Author's Note:
Scypher means "Secret-Breaker" in the Alythion language, and is a title given to individuals of the eighth level.
Erastes means "The Aspirant" or "Power-Lover" in the Alythion language, and is often used for individuals of the first level.
From now on, I will frequently use these terms in the novel. Please pay attention, and feel free to ask me about anything you don't underst.
....
The crowds gathered under the swaying clusters of lights that danced with the breezes, before the giant clock that stood as an eternal guardian of time. On the stage, professional fingers played melodies that bodies swayed to, while others retreated to tables, sipping red wine whose luster reflected the moonlight.
Joy was overwhelming, and faces glowed with oblivious happiness under the crimson moonlight that painted the city night with a strange and enchanting hue. But, atop that massive clock, there were eight eyes watching every inch of the square with wary vigilance; they were none other than Team Lockhart.
Their gazes suddenly focused on a lady making her way towards the stage, flanked by four men with sharp features and imposing physiques. The moment she ascended from the left side of the platform and stood before the audience, a sudden silence fell, conversations ceased, and eyes hung on her lips, awaiting what she would say.
"Tonight is an exceptional night in Frendenstream!" the lady proclaimed in a confident tone, and continued: "A night that gathers loved ones under the glow of our enchanting moon. This magic would not have been possible without the support of His Highness the First Prince, and Viscount 'Frederik Kolasin,' our city's mayor! They provided all the support to make your evening unforgettable." Miss Sharon paused for a moment, then added with a delicate smile: "So, I came today on behalf of the mayor to thank you all... and enjoy your night!"
The square erupted with warm applause, as Miss Sharon left the stage with steady steps.
…
"Truly an exceptional speech!" muttered "Louen," standing on the edge of the giant clock, observing the scene with tired eyes. She had just returned after the artifact's scenario vanished without physical harm, but her eyes kept trailing "Steve," who was walking alongside Miss Sharon... Steve, whom she had previously flung away with the fake version to escape the shadow monsters. Yet, Louen couldn't help stealing cautious glances toward Guther.
"I don't think so!" Marcus retorted sharply, standing beside Guther, who had finally regained his human form. Everything that happened in that parallel dimension was merely a scenario drawn by the artifact, and once it ended, everything returned to its original state; the fatal wounds disappeared and the drained energy was restored, as if the fierce battles were nothing but fragments of dreams.
But Guther did not utter a word. He stood silently with icy coldness, looking down with an empty gaze, as if some spirit within him had been extinguished.
"Guther!" Lockhart's voice roared from the front. The leader turned toward Guther and rushed at him angrily, grabbing the collar of his shirt tightly: "What in hell were you thinking when you performed that transformation? Do you realize the consequences of your action if this wasn't just a scenario?"
"Commander... this isn't the right time..." Simon tried to intervene to calm the situation, but Lockhart's shout cut off his sentence.
"Everyone, be silent!" Lockhart's tone, cold as a razor's edge, echoed in the team's ears, sending shivers down their spines. Lockhart returned to shaking Guther violently: "Answer me! What were you expecting? If death had been real there, you'd be a lifeless corpse now because of your arrogance and recklessness alone!"
"I would have died... I know that well," Guther replied in a tone devoid of any emotion.
"Yes! You would have died because of a foolish mistake!" Lockhart shouted, tightening his grip on Guther's shirt: "That's what arrogance does to its owner! If it weren't for Marcus's intervention at the last moment while you were bleeding, you wouldn't be standing here now!"
Suddenly, Guther's tone became sharper and colder: "Marcus's help was of no value at all! I would have returned to my normal state the moment that person finished me off, or when the artifact canceled the scenario."
A heavy silence fell. Everyone noticed the sudden change in Guther.
"What are you saying?" Lockhart flared up in anger, "Instead of thanking your colleague who risked himself for you, you utter these poisonous words?"
"Thank him for what?" Guther replied, staring directly into the commander's eyes, "I told you... I would have returned alive regardless."
Marcus, who heard everything, did not comment, but turned his gaze toward Miss Sharon below with a mysterious silence.
"You bastard!" Lockhart shouted and raised his hand to slap Guther, but Simon was faster, catching the commander's wrist in mid-air.
Lockhart breathed heavily, trying to restrain himself, then said in a trembling voice: "You will undergo a hellish preparatory phase again... to learn how to adjust your behavior with your commander and colleagues."
Guther remained silent, not out of fear of punishment, but because he was replaying in his head the tape of the four years he had spent under this man's command.
"You... have never treated me as a colleague," Guther finally said, freezing everyone in place.
Even Lizzy, who felt a kind of schadenfreude seeing Guther being rebuked - she despised him and saw him as a lustful and reckless person - opened her mouth in astonishment and said: "You're the one who never treated us as colleagues! You always treated us as—"
"Lizzy, stop!" Simon interrupted her, exhaling hot smoke from his pipe, his face etched with anxiety.
Lockhart looked deeply into Guther's eyes: "What do you mean? I recruited you four years ago and taught you everything you know!"
Guther laughed a cold laugh devoid of any mirth: "Since you recruited me, I've only tasted the flavor of marginalization. I did the impossible to earn a single acknowledgment from you, but you always favored them over me. You provided them with the latest equipment, the strongest training under your direct supervision, rare artifacts... while I watched their progress from the sidelines like a fool. And whenever I tried to push my limits, you stopped me under the pretext that I 'needed more training'."
Guther continued to pour out his anger: "And even today... when I tried to contact you, the transmitter didn't work! I thought a lot... what if this wasn't a scenario? Would you have left me to die without even being able to call for support?"
"What?" The word fell from Simon's mouth in shock. He didn't know that his close friend's device was malfunctioning, and he felt a stab in his heart for not catching up with him immediately.
Lockhart replied, trying to justify his position: "Guther, this wasn't favoritism... the training I set for you is what made you strong like this. As for the transmitter, it must have been a technical malfunction, believe me, I didn't—"
"Flimsy excuses!" Guther cut him off harshly, "I know what I achieved was through my own effort when I lost hope in your acknowledgment. As for the device... I don't think it was a malfunction, but an attempt to get rid of me! But to your bad luck, I was in a protected 'scenario'." Then he turned toward Lizzy coldly: "I know you hate me from the depths of your hearts, so there's no need to pretend."
"That's not true, Guther!" Simon cried out in distress.
Guther looked at Simon, and his tone softened slightly: "You are the only one who stood by my side all these years and never wished for my downfall."
Lockhart lowered his head, his hand still gripping Guther's shirt but with less force, sinking into a heavy silence.
"No, Guther... I didn't mean to—"
"I've decided!" Guther said, staring at the commander, "I will leave this team, so you can enjoy the peace you seek away from me."
"What are you saying?!" Lockhart finally raised his head, his eyes reflecting genuine shock.
"Isn't this what you always wanted?" Coldly, Guther pushed the commander's hand away and took a few steps back. He reached into the void and pulled out a badge with a strange yet familiar design.
"The membership badge!" Simon shouted, his pipe falling from his mouth as he continued in panic: "You can't break the contract! The curse of the beast that witnessed your initiation ritual will strike you! It will crush your soul!"
"I don't care about the price," Guther said, looking at the badge for the last time with a bitter smile, "I made my decision beforehand."
As soon as Guther finished his words, a sudden heaviness descended upon the place, as if the air itself had turned to lead. The "Beast's Curse" was not just a myth to intimidate novices; it was a spiritual bond linking the members of Team Lockhart to a profound entity from the world beyond the void, called "The Shaikwan," which in the Alythion language means "The Bound."
Guther gripped the badge tightly and said: "I am here! I wish to sever my connection to the official power-bearers!" Guther shouted forcefully.
"Do you dare violate the contract!" A powerful voice rang out above the clock, and strangely, the ordinary people below were unaffected, but a suffocating pressure descended on the eight people above, especially Guther.
"I do not dare, I only wish to annul it!" Guther replied helplessly, feeling as if he had little left before his body would collapse onto the surface of the giant clock from the intense pressure.
"So be it!" That powerful voice replied strangely! As if it didn't care about the contract at all and wanted to help this human break it, adding: "But this has a price, human!"
"I don't care!" Guther replied quickly.
"Good!" replied the powerful voice.
At that moment, blue-tinged black smoke emanated from the badge, beginning to coil like snakes around Guther's wrist. Suddenly, a muffled scream erupted from his depths as his aura of power began to fluctuate violently.
The energy he had built over years of arduous training was leaking from him like water from a broken vessel. Everyone felt immense pressure; Guther's rank, which distinguished him as one of the strongest elite fighters, began to crumble. His rank fell completely, his face paled as his eyes sank, as if a part of his soul had been forcibly torn out.
"This is your price, human! Now I shall depart!" said the powerful voice, and the pressure disappeared... bringing relief to the team, now reduced to seven members.
"He really did it..." Marcus muttered in astonishment, watching the symbols engraved on Guther's badge fade and turn to black ash scattered by the wind over the giant clock.
Lockhart replied in a tone mixed with fear and regret: "You don't realize what you've done to yourself, Guther. Breaking the contract means you are now an 'unofficial power-bearer.' Headquarters will not leave you alone; they will hunt you like prey, not because you are a traitor, but because you breached the contract! You will be a target for assassination teams from this moment."
"Let them hunt me as they wish," Guther replied, wiping a trickle of blood that ran from his nose due to the decline in his magical level, "At least I will be hunted while owning myself, not hunted while serving those who don't see me!"
Guther stood on the edge of the giant clock, the wind playing with strands of his hair. He turned his head slightly, and his gaze was not directed at everyone, but settled on "Simon," who was still holding his pipe, trembling from the shock.
"Now I have no connection left with you." Guther began in a low voice that pierced like an arrow, then continued, looking directly at Simon: "But... I will tell you, Simon, thank you for everything you did for me all those years. You were the only one who made me feel my humanity in this place."
A painful silence prevailed, before Guther changed his tone to become sharp as a blade, adding: "And as the only friend I've known... I will give you a clear warning; at our next meeting, do not expect me to protect your back as I always did. Rather, be cautious... for I might be the first to stab you from there, so do not let the feelings of our old partnership hinder you from placing your sword's edge on my neck!"
Simon's eyes widened, and words froze in his throat. This was not just a threat; it was an official announcement of the death of "Guther the Colleague" and the birth of a completely different person.
"Go... I will give you this chance to escape, as a judgment on our old relationship!" Lockhart said with evident sorrow and added: "But know that I will not spare you if I capture you!"
"..." Guther said nothing... He just glanced at Lizzy but soon turned it toward Simon and smiled, then threw himself over the edge, vanishing into the shadows of the city of "Frendenstream" under its crimson moonlight, leaving behind a scar that would not heal in the team's heart, and a warning that would make Simon look over his shoulder in every coming battle.
At that moment, a loud ringing sound echoed from the big clock's bell, causing them to suffer from the vibration of its surface due to that chime... but they did not complain, remaining in shock at what had just happened before them. A person who had undertaken many missions with them over four years had left, as if they meant nothing to him.
"Everyone! Listen, that person is no longer the colleague you knew! He is a fugitive and possesses high-level secrets according to what he accessed with his rank. Therefore, when you encounter or find him, you must kill him! That is an order!"
"Your order!" the remaining members shouted in unison, among them Simon, who was still affected by what had just happened. But he picked up his pipe from the surface of the big clock, put it in his mouth, and took a sip from it... then pressed his hat over his head and covered his eyes.
Everyone looked toward the place where Guther had disappeared with different expressions... but they soon turned and looked toward the square where Miss Sharon was.
'Damn it, a bunch of hypocrites!' Simon spoke inwardly with bitterness, looking toward the spot where Guther had vanished with sad expressions on his face.
Seeing this, Lockhart approached him and tried to touch him, but his hand passed through his smoky body (an effect of his energy). He tried to touch him again, but Simon noticed him and said: "Commander, please leave me alone!"
Upon hearing those words, Lockhart retreated and turned to the group in silence, leaving Simon behind as the cold wind played with his coat, and he took a sip from his pipe every few minutes.
...
End of Chapter~To be continued.