The presence of the man named Silas felt like a different kind of pressure than Seraphina's. Where the Silver Valkyrie was a blinding sun of righteousness, Silas was a cold, bottomless abyss. He didn't radiate power; he suppressed the very air around him.
Cian didn't lower his weapon. The Composite Sword hummed, its serrated segments vibrating with the tension in his grip.
"I don't know who you are, and I don't care about your organization," Cian said, his voice grating like stone on stone. "Step aside, or you're next on the menu."
Silas chuckled, tapping his cane against the damp floor. "A bold claim for a Level 1. You've tasted the blood of a D-Rank Warrior and think you've conquered the world? You're a flickering candle in a hurricane, Cian Thorne. If Seraphina finds you like this—drenched in the stolen essence of a 'Blessed'—she won't just arrest you. She will erase you."
Cian flinched at the name. The memory of the rapier at his throat was still fresh.
"She already scanned me," Cian countered. "The Ledger says I'm a Null."
"For now," Silas agreed, stepping closer, his violet monocle glinting. "But the Ledger is a living record. It updates. Currently, the High Watch is baffled by a 'stat-leak' in the Grey Pits. They think it's a glitch in the system. But once they realize a person is walking around with those missing points... they will hunt you until there is nothing left but ash."
Silas extended a gloved hand. In his palm lay a small, obsidian ring carved with a weeping eye. "This is a Void-Seal. It will stabilize your 'Avarice' fluctuations. It makes the impossible look like a 'Late Awakening.' Take it, and come with me. Or stay here and wait for the Silver Valkyrie to return and finish her job."
Cian looked at the ring, then at the withered husk of Kael. He realized he was standing at a crossroads. He could be a fugitive, or he could be a ghost.
"Why help me?" Cian asked, his eyes narrowing.
"Because the world is a cage," Silas said, his smile fading into something sharp and hungry. "The Ledger decides who is a king and who is a slave before they even take their first breath. We believe the predator should decide his own rank. You are the first 'Unbound' we've found in a century. We want to see how high you can climb before the Heavens try to pull you down."
Cian reached out and took the ring. The moment he slid it onto his finger, the violent, buzzing energy in his veins went silent. The red glow in his eyes faded back to their natural dark brown.
[Status: Masked]
[Current Role: 'Late-Awakened' E-Rank]
"Good," Silas whispered. "Now, run along back to your slums. Tomorrow, a recruitment notice will appear for the 'Black-Iron Scavengers.' Apply. It's a group that handles the 'garbage' dungeons the High Watch ignores. It's where you will feed."
Silas turned to leave, but stopped. "One more thing. Don't fall for the Valkyrie. She is the lock on your cage. And eventually... you will have to break her."
The Silver Tower: High Watch Headquarters
High above the clouds, Lady Seraphina stood before a massive crystalline screen—The Ledger. It was a map of the world's mana, a web of golden lines. But in the sector corresponding to the Grey Pits, there was a hole. A black smudge where mana had simply... vanished.
"Report," she commanded.
"Commander," her aide bowed. "The Warrior Kael was found in the sewers. He's alive, but his mana-circuits are completely burned out. His stats have plummeted to zero. The Church is calling it a 'Soul Blight.' They want the area quarantined."
Seraphina's mind flashed back to the boy in the alley. The one with the rusted mechanical sword. The one whose eyes held a flicker of something she couldn't identify.
A Null can't cause a Soul Blight, she reasoned. But why was he the only one there?
"Find the Carrier who was with Kael's party," Seraphina ordered, her hand tightening on the hilt of her rapier. "I want to know exactly what happened before that gate was locked. And bring me his registration file. I want to see his lineage."
The hunt had begun. But for the first time in her life, Seraphina felt a strange shiver of anticipation. The world was changing, and the "perfect" system she protected was starting to bleed.