The Golden Thief Bug lay still in the ankle-deep water, its golden carapace cracked open like a broken treasure chest.But death did not end its strangeness.
From its shattered core, a pulse of warm, golden energy radiated outward in concentric ripples, lighting the dark tunnel for an instant before fading. The water shimmered as the pulse passed through Gideon and Eliakim.
Gideon staggered, tightening his grip on his twin axes."What the—" His words cut off as a pressure swelled in his chest. His vision sharpened; every drop of water falling from the ceiling seemed slow, every sound in the tunnel unnaturally crisp. His muscles coiled with unfamiliar strength, like the tension of a drawn bowstring.
Eliakim felt it too—not the strength, but the resonance. His right thumb burned sharply. The collar-shaped chain of Veyrun, normally inert, twitched against his skin like a living thing. Its links rattled once in a sound only he could hear, and a brief phantom image—an iron gate in darkness—flashed behind his eyes.
Gideon exhaled sharply, raising one axe and feeling the balance shift."…It's like the weapon's lighter," he muttered."It's you," Eliakim said, studying him. "Something changed."Gideon looked at his hands and flexed them, as if testing invisible threads.New skill acquired — Whirlwind Splitter. The words formed in his mind without language, like they had always been there.
Before Eliakim could ask more, the corpse began to dissolve—not naturally, but as though eaten by unseen fire. From the smoke that rose, a thread of darkness curled upward. Eliakim alone saw it—just like Varek, just like the dire wolves. It vanished before touching the ceiling.
---
The Adventurer's Guild in Greyspire bustled like a marketplace—tables of bounty hunters and mages hunched over maps, messengers running between counters, and the smell of ink, leather, and oil lamps filling the air.
Eliakim and Gideon stepped through the door, soaked and streaked with sewer filth, dragging a heavy sack between them. The clerk behind the counter—sharp-nosed, with brass spectacles—looked up from her ledger.
"Back already?" she asked, blinking.Eliakim set the sack down. "We didn't clear the pests," he said. "We cleared something else entirely."
The clerk untied the sack and froze. Even dead and cracked, the Golden Thief Bug's carapace gleamed unnaturally. Her eyes widened.
"That… shouldn't be here." She called over a senior guild officer, a bearded man in reinforced leather. He examined the remains with a grim face.
"This is no sewer vermin," he said. "Golden Thief Bugs haven't been seen in these lands for fifty years… and never in the city." He glanced between them. "You're sure it wasn't brought there?"
"It was nesting there," Gideon replied flatly. "Not visiting."
The officer's frown deepened. "Then someone wanted it there."
---
By midday, word had spread. A Guild Public Notice went up on the central board:
ALERT TO ALL CITIZENSUnscheduled infestation within the Eastern Sewer District has been neutralized.Unauthorized monsters detected. Investigation ongoing.Adventurers are to remain alert for signs of non-native creatures.Suspicion of external summoning or control.Signed — The Greyspire Adventurer's Guild.
The words external summoning caused a stir in the guild hall. Eliakim caught snippets of hushed conversations.
"Summoning inside the city? That's a death warrant…""…must be someone high enough to hide the ritual…""…unless it's one of the guild's own—"
Gideon ignored the gossip, leaning against the wall as he tried to feel the new power in his limbs. His axes almost hummed when he thought about moving them faster.
"You're not going to tell me you didn't notice that smoke," Eliakim said quietly."What smoke?" Gideon asked.Eliakim hesitated, then shook his head. "Never mind."
---
As they turned to leave the guild hall, Eliakim's eyes swept the crowd.
On the upper balcony, a hooded figure leaned casually against the railing, watching them with interest.Not the tank silhouette. Not the mage. Not anyone they had spoken to.
When Eliakim's gaze met his, the hooded man vanished into the crowd without a sound.
Somehow, Eliakim knew—just like the smoke—this wasn't over.