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Chapter 8 - CHAPTER 8: THE NIGHT THE LIGHTS WENT OUT

Day 31 After Eralthar | Loryan – Night Watch Posts / Vornath – Black Hunt's Shadow Plan

The message arrived at Valerian's table just past midnight.

A scout—his neck snapped.

Sword untouched.

No scream.

Only… silence.

Before sunrise, another report:

Another scout—poisoned.

And that same night, a third body appeared—

A courier from Vornath's border, found hanging from a tree.

A note pinned to his chest:

"The eye is closed."

Valerian stood over the map.

The remaining six of the Oathbound Seven knelt, sketching out a new perimeter.

But Valerian's eyes stayed fixed to the floor.

"We were walking in darkness…

Now the darkness walks in us."

Helvar approached quietly.

"Elren's death struck our hearts.

Now they strike our eyes."

Valerian looked up.

"They're not killing scouts…

They're killing vision."

A new defense system was built around Loryan.

Double-layered watch posts, night signal fires, underground intelligence routes.

But Valerian knew one thing:

Someone was inside.

Meanwhile, in Vornath, Morn Velk revealed his plan to the Black Hunt.

He pointed to Valerian's internal communication routes on the map—

His most trusted scouts, least questioned messengers...

One of them was leaking information.

"There's an eye inside," Morn said.

"And through that eye… we'll blind Valerian."

That evening, one of Loryan's signal fires didn't light.

No word came from the watch post.

It was a first.

Valerian took a torch and went himself.

When he arrived—no one was there.

Only a symbol carved into the dirt:

> A broken eye.

Day 32 After Eralthar | Loryan – Heart of the Stone Command Post

Morning came to Loryan cloaked in gray silence.

Everyone knew something…

But no one spoke.

As Valerian walked through the stone command post, eyes avoided his.

Salutes were half-hearted.

Everyone knew now:

Someone was inside.

Night logs were reviewed.

Every scout's route, watch shift, entry-exit logs—

All calculated.

Then Valerian called a name:

Rathen.

A quiet mountain tracker who had joined the Oathbound Seven later.

Calm. Loyal. Silent.

But during his shift, one of the signal posts had gone dark.

Valerian sat across from him.

His voice wasn't sharp.

But his eyes were colder than steel.

"Don't lie to me.

Don't tell me the truth, either.

Just… look at me."

Rathen lifted his head.

His gaze was still.

But he trembled.

Helvar entered.

"The only time we lost connection with the signal point was during Rathen's patrol."

Valerian nodded.

"Place him under watch.

In the Oath Room."

When the people of Loryan heard the news, silence spread like smoke.

For the first time, a comrade…

was a suspect.

And for the first time, it wasn't Valerian's words being questioned—

It was his judgment.

Inside, Valerian feared one thing:

What if Rathen was innocent?

That night, he didn't sleep.

He stared at the stars.

"Elren, we've lost our eyes.

Now we're losing our hearts.

But still…

I want to see."

---

Back in Vornath, Morn Velk had received word.

Rathen was in custody.

But a smile crept onto his lips.

"He's not our asset," he said.

"The real eye is still inside."

He made a mark on the corner of the map on the wall:

> "When the oath breaks, darkness comes from within."

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