The morning light filtered through the high, narrow windows of the gatehouse, dancing with the dust motes in the air. One of the gatekeepers tapped gently on the wooden frame of my bed, his voice soft.
"Rise and shine, adventurer. The city is waking up."
They were surprisingly kind. They didn't treat me like a monster or a freak, they treated me like a wounded soldier. They handed me a tin mug of hot tea, the steam curling around my scarred face. I took it with my right hand, the warmth seeping into my cold skin.
"You know, we heard stories about a girl like you. A hero from Town Allure named Roxy. Saved a lot of folks from the cure you created last week. You've got that same look in your eye, that "I've seen the abyss" stare. Glad to see you're still walking, Roxy." ,the younger guard said, leaning against the table,
My heart hammered against my ribs. Roxy. That name felt like a lifetime ago, a costume I used to wear. They didn't know the Bureau had already written me off. They didn't know I had a headstone waiting for me in the dirt.
I opened my mouth to correct them, but only a dry, rasping hiss came out. I touched my throat, my eyes widening with the frustration of the silence. I made a frantic writing motion with my hand, my voice coming out as a strained,
"Mmmph..." I spoke
"Easy, lass, No voice? The cellar... or the war?" the older guard said, realizing the truth.
He didn't wait for an answer. He reached into a drawer and pulled out a stubby lead pencil and a yellowed scrap of parchment.
"Here. Use this."
I took the pencil, my fingers trembling slightly. I didn't want to be Roxy anymore. Roxy was a hero who died. I was the sister of Elias Rynd, and I was here to finish a job. I pressed the lead to the paper, the scratchy sound filling the quiet room.
In jagged, sharp letters, I wrote.
Eirene Rynd
The guards leaned in, squinting at the paper.
"Eirene Rynd?" the older one whispered, his brow furrowing as if trying to place the name.
"Rynd... that's a name that carries weight in the Bureau. You related to the Shadow Walker, Elias?"
I gave a single, slow nod.
The two guards exchanged a worried glance. They knew Elias's reputation, the "Shadow Walker" was as famous as he was feared. If his sister was here, in this state, it meant the world was even darker than the morning news suggested.
"Well, Eirene, You'd better get to the Bureau. If you're his kin, you've got more than a status card waiting for you. You've got a war to win."
I stood up, pulling my black coat tight to hide the wings that yearned to stretch. I tucked the paper into my pocket and walked out into the cold morning air of Caria, my one eye fixed on the tall spires of the Bureau.
The ghost was moving. And this time, she had a name.
The gatekeeper, a friendly patted the saddle of his sturdy brown horse.
"I'm heading that way myself to pick up my paycheck. No sense in walking those scarred legs of yours all the way across the district. Hop on, Eirene."
I climbed up behind him, gripping the back of the saddle with my right hand. As the horse trotted through the massive inner portcullis, my one good eye widened.
I had lived in the quiet, flower-scented streets of Town Allure my entire life. I thought I knew what a city looked like, but Caria was a different world entirely. The scale of it was dizzying, the white stone buildings reached toward the clouds, and the air hummed with a frantic, electric energy.
But it wasn't just the architecture that made my heart race, it was the people.
In Town Tata, I had seen demi-humans treated like cattle, chained in the mud and spat upon by men like Dominik. But here, as we rode down the main thoroughfare, I saw a tall, furred beastman in gleaming plate armor laughing with a human merchant. I saw elven mages browsing stalls alongside street urchins, and brave warriors of all races walking with their heads held high.
For the first time since the cellar, a genuine spark of warmth flickered in my chest. This was the world Elias wanted to protect. This was why he fought.
"Quite a sight, isn't it? Caria doesn't care who your ancestors were, only how sharp your blade is and how true your word stands."
I nodded fervently, my gaze darting from the colorful banners to the fountain in the center of the plaza. For a fleeting moment, the weight of the blood-wings and the ache in my throat faded into the background. I felt like a girl again, just a girl visiting the capital for the first time.
The ride ended all too soon as the horse slowed to a halt in front of a massive, imposing structure of grey stone and blue glass. Above the doors, a crest of a sun rising behind a sword was carved in deep relief.
The Luminous Knight Bureau Association.
The excitement in my stomach turned into a cold knot of nerves. Somewhere inside these walls, the paperwork of my death was filed. Somewhere inside, my brother was likely moving through the halls like a storm.
The gatekeeper helped me down, giving me a supportive pat on the shoulder. .
"Here we are, Eirene. Go get your card. And stay safe, Caria is beautiful, but it has shadows just as long as its towers."
I watched him lead the horse away toward the stables, then I turned toward the grand entrance. I pulled my hood low, adjusted my heavy black coat, and stepped into the maw of the Bureau. I was no longer a tourist; I was a gold-rank ghost coming to claim her place.
"Ready to start your new life, Eirene."
I nodded with Plasma's response, and headed through the wooden doors of the bureau.
The interior of the Caria Bureau was a cathedral of chaos. Unlike the quaint, wood-paneled office in Allure, this place was a sprawling hub of polished marble and shouting men. Knights in heavy plate armor clanked past me, and the air was thick with the scent of ozone from mages recharging their artifacts.
I felt small, a dark smudge in a room full of bright heroes. My hand tightened on the collar of my coat as I navigated the crowd toward the main reception desk.
Behind the counter sat a woman with sharp spectacles and a weary expression. Her name tag read Sydney Popov. She was mid-sentence, barking orders at a courier, before her eyes landed on me. She paused, her gaze lingering on my hood and the way I held my body.
"What can I do for you?" Sydney said
I opened my mouth, a reflexive habit I hadn't yet broken, but only a soft, hollow puff of air escaped. I felt a sting of shame and quickly tapped my throat, shaking my head.
Sydney's eyes softened instantly, the sharp edge of her professional persona melting away.
"Oh... I'm so sorry, dear. I didn't realize."
I didn't want her pity. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the cold, gold-plated token, sliding it across the marble counter along with the crumpled piece of parchment I had written on at the gatehouse.
Sydney picked up the token first, her eyebrows shooting up at the Gold-rank status. Then, she opened the note. As her eyes scanned the name Eirene Rynd, the color drained from her face. Her hands began to tremble, and she looked up at me as if she were seeing a ghost, which, in a way, she was. Just yesterday she said, she had been pressured by Chief Anton to keep quiet about a deceased sister.
"Eirene? But... the reports... the Chief said..."
I raised an eyebrow, my one good eye narrowing in confusion. Why was she looking at me with such horror? I didn't know about the letter she had just given to my brother, or the funeral being planned back home.
Sydney caught herself, swallowing hard and pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. She looked around nervously, her eyes darting toward the hallway leading to Chief Anton's office.
"To... to get a status plate, there is a measuring tool that will measure your rank based on your strength and mana signature. It's a requirement for the new security protocols. Follow me."
She stepped out from behind the counter, gesturing for me to follow her into a side room filled with strange, glowing crystalline apparatuses. I followed her, my boots muffled by the thick rugs.
She was acting strange, as if she were hiding a secret that was burning a hole in her tongue. As she led me toward the measuring stone, I couldn't help but wonder: what did the Bureau know about me that I didn't? And why did my name sound like a death knell in this city?