The border town of Karsen was a wound on the map — a place where whispered deals and broken promises tangled like the overgrown ivy strangling abandoned buildings.
Cyr moved through the market square, eyes sharp beneath the hood of his cloak. Vendors shouted half-hearted bargains; children darted past with stolen scraps. The air was thick with the scent of soot and desperation.
Here, power wasn't about strength — it was about leverage, secrets, and contracts.
He paused before a faded mural — an ancient symbol of the Binding Orders, half-destroyed and graffitied over by Syndicate tags.
[System Tip: Historical Significance Detected — Symbol of the Lost Thirteenth House]
His heart quickened.
This town held pieces of forgotten lore — relics of an era when binding was sacred, not corrupted. And buried beneath layers of decay, he sensed a thread he had to follow.
As Cyr walked deeper into the winding streets, a figure stepped out from an alley — a woman draped in scholarly robes, silver eyes glinting in the dusk.
"I've been expecting you," she said calmly.
Cyr narrowed his eyes. "Who are you?"
"A Keeper of Forgotten Truths," she replied. "And you've begun to unravel threads you don't understand."
She produced a small, ancient book bound in cracked leather. The cover bore a sigil identical to the mark on his arm — the cursed binding symbol of the lost House.
"Your path isn't just about power," she warned. "It's about choice. And every choice comes with a price."
Cyr reached out hesitantly to touch the book.
[New Objective Added: Unlock Secrets of the Lost House]
The air grew colder.
In Karsen, the past and present were tangled in shadows.
And Cyr was the thread pulling them apart.