In Vitality – Whispering Woods
The crystal boar's body flickered and vanished, dissolving into glittering fragments. The Architect stood in silence, sword lowered, the Obsidian Veil glowing with cool, crackling veins of blue.
StarViper stepped beside him, impressed. "You didn't need help."
"Help wasn't the point," came the modulated reply.
"Right. You just like showing off?"
NeuraStream Alert: 3,764 Views – 'Level 1 Wrecks Synapse Guild'.
StarViper blinked. "Already trending. You didn't post that?"
Cassian didn't answer. But his fingers curled slightly at his side.
---
The clearing was painted in white and silver. Dozens of glowing moonpetals swayed gently beneath the twin moons of Vitality.
Cassian moved to collect one.
A blade whistled past his ear and embedded into a tree.
Rogues emerged—six of them, masks painted with crimson snarls. Their leader stepped forward: tall, confident, twirling twin daggers between gloved fingers.
"Taking flowers off Syndicate land?" BloodShiv asked. "That's cute."
Cassian turned slowly. His HUD flared behind the mask.
Targets: 6. Leader – Level 6. Equipment: Twin Fang Daggers. Frenzy Drive Passive.
"Last chance," BloodShiv said. "Drop the petals and walk."
Cassian's blade whispered free of its sheath.
"No."
---
The fight.
It erupted like a storm.
Two rogues rushed from opposite flanks. Cassian parried one, pivoted, then slammed a boot into the other's chest. StarViper darted left, flanking the archer. Blades flashed like lightning.
Cassian ducked beneath a twin-strike, twisted a rogue's arm mid-spin, and used their own momentum to flip them hard into the ground.
Stunned.
Another charged—he swept low, clipped the legs, and drove the pommel of his sword into their chest.
Eliminated.
BloodShiv engaged, his daggers humming red as Frenzy Drive kicked in. He was fast—blindingly so—but Cassian was precise. He gave ground slowly, each parry sharper than the last.
StarViper called from across the glade. "Healer down!"
Cassian saw his opening. He broke BloodShiv's momentum with a side-step feint, then countered with a rippling upward strike that staggered the Syndicate leader.
"You fight like you've done this a thousand times," BloodShiv growled.
Cassian said nothing. His mask gleamed.
They clashed again. Sparks. Wind. Speed. BloodShiv overextended—and that's when Cassian drove his blade straight through his opponent's chest.
BloodShiv choked. "Who the hell are you?"
The Architect's voice was a whisper of static. "Remember the mask."
BloodShiv burst into shards of code.
---
NeuraStream Theater – Floating City
The fight replayed in slow motion for a crowd of stunned players. The masked figure's movements were surgical—measured destruction.
Comments rolled:
"That's not normal PvP."
"What build even is that?"
"Dude never flinched."
In the back of the viewing chamber, a hooded man stood still. No tag. No comment. Just silence.
He rewound the footage again. Watched the turn of the wrist, the footwork, the subtle restraint between strikes.
The feeling crept into his chest.
So familiar…
He whispered—soft, hesitant:
"Could it be... after all this time?"
But still… not certain.
---
Crimson Syndicate Tower – High Orbit
A crystal screen played the footage for a solitary figure in blood-red armor. Crimson Phantom stood without moving.
They watched the fight twice. Three times.
Then sent a single command:
"Do not engage. Observe. Let him come to us."
---
Shrine Turn-In – Forest Edge
Cassian and StarViper walked in silence. The quest completed:
+800 Gold. +15 Reputation. Total Rep: 25.
"They're going to send stronger players next time," StarViper said. "You just painted a target on your back."
Cassian adjusted his grip on the blade. "Let them try."
"You want them to?"
He looked out at the glowing forest. "I want them to remember."
---
End of Chapter Two