> **System Notification:**
> *Choice Confirmed – C. Refuse and investigate the Circle in secret.*
> *Hidden Quest Unlocked: "Shadows of the Weave"*
> *Objective: Uncover the true purpose of the Circle without arousing suspicion.*
> *Reward: ???*
> *Warning: Failure will result in exposure and potential death.*
Azrael's gaze lingered on Cadmon's expression a moment longer—too polished to be natural, too steady to be unintentional. There was a calm in the man's face, but his words were a minefield of implications.
"I appreciate your candor, Lord Cadmon," Azrael said, masking his own voice with a calm resolve. "But I must decline. I have... other priorities."
Cadmon didn't flinch. "Of course, Your Highness. Should you reconsider—"
"I won't," Azrael said, his tone final.
A long, quiet pause passed. Then Cadmon stood and bowed low. But as he turned away, Azrael caught it—the briefest twitch at the corner of the noble's mouth. Not rage. Not surprise. Calculation.
Azrael filed it away in his mind like another move in a long chess match.
When the court was dismissed, Azrael walked alone through the high stone corridors of the palace. With each step, he shed the weight of the prince's mask and returned to his true self—strategist, villain, survivor.
As he reached his chambers, the palace guards posted at the door bowed low. "Leave me," he said flatly.
The doors closed behind him with a dull thud.
> **System Notification:**
> *New Tool Unlocked – [Whisper Protocol]*
> *A covert intelligence interface. Allows limited data tracing and infiltration of secret networks.*
> *Usage: 3 per day. Success based on INT and Timing.*
"Perfect timing," he muttered.
The system's interface shimmered into existence—runic symbols dancing faintly beneath a translucent blue panel.
> **[Whisper Protocol Activated]**
> *Target: Cadmon Rellhart*
> *Tracing connections...*
> *Success Rate: 62%*
> *Attempting secure trace...*
> *Connection established.*
> – Cadmon Rellhart is linked to the Weavers' Circle, a clandestine sect operating under the guise of arcane preservation.
> – Province funds have been redirected to unregistered safehouses.
> – Symbol identified: A silver-eyed spider.
> – Scheduled gathering: Two nights hence, Hollow Garden Estate.
Azrael narrowed his eyes at the data.
"A spider's web indeed…"
He pulled out a fresh sheet of parchment and began mapping the pieces. If Cadmon was a thread, then the Circle was the loom. But what were they weaving?
---
Night had fallen by the time Azrael, disguised in common garb, left through one of the old servants' passages behind the palace kitchens. With a dark cloak around his shoulders and a mask pressed to his face, he passed unnoticed through the streets of Raventhorn.
By midnight, he reached the Hollow Garden—a long-abandoned noble estate, now overgrown with ivy and forgotten statues. Time had turned it into a crypt of nature.
Azrael scaled the side wall, crouching low among shattered tiles. Through the cracked windows, warm torchlight glowed.
He inched closer.
Inside, robed figures gathered around an ancient fountain. Some faces were visible—others hidden by masks marked with sigils. Azrael tapped the system.
> **Skill Activated – Keen Insight**
> *Duration: 60 minutes. Cooldown: 48 hours.*
> *Effect: Detect subtle lies, patterns in speech, and psychological triggers.*
"...the boy king suspects nothing," said a man in crimson.
"...we must act before the eclipse," another added. "Raventhorn must remain a puppet, or all our threads unravel."
Azrael's pulse spiked.
> **System Prompt: [Eavesdrop] Successful**
> *Fragment Recovered: "Eclipse – Phase Catalyst"*
*So that's your game...* he thought. *They plan something with the eclipse as a trigger point. A magical ritual? A coup?*
He spotted Cadmon among them, face bare, arms folded.
"Lord Azrael is intelligent," Cadmon said, "but predictable. His pride blinds him. He declined our offer."
"Then we prepare contingency," said a woman with a sapphire tattoo on her throat.
Azrael frowned. *So they do not know about the system.* That gave him a dangerous edge.
He withdrew silently.
---
Back at the palace, as moonlight filtered through tall stained glass, Azrael lit a candle and unrolled a second scroll. He drew the symbol of the spider, then annotated it with all he had learned.
The system responded.
> **System Notification:**
> *New Trait Acquired: "Schemer – Lv1"*
> *Effect: Your mind weaves strategies instinctively. +10% success in deception, infiltration, and interrogation.*
> *Passive Skill Unlocked: "Mind's Thread" – Increases resistance to psychological manipulation.*
> **System Prompt:**
> *Side Quest Updated – "False Dawn"*
> *Objective: Investigate the imitation of Leonid's legendary blade – Dawnfire.*
> *Clue: Bandit leader wielded a glowing sword resembling the hero's weapon.*
Azrael's eyes narrowed. "A fake sword to stir rebellion. Clever."
He jotted a note to General Halim: *Deploy a second scout unit to Stone Hollow. Focus on blacksmiths and enchanters with ties to noble funding.*
Just then, Shade materialized at the window, dropping in from the roof like a whisper of wind.
"Report," Azrael said.
"The Circle meets again in three days," she said. "But they're growing suspicious. Someone within their ranks—an archivist—is missing. I believe he defected and may have passed information to a rival faction."
Azrael leaned back. "Then we need him before they do."
---
Three nights later, Azrael stood in the shadows near the Hollow Garden once more—this time not to eavesdrop, but to act.
Using the **Whisper Protocol**, he triangulated the position of the archivist: a man named Seldin Marr, hiding in a merchant's quarters in the Old Quarter.
Azrael intercepted him before dawn. The man trembled when faced with a blade—but Azrael didn't threaten him with death.
He offered him protection. Knowledge. Purpose.
Seldin folded.
And with that, Azrael acquired the Circle's internal codex—titled *The Weave Unraveled*.
He spent the next two nights buried in its pages.
What he found inside chilled him.
> **System Insight:**
> *The Circle believes the world is a tapestry written by unseen "Authors." They believe "Weavers" can subtly change threads, but those who change too much... vanish.*
> *One note reads: "Reborn ones are the greatest threat. They have seen the ending."*
Azrael's blood ran cold.
They didn't know about his system, but they suspected the truth about him.
> **System Notification:**
> *Trait Upgraded: "Schemer – Lv2"*
> *You now gain insight into enemy motives at a glance.*
> *Bonus: +1 Influence every time you foil a plot or false alliance.*
Azrael closed the book. Burned the original. Kept the knowledge.
The Circle had named him a threat to fate.
He'd become something far worse.
A force they could not control.
And their web?
He'd burn it thread by thread.