The chaos of the failed Expo provided the perfect cover for Valerius and Elara to escape. They moved through the panicked crowds and service tunnels, making their way back down to the familiar shadows of the Undercity. The news of Master Corvus's public humiliation traveled faster than they did. By the time they reached their old hiding spot, the story was already the main topic of conversation in the lower levels. Corvus was disgraced, his career in ruins. The Council was investigating him for fraud and incompetence.
Valerius had won. He had avenged his stolen life. The burning fire of hatred that had driven him for so long was now just embers. He felt a strange sense of quiet, of emptiness. The vengeance was done. So, what came next?
He looked at Elara, who was watching him with her quick, intelligent eyes. She had been more than a guide; she had become his friend, his partner in chaos. And around them were the people of the Undercity, still poor, still oppressed, still living in the dirt while the powerful above lived in luxury. Corvus was gone, but the corrupt system that created him was still in place.
As he thought this, the familiar crimson and black screen of the Soul-Forge System flickered into his vision. It had a new message for him.
[Primary Objective: Vengeance - COMPLETE.]
[Target: Corvus - Status: Disgraced.]
[Rewards Issuing... New Skills Unlocked.]
[New Directive Available. The Artificer's Council remains corrupt. The suffering of the Undercity continues. True vengeance requires not the fall of one man, but the fall of an unjust system.]
[Accept New Primary Objective: Liberation?]
Valerius looked at the glowing words. The System was offering him a new path. It was no longer just about his personal pain. It was about something much bigger. He thought of the tired workers in the foundry, of the orphans scavenging in the junkyards, of Kaelen, the brilliant mind thrown away by the Council's pride.
He had started this journey to destroy one man. But maybe, just maybe, he was meant to build something new from the ashes. He looked at Elara and saw the hope in her eyes. He looked at the prompt from the System, the offer of a new, more dangerous war.
A small, determined smile touched his lips. His path of vengeance was not over. It had only just begun.