The silver towers of Sylvaris trembled as if struck by an unseen hammer. The ground split open, glowing fissures of blackened light crawling like veins across the marble streets.
From the cracks, shadows spilled out—not like mist, but like liquid nightmares. They coalesced into forms: wolves with too many eyes, serpents with bone-like scales, and grotesque humanoid silhouettes screaming with hollow mouths.
The city erupted into chaos.
"Corruption has breached the wards!" a guard shouted before being dragged into the darkness.
Elira unsheathed her blade, the metal glowing faint green with mana. "Rihan, stay close to me!"
But the System's voice thundered in Rihan's head:
[Emergency Quest Activated: Defend Sylvaris.]
[Survival Reward: +200 EXP. Failure: Death.]
He groaned. "Figures. I can't even panic without getting pop-ups in my brain."
---
The first wave hit them fast. Three corrupted wolves lunged from the shadows. Elira slashed, her blade cutting a clean arc of light. One wolf dissolved instantly, but two others circled, their movements jerky and unnatural.
Lyra raised her staff, chanting in a language that felt like sunlight. A radiant barrier blossomed around them, halting the wolves mid-pounce. "Elira, now!"
With a cry, Elira pierced one through the skull.
The last wolf leapt straight at Rihan.
Time slowed.
Rihan's hand burned. His vision blurred white.
Suddenly—shhhhing!—a blade of pure light appeared in his grasp.
He swung wildly, more instinct than skill. The wolf's body split in half, dissolving into motes of dust.
The System chimed:
[Skill Unlocked: Light Edge (Lv. 1).]
[+50 EXP.]
Rihan gasped, clutching the glowing weapon. "I… I actually did it?"
Elira's eyes widened. "So the legends were true. A weapon born from nothing but will…"
---
But there was no time to marvel. All around, elves were locked in battle. Archers loosed arrows of silver fire. Mages summoned vines that constricted shadow-spawn. The streets of Sylvaris had become a battlefield of light and dark.
Lyra's face paled. "This should not be possible… The wards of Sylvaris are older than our kingdom itself. For corruption to pierce them—"
A deafening crash shook the air.
From the central plaza, a monstrous roar split the night.
All turned to see it.
A beast the size of a tower emerged from the fissures. Its body was a writhing mass of shadows, horns curling from a faceless head, claws that dragged grooves into the earth.
The elves faltered. Some broke ranks.
"Ancient corruption…" Elira whispered, her knuckles white on her sword.
The beast let out a guttural scream, and waves of shadow pulsed outward, shattering barriers and hurling warriors aside like rag dolls.
---
Rihan staggered. "Uh, Elira? Lyra? That thing looks way above my pay grade."
Lyra shook her head, voice urgent. "If it reaches the Heartstone, the city falls. We cannot retreat."
Elira raised her blade high, mana flaring like emerald fire. "Then we fight. Together."
She leapt forward, meeting the monster head-on. Her blade cut deep, light sparking as it struck. The beast roared, swinging a claw. She spun, barely dodging, but the shockwave cracked stone all around her.
Rihan cursed. "Screw it. No pressure, right?"
He charged, the light blade humming in his grip. For a brief second, the monster's faceless head turned toward him, hollow eyes like abysses. Fear nearly rooted him in place—until Elira's voice rang out.
"Rihan! Trust the light within you!"
Something clicked.
His blade burned brighter, its edge lengthening. With a desperate yell, he slashed across the monster's arm. The light cut deeper than steel, carving through shadow. The beast shrieked, stumbling back.
The elves cheered.
Lyra lifted her staff, bathing them in a circle of golden healing. "Don't stop—keep pressing it!"
---
The battle turned savage. Elira danced like a whirlwind, each strike carving corruption apart. Lyra's magic flared, keeping warriors on their feet.
And Rihan—though clumsy, though untrained—fought like a spark refusing to be smothered. Each swing of his light blade burned through shadow. Each strike left him trembling, exhausted, yet alive.
The monster bellowed, thrashing, breaking towers as though they were twigs. It swept its claw, hurling Elira across the plaza. She crashed hard, her sword clattering away.
"Elira!" Rihan shouted, heart hammering.
The beast loomed over her, claws raised for the kill.
Time froze.
The System flared:
[Hidden Skill Awakened: Radiant Burst.]
[Warning: Overuse may damage host.]
Energy surged through Rihan's veins, searing, unbearable. He raised his blade high, light exploding from his core.
"Stay away from her!"
A blast of pure radiance erupted outward, engulfing the beast's arm in burning light. The corrupted flesh sizzled, peeling away like ash in fire. The monster recoiled, its scream rattling the sky itself.
Rihan collapsed to his knees, panting, vision spinning.
Elira crawled back to her feet, blood on her lip but fire in her eyes. She grabbed her sword and charged once more.
Together—blade, light, and prayer—they drove the monster back toward the fissure it had crawled from.
With a final combined strike—Elira's sword through its chest, Rihan's light bursting from within, Lyra's barrier sealing it—
The beast howled, its body unraveling into black mist before being sucked back into the earth.
Silence fell.
The plaza was in ruins. Bodies lay strewn across the marble. But the city still stood.
Rihan fell back, coughing. His blade flickered, then vanished.
The System whispered softly:
[Emergency Quest Complete.]
[Level Up: 3 → 5.]
[Stat Growth unlocked.]
Elira stood above him, battered but unbowed, her gaze shining.
"You fought like one of us tonight," she said. "No… better. You fought like one chosen."
Rihan laughed weakly. "Chosen? More like barely-alive idiot."
But in his heart, he knew. This world wasn't going to let him rest.
The war had only just begun.