The scroll felt heavy in Kaelen's pocket all day. He went through the motions—eating, walking the Citadel halls, even trying to read in the library—but his mind was elsewhere. Isolde's words played in his head. "You are a shadow now. Be one."
When artificial night fell over Havenfall, he made his move. He wore his dark clothes and kept to the less busy halls. His E-Rank senses helped him avoid people. He could hear conversations from around corners, see clearly in the dim light. He felt like a ghost moving through the sleeping giant of the Citadel.
Getting out was easier than he thought. The main gates were closed, but a smaller service entrance was only watched by one tired-looking guard. Kaelen waited in a dark doorway until the guard turned to light his pipe. Then, he moved. He pushed a little Umbral energy into his steps, making them completely silent. He was past the guard and into the city streets in a breath.
The lower market district was different at night. During the day, it was full of noise and people. Now, it was empty and quiet. The glowing signs above shops were dark. The air smelled of old food and damp stone. His heart beat fast. This was not the wilds. This was a different kind of dangerous.
He found the abandoned shrine easily. It was a small, old building tucked between two larger ones. A symbol of a forgotten god was carved above the broken door. It was a good place to leave things unseen.
Next, he had to find the official's house. The scroll gave an address. Kaelen moved through the shadows like smoke. His Umbral energy curled around him, helping him blend into the darkness. He felt a strange calm. This use of his power felt more natural than fighting. It was quiet. Precise.
The house was small and looked poor. This man was not stealing to become rich, then. Maybe he was just desperate. The thought made Kaelen uncomfortable, but he pushed it away. He had a job to do.
A single weak light shone from a window. Kaelen crept closer. He could hear someone moving inside. Then, he heard voices. A man and a woman, arguing.
"...can't keep doing this, Jerold! They'll catch you!" the woman cried, her voice tight with fear.
"We need the money, Lina! The medicine for your cough—" the man, Jerold, replied, his voice desperate.
"The medicine isn't worth your life! Or mine! Please. Stop. We'll find another way."
Kaelen froze outside the window. This was not some greedy thief. This was a desperate man trying to help someone he loved. Isolde had not told him this. She had made it sound simple. Black and white.
His mission felt wrong now.
But he remembered Isolde's sharp eyes. The debt. The web he was in. If he failed her, there would be consequences. She had power here. She could make life hard for this man and his wife, too. Maybe worse than hard.
He felt trapped. His curse was not just attracting monsters. It was pulling him into impossible choices.
He made his decision.
He waited until the man left the house, heading out for his night shift. Kaelen slipped inside through an unlocked window. The house was small and clean but poor. In a cupboard under the stairs, he found the stolen medical kits. There were five of them.
He took three. He left two. He also took all the money from his own Citadel meal allowance from his pocket—a small sum, but something—and placed it where the kits had been.
It was not a perfect solution. But it was something. Isolde would get most of her supplies back. The man and his wife would keep a little. They would have some money. Maybe it would help.
He moved like a ghost back to the shrine and left the three medical kits in the shadows inside the broken doorway. The job was done. But it felt hollow.
As he turned to leave, a voice spoke from the darkness behind him.
"An interesting compromise."
Kaelen spun around, his heart leaping into his throat. A figure stepped out from behind the shrine. It was not Isolde.
It was Elara. The artisan. Her kind face was sad in the dim light.
"I often come here to think," she said softly. "It is quiet. Forgotten. A good place to remember that people matter more than power." She looked at the medical kits, then back at him. "You showed mercy tonight. That is a rare thing in this city. A valuable thing. Do not let them carve it out of you."
"How did you know I would be here?" Kaelen asked, his voice a whisper.
"I didn't," she said. "But I know the patterns of the city. I know when someone is hurting. I felt you... struggling. Your Umbral energy. It whispers of conflict." She took a step closer. "Isolde owns your actions now. But she does not own your heart. Remember that. Guard it well."
She turned and walked away, disappearing into the night as quietly as she had come.
Kaelen stood alone in the dark. He had paid his debt to Isolde. But he felt no lighter. The walls of Havenfall felt higher and darker than the mist outside. He was learning that the most dangerous monsters didn't have claws and teeth. They wore smiles and offered gifts. And they lived inside the walls.