2025-03-24 17:19:46Ethan’s breath came sharp and ragged as he crouched beneath the sagging overhang of a broken stone archway. The narrow alley behind him was dark and slick with rain, thin rivulets of water running between the uneven stones.
Kael and Lyra crouched nearby, their breath fogging the cold air. The sound of boots and the low murmur of voices echoed from the street beyond.
"They’re still looking for us," Kael said quietly.
"Of course they are." Lyra’s smile was sharp. "We killed four guards."
"Three," Ethan corrected.
Lyra’s gaze glinted beneath the dim light of the narrow alley. "I counted four."
"One survived."
"Not for long."
Ethan’s jaw tightened. His hand pressed against his side where a deep bruise throbbed beneath his tunic. The last guard’s sword had caught him — not deep enough to break skin, but enough to leave a sharp ache with every breath.
"Can you keep moving?" Kael’s gaze sharpened.
"I’m fine."
Kael’s expression remained unreadable. His gaze slid toward the street beyond. "We need to move. More patrols will sweep the quarter soon."
Ethan’s hand curled around the hilt of his dagger beneath his cloak. His breath steadied. The System’s pulse was faint now, but present — a thin thread of power beneath his skin.
[Health: 55/70]
[Stamina: 30/55][Strength: 5][Speed: 5][Skills: Blade Strike (Lvl 2), Stealth (Lvl 2)]"Let’s go."
Kael slipped into the shadows ahead without a sound. Lyra followed, her movements smooth and deliberate. Ethan trailed close behind, his gaze sharp as he scanned the street beyond the alley.
The market square was quiet now. The merchant stalls had been abandoned. Only the bodies remained — dark shapes slumped across the stones, blood running thin beneath the rain.
House Valtorin’s guards stood at the edge of the square — five men in crimson-and-black cloaks. Their swords glinted beneath the gray dawn light. One of the men knelt beside a fallen guard, examining the wound.
"Throat cut." The man’s voice was low and hard. "Clean strike. Professional."
Another guard’s gaze sharpened. "The Heir isn’t going to like this."
Selene.
Ethan’s jaw tightened. His hand flexed against the hilt of his dagger.
Kael’s voice was low. "We can’t fight five of them."
"I wasn’t planning to."
Lyra’s mouth curved faintly. "Pity."
Ethan’s gaze flicked toward the nearest guard. "Just need a distraction."
Kael’s eyes narrowed. "You have something in mind?"
Ethan’s gaze sharpened. "Yeah."
He reached into his cloak and pulled a small glass vial from his belt. Inside, the thin black liquid shimmered faintly beneath the dim light.
"Smoke bomb," Ethan said.
Kael’s brow lifted. "Where’d you get that?"
"Stole it."
"From where?"
Ethan’s mouth curled faintly. "A Valtorin supply house."
Kael’s smile was thin. "Figures."
Ethan’s thumb flicked across the seal, breaking the thin wax strip across the top. The liquid inside the vial hissed faintly as thin tendrils of smoke curled from the broken seam.
"Cover your mouths."
Kael and Lyra pulled the thin cloth wraps up over their noses and mouths as Ethan tossed the vial toward the nearest guard.
The glass shattered against the stones. Thick black smoke erupted in a sudden wave, curling through the square in dark tendrils. The guards shouted as the smoke enveloped them, coughing and staggering as their vision disappeared beneath the dark haze.
Ethan moved.
[Skill Activated: Stealth Lvl 2]
“Move unseen. Strike without being heard.”He slipped through the smoke, fast and silent. His dagger flashed.
The first guard never saw him. The blade cut beneath his arm, slicing clean across his ribs. Blood sprayed as the guard collapsed, clutching his side.
Ethan twisted toward the second guard. The man stumbled, coughing, as the smoke thickened. Ethan’s dagger shot upward, cutting beneath his chin.
[EXP Gained: +30]
Lyra’s blade flashed in the dark. The third guard fell with a wet gasp as Kael drove his dagger into the fourth guard’s throat.
Ethan’s foot shot out, kicking the fifth guard’s knee out from beneath him. The man stumbled.
"Wait—"
Ethan’s dagger plunged into his chest.
[EXP Gained: +25]
[Level Up!][Strength +1 | Speed +1 | Blade Strike Lvl 3]The smoke began to thin as the last guard’s body hit the ground.
Kael wiped the blood from his blade with the edge of his cloak. Lyra crouched beside the nearest body and pulled a thin silver ring from the man’s hand.
"Nice work." Lyra’s smile sharpened.
Ethan’s eyes darkened. "They’re going to send more."
Kael’s expression was cold. "Then we need to be gone before they arrive."
Ethan crouched beside the nearest body and pulled the man’s belt free. A short steel dagger hung from the sheath at his hip. Ethan slid the weapon free and tested the weight.
Balanced. Good steel.
[New Weapon Acquired: Steel Dagger]
+2 Strength when wielded with off-hand.Kael’s gaze darkened. "We’re running out of places to hide."
"We don’t need to hide," Ethan said.
Kael’s eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about?"
Ethan’s mouth curled faintly. "We’ve been reacting this whole time. Running. Hiding."
Kael’s gaze sharpened. "And?"
Ethan’s eyes flashed.
"It’s time to go on the offensive."
Lyra’s smile sharpened. "Careful, Ethan. That’s a dangerous plan."
Ethan’s gaze darkened.
"Good."
[New Quest Unlocked: Strike First]
Objective: Infiltrate House Valtorin’s supply chain.Reward: Unlock New Skill – Shadow Strike (Lvl 1)Kael’s expression remained cold. "You’re serious?"
Ethan’s gaze sharpened. "We need information. If House Valtorin knows why the System activated for me, I want to know."
Kael’s mouth curled faintly. "And if they try to kill you again?"
Ethan’s grip tightened on the dagger.
"Then they’ll regret it."
Kael’s gaze narrowed. "We hit hard and fast. Take what we need and disappear before they regroup."
Lyra’s smile deepened. "About time we stopped playing defense."
Ethan straightened. "We move tonight."
Kael’s eyes darkened. "And if Selene’s waiting for us?"
"Then she’ll get exactly what she wants."
Lyra’s gaze sharpened. "And what’s that?"
Ethan’s smile was cold.
"A fight."
[Objective Updated: Strike First]
Prepare for the assault on House Valtorin’s supply line.Secondary Objective: Locate intelligence on the System’s origin.Ethan’s gaze sharpened as he stepped toward the mouth of the alley. Kael and Lyra followed close behind. The cold air sharpened his breath as the System’s pulse flickered faintly beneath his skin.
He felt stronger. Faster.
The System wants me to kill to grow?
Fine.
Ethan’s smile sharpened as he disappeared into the shadows.
"Let’s see how far this goes."
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
Lyra’s Poisoned Gift
The upper quarter of Black Hollow had once belonged to merchants, bankers, and minor nobles. Now it belonged to fear.Lyra walked through it dressed like a message.Tight crimson leathers, one dagger visible, five not. Her cloak was black silk that shimmered when it caught the torchlight — spun from noble funeral robes. She’d stolen it off a Valtorin corpse weeks ago.The guards saw her. And looked away.No one stopped her anymore.She didn’t walk fast. She strolled, because speed would’ve admitted risk. And Lyra never let herself admit fear — not out loud, and never to herself.The House Valtorin estate towered ahead — not the Spire where Selene ruled, but a city manor used for "outreach" and political intimidation.Tonight, it would bleed.[Side Quest Active: Provocation – Embarrass Selene Before Her Arrival]Target: House Valtorin's City SeatObjective: Plant a forged relic, steal back a true one, and leave a mark.Risk: ExtremeReward: +10 Infamy | Selene’s rage escalates encounte
The Box That Whispers
They didn’t return to the Guildhall. Too exposed. Too obvious.Instead, Ethan led the crew into the catacombs beneath the burned-out husk of the old cathedral — the one Black Hollow’s priests abandoned after the God of Silence stopped answering.Only the brave or the cursed came here now. Ethan was probably both.The air was thick with old ash and mold. Dead candles littered the floors. Bones, too.Kael set a perimeter. Lyra lit three torches and wedged them into the crumbling stone. Nara laid down an inkline ward circle — fast, practiced, whispering in that inhuman tongue she used when working.Ethan sat at the center of it all, the black box resting on his lap.[Item: Sealed Black Box]Status: Locked – Requires Forbidden Lineage AccessWarning: Unknown consequences on open“You’re sure about this?” Kael asked, crouched nearby, blood still drying on his temple.“No,” Ethan replied.Lyra sat cross-legged behind him, blade out, expression unreadable. “Good. We’re already cursed. Might
Whisper-Path
Beneath Black Hollow, past the abandoned waterway and through the cracked aqueduct wall, the whisper-path opened like a throat cut into the earth.It was silent. Too silent. Not the kind where you can hear your own breath — the kind where you start to forget what breath sounds like.Ethan moved first.His dagger was drawn, but it wasn’t the blade he trusted — it was the System, humming just beneath the skin, highlighting every motion, every sound, every stone out of place.Behind him, Nara walked barefoot. Her steps didn’t echo. The sigils inked into her skin pulsed like faint, slow heartbeats — one red, one black, one pulsing to a rhythm no one else heard.Kael moved third. His breathing was calm. Focused. Calculated. Every step had purpose. Every glance had a weight.Lyra brought up the rear, flipping a silver coin between her fingers like they were walking into a tavern, not a noble vault heist.[System Alert: Whisper-Path Detected – Forbidden Construct]Type: Residual Thought Echo
The Gathering Storm
The rain fell hard on Black Hollow.It poured down the slate roofs of the slums and sluiced through the cracked alleys like veins bleeding water. Thunder rumbled across the sky in long, low groans — not angry, just tired.The city listened. It always listened. Especially when things changed.Tonight, they had.The Guild was his now.Ethan stood beneath the great skylight of the Guildmaster’s sanctum, high in the center of the old blackstone tower. The rain tapped steadily against the stained glass above, casting distorted ripples of color across the chamber walls.Kael stood to his left, silent, arms crossed. The shadows beneath his eyes were darker than usual.Lyra lounged across a half-collapsed velvet settee to Ethan’s right, boots kicked up, blade twirling idly between her fingers. She was dressed in black tonight. No red. No smiles.They had all killed this week.Ethan’s fingers traced the edge of the map spread across the stone table in front of him. The city was etched into it
Lyra’s Game
The Eastwatch brothels glittered like dying stars.Red lanterns hung low over narrow alleys, casting flickering shadows across sweat-stained walls. Perfume, wine, and blood all clung to the same sticky air. Music drifted faintly — hollow flutes and off-key strings — masking the whispers and screams in the rooms behind closed curtains.Lyra moved like smoke through the crowd.She was dressed in silk now, all deep red and gold, a slit riding high up one leg, a dagger sheathed against her bare thigh. Her face bore a velvet mask, but her smile was all teeth.[System Interface: Linked – Guild Captain Elimination in Progress]Target: Sarn VoxLocation: The Crimson Lantern, EastwatchStatus: Paranoid | Drunk | Surrounded by escorts and mercsShe slipped past a heavy-set guard at the door with nothing more than a wink and a whisper. He didn’t even look back.Inside, the Crimson Lantern was less a brothel and more a palace for the wicked. Every corner overflowed with noise — laughter, moans, m
A Throne of Knives
The throne room smelled of blood and smoke.Ethan stood beneath the carved silver insignia of the Guild — a blade beneath a crown. The corpse of Varric Kaen, the Guildmaster, lay slumped at the foot of the throne, blood pooling beneath his body in slow, widening rings.Kael cleaned his daggers with calm, clinical precision, but his eyes were on Ethan.Lyra was already climbing the steps to the black stone throne. She dropped into the seat with a sigh, crossing one leg over the other.“Well,” she said brightly, twirling her dagger, “that was dramatic.”Ethan didn’t move. His breathing had slowed, but the System still pulsed in the back of his skull — cold, alive, watching.[System Update: Title Opportunity Available]"Position of Power Vacant: Guildmaster."Would you like to claim this title?[Y/N]Ethan’s eyes narrowed on the interface.“Do it,” Kael said. “No hesitation.”“Obvious trap,” Lyra muttered. “Still… power’s power.”Ethan stared at the floating text for a moment longer. The
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