Rain tapped gently on the windowsill of the Kind Heroes' home, a soft reminder of the unease lingering in their hearts. For weeks now, Arriel, Lira, and Kell had been searching. Researching. Asking anyone who might have knowledge. But no matter how many info brokers they questioned or how many dusty books they dug through in Veilden's archives, the answer was always the same: The Hero Pendant cannot be removed without death.
It was morning when Kell found it—an envelope sitting neatly outside the front door, unmarked and sealed with dark red wax. He brought it inside, calling the others. Arriel broke the seal.
Inside were three things: a letter, a map, and a curious silver coin bearing the symbol of a torch wrapped in a ring of runes.
Lira held the coin up to the light. "It's glowing," she whispered.
Arriel read aloud from the letter:
"We have observed you long enough to know that you don't belong to any crown. You belong to justice. We are True Heroes—those unbound by nation, oath, or title. Come to the marked location. We can help you remove the Hero Pendant."
They stared at one another in silence. Then Kell broke it with a whisper.
"Could be a trap."
"Maybe," Arriel replied. "But we don't have many choices."
Lira nodded. "We go. But prepared."
The trail into Oakin Forest was damp, thick with the scent of moss and falling leaves. They moved in silence, each footstep crunching softly over old bark and damp soil. The map led them to a clearing encircled by standing stones, humming faintly with ancient magic.
Two cloaked figures stepped forward from the trees. Both were lean, battle-worn adventurers, though their stance betrayed a discipline far above common mercenaries. Behind them, six hooded figures in long white robes emerged—healers, all holding staffs glowing with healing enchantments.
One of the cloaked adventurers stepped forward. His voice was calm, steady.
"You came. Good. The pendant is bound to your soul. When we sever it, you will start dying. The only chance for survival is if we heal your soul faster than it unravels."
Arriel stepped forward without hesitation. "Do it."
He sat on a carved stone platform at the center of the ritual ring. The healer mages took their positions around him, forming a perfect circle. The lead adventurer placed a strange clamp-like device over the pendant. It was etched with runes and shimmered faintly with blue mana.
"Hold your breath," the adventurer warned. "Three... two... one."
The cutter clicked. The pendant snapped free.
Arriel gasped.
His body jerked, blood draining from his face. He fell to his side, heart slowing. Lira let out a choked scream.
"NOW!" the lead healer shouted.
In perfect unison, the six healers cast.
Light flooded the circle. Gold and silver magic wrapped around Arriel, piercing his skin, flowing through his veins, into his heart and soul.
Agonizing seconds passed.
Then—a breath. Arriel's chest rose. He coughed.
He was alive.
The six healers collapsed to their knees, drenched in sweat. Each immediately pulled out a mana potion and drank deeply.
Lira ran to Arriel, hugging him tightly.
"My turn," she whispered, rising.
The process repeated. The clamp, the countdown, the slicing of the pendant.
And then, as she collapsed, the healers worked again. Faster this time. More frantic. One of them cried out as her mana waned—but they didn't stop. Not until Lira drew in a ragged, life-filled breath.
Kell was sobbing now, kneeling beside them both. "You're alive... you're alive."
The lead adventurer approached, placing a hand on Kell's shoulder.
"You're not one of us yet. But maybe someday. Take this."
He handed them a second envelope. Inside: another map, this one leading to the Drosan Desert, near an oasis settlement.
"Go there. You'll find the next step. We won't meet again."
With a signal, the two adventurers and six healers vanished into the trees with blinding speed, the grass barely rustling behind them.
Back home, the trio sat around their table in stunned silence. The pendants that had marked their lives for years were now gone.
"I feel... lighter," Arriel murmured, rubbing the spot on his chest.
Lira was already flipping through her spellbook.
"We need to learn disguise magic," she said. "Change our appearance. If we're being watched, they'll come for us eventually."
Kell gave a quiet nod. "Desert's waiting."
Tomorrow, they would leave Veilden.
But tonight, they slept as free Heroes for the first time.