The Hollow Reliquary was buried beneath the bone-white cliffs of the Gael'dran Mountains.
Twilight Zone arrived at dawn, snow crunching beneath their boots as they stood before a massive obsidian door embedded into the rock. Runes older than time itself glowed faintly.
Solas held up his shard. "It will open. But it demands something in return."
"What kind of something?" Rael asked.
"Memories," Solas said. "It feeds on the past."
He pressed the shard into the center rune.
A hum filled the air, followed by the heavy groan of stone grinding against stone. The doors parted… revealing darkness.
The interior was not a ruin. It was a preserved cathedral of sorrow. The walls were carved with demonic glyphs. Black fire torches lit themselves as the group stepped forward.
At the center stood a crystal pedestal, hovering above a chasm.
Upon it—a jagged, ancient key radiating malicious power.
Solas whispered, "The first of the Nine Demon Keys."
But as Julius reached out—
The room shifted.
A wave of magic washed over them, and each member of Twilight Zone collapsed to their knees.
Rael found himself in a prison cell, lightning shackles around his arms.
A familiar voice mocked him. "You were never meant to be more than a brawler. Just like our father said."
Rael saw his older brother—long dead, but now standing over him.
"You think joining a guild makes you strong?"
Rael screamed, lightning exploding from him. "I am strong!"
The illusion shattered.
Lyra was back in the icy plains of her childhood. Her mother stood before her, frostbitten and fading.
"You left me," the figure whispered.
"No," Lyra cried, "I had no choice. I was a child!"
The frost turned to mist, and Lyra stood taller.
"I fight to protect, not to run."
Rin faced a battlefield.
Bodies littered the ground. She stood with a blade dripping blood.
A girl's voice echoed: "You swore you'd never kill."
Rin trembled. "I didn't want to… but I had to."
Her sword glowed, rejecting guilt.
Julius stood alone in a burning city.
A shadowy version of himself mocked, "You will fail. Time will betray you. You'll become just like him."
Julius clenched his fists. "I am not my future. I choose who I become."
He activated Time God Slayer: Chrono Rebirth, and the flames died out.
When the illusion faded, the team stood around the pedestal.
The key hovered there, waiting.
Julius reached out.
This time, the relic allowed him to grasp it.
A whisper echoed through the vault:
"One key claimed. Eight remain. The Vaults awaken."
The team exited slowly, changed but stronger.
And the Reliquary sealed behind them.
Twilight Zone Guild – Members: 5
Julius (D-Rank Mage, Iron Guild Master)
Lyra (D-Rank Mage, Ice-Make Magic)
Rael (D-Rank Mage, Lightning Magic)
Rin Ayana (C-Rank Mage, Whispering Blade Style – Memory Awakening)
Solas (C-Rank Mage?, Unknown Magic – Seal Fragment Holder)
F Rank Quests Completed: 65/1000E Rank Quests Completed: 9/10000D Rank Quests Completed: 7/1000C Rank Quests Completed: 5/1000
Guild Status: Iron Rank – Pending Bronze Promotion
Next Chapter Preview: Whisper of the Void Monk
Far to the west, a mysterious monk learns of the Demon Key's awakening. He sets out to test Julius—not with combat, but with truth. But his loyalties may not be what they seem…