The obsidian card was more than just an invitation; it was a key. When Kael held it that evening, a faint map of Veritas shimmered in his mind, guiding him not to the glittering noble districts, but to a shadowy, forgotten alley in the city's underbelly. The endpoint was a featureless iron door, unmarked and unwelcoming. There was no handle, no knocker, only a single, small slot.
Elara had been beside herself with worry. "A demon's invitation! To a secret club! Kael, this could be a trap! An ambush! You can't go alone!"
Kael had simply patted her head. "Don't worry, Elara. The trap isn't for me."
He slid the card into the slot. The iron door dematerialized into a swirl of crimson smoke, revealing a descending staircase lit by flickering, enchanted torches that cast long, dancing shadows. The air that wafted up was thick with the scent of expensive wine, arcane incense, and a current of raw, untamed power.
Leaving a slightly sulking Glitch with Elara, Kael descended. The staircase opened into a lavish subterranean lounge. The decor was all dark woods, plush velvet, and gold filigree. Patrons lounged on divans, their faces obscured by elegant masks of various designs—a requirement of entry, it seemed. A soft, hypnotic melody played from an unseen source.
This was not a place for academy students or city nobles. Kael's code-vision confirmed it instantly. The guests were a motley collection of A-Rank and S-Rank individuals. He saw a notorious assassin whose bounty posters decorated five different kingdoms, a vampire lord thought to have been slain a century ago, a disgraced archmage practicing forbidden soul magic, and several high-ranking demons who, like Zylpha, wore sophisticated human disguises.
This was a neutral ground for the powerful and the profane, a place to make deals and indulge in vices far from the prying eyes of the law.
As Kael stood at the bottom of the stairs, unmasked, all conversation ceased. Every head turned towards him. The combined weight of their gazes was a physical pressure, a test of his mettle. They saw a young, unmasked boy, seemingly out of his depth.
"Lost, little lamb?" a hulking beast-man with a boar mask sneered, his voice a low growl. "The sheep pastures are above ground."
Before Kael could respond, Zylpha materialized at his side from a swirl of smoke. She was wearing a stunning, floor-length crimson gown and a simple, elegant black mask that covered only her eyes, leaving her flushed cheeks and horns visible. Her composure was back, but Kael's vision showed her [STATUS] was still in turmoil: [Feigning Composure], [Extreme Infatuation], [Anxious].
"He is with me," she announced, her voice regaining some of its sultry authority, though it was a touch breathless. She offered Kael a mask from a tray held by a silent, imp-like servant. "A guest of honor."
Kael took a simple, unadorned black mask and put it on. The murmuring resumed, now filled with curiosity. Who was this boy that the club's proprietor, the infamous Crimson Deceiver, was personally escorting?
"Welcome to my humble establishment," Zylpha whispered, leading him towards a private, curtained-off alcove. "Here, power is the only currency that matters. Information is its chief commodity."
"And what is for sale tonight?" Kael asked, his eyes scanning the room.
"Tonight's main event," she said, her golden eyes gleaming, "is an auction." She gestured towards a small, raised stage at the far end of the room. "We auction secrets, artifacts, loyalties... anything with a price."
As they sat, a portly man in a golden mask—Kael identified him as a corrupt merchant minister from the king's own court—took the stage.
"Esteemed guests!" the auctioneer boomed. "Our first item tonight is a rare treasure! A single, perfectly preserved tear from a fallen angel, said to contain a fragment of divine truth!"
A beautiful, pearlescent teardrop, shimmering with holy light, was presented on a velvet cushion.
Kael inspected it.
=== ITEM: Angel's Tear ===
GRADE: S-Rank Material
EFFECT: When consumed, permanently increases mana affinity by 5%.
HIDDEN PROPERTY: [Echo of Divine Judgment (Dormant)] - Triggers upon contact with demonic energy.
================================
The bidding was fierce, quickly reaching astronomical sums of gold. Kael remained silent. It was a useful item, but he could likely replicate its effect by simply editing someone's mana affinity directly.
The next item was a scroll containing the location of a lost tomb, rumored to hold the phylactery of an ancient lich. Again, a furious bidding war erupted between the vampire lord and the disgraced archmage.
Kael was beginning to grow bored. This was a marketplace of power for those bound by the System. He was outside of it.
Then, the final item was announced.
"And now, for our pièce de résistance!" the auctioneer declared. "A piece of information so valuable, so dangerous, it could topple kingdoms! We offer... the true identity and nature of the Royal Academy's newest anomaly. The boy known as Kael Virein!"
The room fell silent. Every eye, hidden behind a mask, turned to stare at Kael's alcove.
Zylpha went rigid beside him. "What is this?" she hissed. "This was not on the docket. Someone is making a move."
"Information gathered by our finest spies," the auctioneer continued, his voice slick with greed. "It details the boy's origins, his connection to Baron Thorne, and a full speculative analysis on the source of his power! The bidding will start at one million gold pieces!"
Kael didn't get angry. He felt a cold, analytical calm descend. This was an attack. A way to strip him of his mystery, to lay his secrets bare for his enemies to purchase. He looked at the auctioneer.
=== ENTITY: Minister Borin ===
STATUS: Confident, Greedy
CONTROLLING INFLUENCE: [House Valerius, Secondary Branch]
================================
House Valerius. Not Thorne. A rival noble house. This was political.
"One million!" the vampire lord called out immediately.
"Two million!" the disgraced archmage countered.
"Five million!" a voice called from the back. It was Lyra von Argentis. She stood near the entrance, her face hidden by a silver wolf mask, her presence like a shard of ice in the sweltering room. She had followed him.
Zylpha shot her a venomous glare. "The little princess is playing with fire." She then turned to Kael, her expression worried. "We must outbid them. My treasury—"
"No," Kael said softly, holding up a hand to stop her. "Don't waste your money."
He stood up and walked out of the alcove, into the center of the room. He took off his mask, letting everyone see his face.
"The auction is over," he announced, his voice not loud, but carrying to every corner of the room.
The auctioneer, Minister Borin, scoffed. "The boy himself! How bold! But the auction will proceed unless you can outbid the current offer of five million, boy!"
"I don't need to bid," Kael said. He looked at the scroll of "secrets" in the minister's hand. "Because the item you are selling is worthless."
He focused his will, not on the room, not on the people, but on the concept of information contained within that scroll. He found the data packet that represented his "secrets."
DATA_FILE: "Kael_Virein_Analysis.doc"
CONTENTS: [Speculation on Forbidden Artifact], [Theories on Demonic Pact], [Report on Oakhaven Incident]...
It was all guesswork, but dangerous guesswork.
Kael didn't delete it. That would be too suspicious. Instead, he opened the file and rewrote the entire contents.
DATA_FILE: "Kael_Virein_Analysis.doc"
CONTENTS: [My Favorite Muffin Recipe], [A Badly Written Poem About a Lost Kitten], [Detailed Instructions on How to Properly Shine Shoes], [A Lengthy and Inaccurate History of Spoons]...
On the stage, Minister Borin laughed. "Worthless? Let me read you a sample to whet your appetites!" He unrolled the scroll with a flourish. "It says here... 'Chapter One: The Secret Power of Blueberry Muffins. To begin, one must first acquire... high-quality flour?'"
His voice trailed off. He stared at the scroll, his eyes wide with confusion. "What? That's not... wait." He scanned the rest of the document, his face growing paler with each passing moment. "A poem about a kitten named 'Fluffy-kins'? A treatise on the socio-economic impact of the teaspoon?!"
The room was silent, then a few snickers broke out. The vampire lord retracted his bid with a disgusted hiss. The archmage cursed, realizing he'd been duped.
Minister Borin stared at Kael, pure terror dawning on his face. He knew what was on that scroll. He had read it himself an hour ago. For it to change into nonsensical gibberish while in his hands... it was a feat of magic so subtle and so absolute it was terrifying.
"You seem to have purchased faulty information, Minister," Kael said, his voice dangerously soft. "As for revealing my secrets..."
He let his gaze sweep across the powerful, monstrous beings in the room. He let a sliver of his true aura leak out—not magic, not pressure, but the cold, undeniable feeling of reality itself focusing on him as its nexus. The feeling of a programmer looking at his code.
"...feel free to come and take them. If you dare."
No one moved. No one breathed. The assassin felt a chill that had nothing to do with the temperature. The vampire lord felt his ancient, dead heart skip a beat. Even Zylpha, who was already smitten, felt a fresh wave of awe and fear. This wasn't the bravado of a boy. This was the quiet confidence of a god stating a simple fact.
Kael had turned their attack back on them, humiliated a powerful minister, and issued a challenge to a room full of monsters without throwing a punch. He had re-established his mystery, making it even deeper and more terrifying than before.
He turned and walked back to the staircase, Zylpha trailing behind him like a moth to a flame. As he reached the exit, he glanced back at Lyra. Through her mask, he could see her eyes, wide with a dawning, shocking realization.
He wasn't just a player in their game of power. He was the one who could flip the entire board over at will.