The Sinner's Banquet

The Shadow Hunter

"Who traded my life?" I demanded, raising my shadow claws as the hunter drew a second silver spear.

The tattooed hunter laughed softly. "Commander Vane, of course. Before your sister’s fireballs blew him through the wooden wall, the old fool sold your soul-signature to my tracking compass. He wanted to make sure if he couldn't have his revenge for Julian, High Priest Malakai's hunters would finish you off."

Lyra did not hesitate for a single breath. Even with blood dripping down her arm from her earlier fall, she launched herself sideways toward the thick brush. In our world, survival meant using every piece of terrain to your advantage. The upper city nobles built giant stone spires powered by stolen core magic, while the slum dwellers and rebels survived in the mud by calculated deceit and fast reactions. Lyra understood that raw power without strategy was just an invitation to die.

She kicked up a handful of dirt straight toward the hunter’s face.

The hunter tilted his head, letting the dirt fly past his visor, but the distraction gave Lyra enough time to slide behind his left side. Her remaining curved dagger sliced toward the back of his knee.

"Too slow, girl," the hunter said, spinning his heavy spear to block her blade. The silver shaft hit her dagger with a loud metallic ring, knocking her off balance.

I did not let him finish his swing.

"Shadow Step," I called out.

My body turned into black mist, reappearing two inches from the hunter's right shoulder. I slammed my shadow claws straight into his side, aiming for the gaps in his high hunter armor.

[Skill Hit: Shadow Claws.]

[Target Armor Grade: High Holy Silver. Damage Reduced by 40%.]

The dark energy hissed as it hit the silver plating, but the sharp claws still cut through his leather undergarments, drawing deep red blood. The hunter gasped, stumbling three steps backward into the thick roots of the dead oak tree.

"You really do carry the void core," the hunter said, his face twisting in pain as he touched his bleeding side. "The High Priest promised a mountain of gold for your head, boy. He needs your void energy to unlock the ancient seals beneath the palace vaults."

"He will get nothing from me," I said, stepping between him and Lyra.

"He already has everything he needs," the hunter sneered, reaching into his pouch with his left hand. "Your sister gave him the key hours ago. She gave him the blood sample she took from you back in the cell."

My stomach turned completely upside down. My mind raced back to the moment Lily had touched my shoulder in the palace cell before handing me the map. She had scratched my skin with her ring. It wasn't an accident. It was a calculated harvest.

"She took my blood to unlock the vault," I thought, the cold truth hitting me like a heavy stone.

[Player Status: Extreme Rage Detected.]

[Void Core Resonance: 85%.]

[Warning: High Energy Overflow.]

"Ethan, do not let your emotions control the magic!" Kaelen’s voice warned in my mind. "If the void energy overflows without a proper path, it will consume your own arm!"

"I don't care!" I shouted in my head.

I lunged forward, moving faster than the hunter could react. My right arm turned entirely into a swirling mass of dark shadow, three times larger than before. The hunter raised both silver spears to form a holy cross in front of his chest, but my shadow claws shattered the silver shafts like cheap glass.

The dark energy hit his chest plate full force, ripping the holy silver metal apart.

[Devouring Target...]

The hunter screamed as the void magic drained his life force. His skin turned gray, his muscles shriveling in seconds until his empty armor clattered against the dirt.

[Level Up! Level 21 → Level 22.]

[Stored Essence: 890 Units.]

[Skill Unlocked: Void Shield.]

I dropped to one knee, panting heavily as the shadow hand shrank back into my normal skin. The veins on my arm were dark black, throbbing with heat.

Lyra walked over, her dark eyes scanning the empty armor and the dead tracking beast on the ground. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and looked at me with an intense expression.

"Your sister is opening the ancient vault tonight," Lyra said, her voice dropping into a dangerous tone. "If Malakai gets his hands on the ancient artifact inside that vault, he will not just control the city's power grid. He will have enough energy to wipe out every slum district in the valley."

"Then we go to the palace right now," I said, standing up despite the sharp pain in my chest.

"We cannot enter through the front gates," Lyra stated, pulling the rolled-up blueprint from her belt. "The city is on total lockdown. But this map shows an old drainage pipe that leads directly into the lower vaults beneath Malakai’s bedchamber. It is guarded by automated holy traps, but your void hand can disable them."

She looked at me, her face deadly serious. "This is a suicide mission, Ethan. If we get caught inside the vault, there will be no escape."

"I am not running anymore," I told her. "Lily thinks she chess-boarded everyone. It is time to break the board."

Lyra nodded once. "Follow me."

We ran through the dark forest for another two miles until we reached the edge of a deep stone ravine. At the bottom of the ravine, a large iron pipe spewed black waste water into the river.

Lyra pointed down at the grating. "That is the way in."

We climbed down the slippery rocks and squeezed through the broken iron bars of the pipe. The tunnel was narrow and dark, smelling heavily of rust and stagnant water. We walked in silence for fifteen minutes, moving deeper beneath the foundation of the royal palace.

Finally, the pipe opened up into a massive underground chamber built from smooth white stone. In the center of the room stood a giant iron door covered in glowing golden runes.

Beside the door, two figures were standing near a stone altar.

One was High Priest Malakai, dressed in long red robes with a golden crown upon his head.

The other was Lily. She was holding a clear glass vial filled with my dark blood, pouring it slowly into a small groove on the iron door.

The golden runes on the door turned blood red, and the massive iron lock began to turn with a heavy, grinding sound.

"It is done, High Priest," Lily said, bowing her head. "The ancient seal is broken."

Malakai chuckled, a sound full of dark satisfaction. "Good girl. You have served me well, Lily. Better than your foolish brother ever could."

He reached into his robe and pulled out a long, black wooden box. He opened it, revealing a glowing purple crystal that matched the energy inside my own hand.

"The second Void Core," Malakai declared, his eyes burning with greed. "With this, I will finally absorb the rest of the city's lifeforce."

He turned to face Lily, his expression suddenly turning cold and merciless.

"And now that the vault is open," Malakai added, raising his right hand toward her, "I no longer need a traitor's daughter on my council."

A beam of pure holy light shot straight toward Lily's chest.