The warmth of Seris' embrace lingered longer than it should have.
It was strange—how something so familiar could feel so distant now. Auron didn't return the hug, but he let it happen. Let her press her cheek against his shoulder, laugh like they were still childhood friends, like the world hadn't already written her betrayal in fire.
He wondered, as she pulled back and smiled into his eyes, Did you feel any guilt when you drove the blade through my back?
Her eyes sparkled. "You look like hell."
You'll look worse.
"Long road," Auron muttered. His voice was low, cold, controlled.
"Still the same quiet ghost, huh?" She elbowed him playfully. "Come on. You need food. And something stronger than water."
She turned, motioning to the barkeep. Auron followed, sitting at the edge of the wooden booth, his back never to the door.
He scanned the tavern.
Half a dozen mercenaries. Low rank. Two with Void-brand daggers, one carrying a concealed contract scroll. Bounty hunters. Not after him. Not yet.
Auron's mind mapped exits, counted shadows, measured soul signatures.
Old habits never died. Only sharpened.
---
The meal was simple. Bread, salted meat, watered wine.
But the moment he took the cup, a flash seared his vision.
[Warning: Soul-Damaging Substance Detected — Vow Sensor Activated]
"One you trust has tampered with your offering."
His hand froze mid-air.
He lowered the cup gently. "I'm not thirsty."
Seris blinked. "Still picky?"
Lie. That smile didn't reach your eyes. You didn't expect me to sense it, did you?
He stared at her for a long moment. Not accusing. Not afraid.
Just… watching.
"You never did like sweet wine," she said, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "Don't worry, it's not poisoned. Just… enhanced."
Auron tilted his head slightly. "Enhanced how?"
She leaned closer. Her voice dropped to a whisper. "There's a bounty on someone matching your face. Said he's dangerous. Escaped from the Oathkeepers."
He didn't answer.
"Ten thousand fragments," she continued, "isn't a number I can ignore, Auron. I'm sorry."
And just like that, her expression changed.
The soft edges sharpened. Her fingers twitched toward her belt.
Auron moved first.
His hand grabbed her wrist before it reached the concealed blade beneath the table. His other hand slammed the cup against the wood.
"You remember what I told you the day we first met?"
She flinched. "What?"
He leaned close.
"Don't draw a blade you're not ready to bury."
---
[Betrayal Registered: Seris Valen — Vow Fractured]
[Fragment Acquired: Lightborne Mark (I)]
[Oathbreaker Title Unlocked — Level I]
---
A pulse of raw force exploded from Auron's chest, invisible to the ordinary eye but shattering every candle in the room. A subtle quake rattled the table. The wine turned to vapor.
Seris tried to pull back. Too late.
Auron's fingers tightened.
Light coiled around his hand—her Light. Stolen. Corrupted. Fed into the system.
She gasped, breath hitching as she felt something tear away from her soul.
"You're not… him," she whispered, horror blooming across her face.
"I am," he replied. "I just stopped pretending."
---
The tavern erupted.
Chairs scraped. Blades unsheathed. The bounty hunters surged forward, drawn by the sudden flood of energy.
Auron stood, dragging Seris with him. He tossed her aside—not out of mercy, but because she wasn't worth killing. Not yet.
Not until she saw what he'd become.
The first hunter lunged. Auron sidestepped, caught the man's wrist mid-swing, and twisted. Bone cracked.
The man screamed—until Auron slammed his head into the table.
The second swung high. Auron ducked, drove his palm into the attacker's chest, and invoked his first oath-skill:
[Vow Sever — Level I]
A thread of silver light cut through the air. The hunter collapsed, clutching his chest as his soul-brand ruptured. His contract shattered into ash.
The rest fled.
Cowards, the lot of them.
---
Auron turned to Seris. She was on her knees, clutching her side, shaking. Not from pain—but fear.
"You betrayed me once before," he said, voice calm. "You will again. That's what you do."
"I didn't want to—"
"But you did."
He walked toward her. Every step made the air colder.
She crawled backward until her back hit the wall.
Auron knelt.
"You won't die today. You'll live. And every night you sleep, you'll remember what you gave up. What you lost."
He leaned closer, silver eyes gleaming like twin moons.
"And when I stand at the throne of Infinity… you'll understand why mercy is the cruelest curse."
---
He left her sobbing in the ruins of the tavern.
Ashenveil would hear of it. Word would spread.
The boy with silver eyes.
The one who breaks oaths.
Let them whisper. Let them run.
He needed the fear.
Because fear opened doors that strength could not.
---
[System Update: Oathbreaker Title – Level I Activated]
+1 to Vow Detection
+1 Passive Fracture Drain per betrayal
New Skill Unlocked: Soul Leash (Uncommon)
You may bind one broken Oathbearer to your will. Duration: 3 days. Resist chance: High.
---
Auron stood atop the western gate before dawn.
Wind howled through the cracked stone. Below, merchants were stirring. The city woke to rumors.
He didn't stay long.
His journey wasn't in Ashenveil. It lay beyond the Veilscar Mountains—where the Temple of Infinity once stood.
Where the God of Infinity first chose him.
Where everything ended.
And would begin again.
---
As he walked, the world grew stranger.
The grass thinned. The sky dimmed. Stars above pulsed like wounded hearts.
He felt something shift in the air.
The first sign of Godmarked territory.
And then…
A shadow stepped from behind a dying tree.
Clad in rags. One eye covered. The other, pure black.
"You shouldn't be here," the stranger rasped.
"I'm not here for permission," Auron replied.
The man smiled.
"Then kneel."
The stranger raised a hand—and the heavens answered.
---
[WARNING: Divine Presence Detected — Power Level: Class II Godmarked]
---
Light split the clouds.
A spear of starlight descended.
Auron didn't flinch.
He let it come.
Let them test me. Let them break themselves against me.
Because he had already died once.
And this time… he would be the last to fall.
---
End of Chapter 3