on his blades. "That's the source."
Nia's eyes blazed, her staff glowing white-hot. "Then we end it here."
---
Fiends poured out faster than before. Andy dashed forward, his form exploding into light as Dragonlight Resonance Slash erupted across the ground. Five fiends cleaved in one strike, their bodies scattering like smoke torn by wind.
But the node pulsed. The roots lashed, striking him in the chest. Pain exploded through his ribs. He staggered, nearly falling.
Nia's voice rang through the chaos. "Andy!" Her chains of light lashed out, binding two roots in place. She pressed both palms to the sigil at her feet, weaving Mana Tether. Energy surged through the bond into Andy, steadying his flames.
The System flared:
[Support Effect: Mana Tether Active — Drain Reduced 20%]
[Bond Level: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆☆]
[Progress: 17% → 19%]
Andy's wings reignited, golden flames roaring brighter. He looked back at her, their eyes locking, and his voice came out low, fierce. "With you, I can burn this whole damn tree down."
---
He crossed his blades, summoning fire on the right, water on the left. Twin Surge detonated as he swung, the explosion of steam and energy ripping into the node's core. Cracks spidered across the trunk of shadow. Fiends shrieked as their forms flickered, connected to its heart.
The node resisted, chains of darkness lashing out to seal the cracks. They wrapped Andy's arms, dragging him down. The ground beneath his boots scorched black.
"Not enough," Andy hissed. His strength faltered.
Nia shouted a wordless cry and unleashed everything. Her staff burned white, sigils flaring like miniature suns. The chains holding Andy shattered under the burst of light, and for a heartbeat the entire plaza looked like dawn had broken.
The System screamed:
[Overload Risk: Mana Tether 95%]
[Warning: Bond Synchronization Peaking]
Andy roared, channeling everything into his blades. He plunged both into the node.
---
The world tore open.
Light and fire exploded together, searing the night. The shadow tree split from the inside, collapsing into ash. Fiends shrieked as their bodies unraveled, dissolving into nothing. The plaza shook, lanterns guttered—and then, one by one, their flames rose higher, burning brighter.
The System blazed text across Andy's sight:
[Node Destroyed: Shadow Anchor]
[Sub-Objective Complete: Protect Civilians' Lanterns]
[Reward: Lantern Sigil Stone Acquired]
Effect: Enhances warding sigils — prevents shadow intrusion.
[Bond Progression: 19% → 20%]
---
When silence came, it was filled not with fear, but with cheers.
Ribbons of light from lanterns stretched across Solaris, still burning, still alive. People poured into the plaza, shouting, lifting lanterns higher. Their courage was no longer borrowed—it was their own.
Andy fell to one knee, his blades dimming. Nia caught his shoulder, pulling him close. He leaned into her for just a breath, the weight of the fight still heavy in his bones.
She smiled faintly, her forehead resting against his temple. "See? Their light is stronger than his shadows."
Andy smirked despite the ache. "Maybe. But I'm glad I had you to steady mine."
Above them, the lanterns blazed like a thousand stars.
And for the first time, the night belonged to Solaris, not to Ashens.
---