Eclipse had been flourishing. After Rael and Gale's victainst Anxas, the Order had beore ral—aowledging them with nods instead of suspi. Rael had also climbed to Rank D with the Adventure Guild, gaining access to better quests and rewards. The curre, which offered double reputation and rewards, was the perfect opportunity frowth.

  It would have been a good time for Rael. If it weren't for the guild he was keeping an eye on.

  Gentle Death had caught his attention weeks ago, going from Level 1 to Level 3 practically ht—before the event even began. Leon had fgged them back then, and Rael had asked him to keep track of their movements. But now, it wasn't just Gentle Death. More and muilds were showing unusual patterns, as from NPdors only added to the fusion.

  Rael sat in the meeting room with Gale, Leon, and Elias. The room was a modest space within their guild hall, its stone walls bare except for a siapestry dispying Eclipse's crest.

  Leon leaned back, the legs of his chair bang precariously. "The bcksmith's spooked. Said a guild came in and bought his eock of iron ingots. Paid triple the market rate and didn't even haggle."

  Elias tapped his interface, eyes narrowed. "Okay, but hear me out—what if they're building a secret iron golem army?"

  Gale shot him a look. "That's not a thing."

  "Not with that attitude." Elias grinned, unbothered.

  Rael ighe banter. "What about Gentle Death?"

  Leon's chair dropped back to the floor. "They've been quiet. No public quests, no trade logs I find. They just... stopped."

  "That's not sketchy at all," Elias said, his tone slipping into mock seriousness. "Maybe they asded into a higher pne of existence. Or, y'know, they're vampires."

  Rael's lips twitched, but his focus remained sharp. "And the uilds?"

  Elias pulled up a list, the translut panel casting a soft glow. "A bunch of them are doing weird bulk buys. Entment scrolls, crafting materials, potions—no specific trend, just volume. And they're not even top-tier guilds. Mostly smaller ohat were struggling before."

  Leon added, "I also heard from a mert that some guilds have been pressuring NPCs to ge their trade routes. A couple of vendors even said they were 'waro avoid certain guilds."

  Gale frowned. "Warned by who?"

  "No idea." Leon's voice dropped. "But it's not normal. I've been through the forums and whispers—nothing crete, but something's off."

  Rael drummed his fingers against the table. "We don't have enough to go ht now, all we have are odd patterns and rumors."

  "Not enough to be paranoid," Gale said, "but enough to be careful."

  "Exactly." Rael leaned back. "We keep our eyes open. Keep farmiation and watch for any more red fgs."

  Elias gave a mock salute. "On it, boss. If anyone's h iron golems or vampire fangs, I'll find them."

  Leon sighed. "Please don't start another spiracy theory."

  "Too te." Elias fshed a grin. "I'm already making a chart."

  Before Leon could retort, the door to the meeting room swung open. Kazan stood in the doorway, his expression uncharacteristically grim. His usual calm had been repced with a rare urgency, his lips pressed into a thin line.

  "You all o e outside. Now."

  Rael exged a quice with the others before rising. Kazan didn't wait for questions, leading them through the corridors and out into the cool air of Vash'kar's main square.

  When they reached the square, Rael's eyes widened. Strange runes had appeared all over the stone walls and cobblestohs, glowing with a faint, unnatural light. The symbols twisted and shimmered, their shapes jagged and unnerving. A soft hum seemed to vibrate through the air, barely perceptible but enough to set his teeth on edge.

  A crowd had already gathered, a mix of NPd pyers. The Order's knights stood at the edges, their ons ready but their expressions uain. The light from the runes cast eerie shadows across their polished armor.

  "What the hell is this?" Gale muttered.

  Elias, despite the tension, couldn't help himself. "You think this is like... a new plotline? Maybe a secret quest?"

  Leon's brow furrowed. "If it is, it's not showing up in any of the usual annous." He opened his system panel, but the interface offered nothing new.

  "Aried toug it?" Gale asked.

  "Not yet," Kazan replied. "The knights have been keeping everyone back."

  Rael watched as the runes pulsed again, the light growing and then dimming in a slow, rhythmic pattern. "It's not doing anything?"

  "Nope" Kazan said. "But it just... appeared. No system message, n."

  The urmured, a ripple of whispers that fed the stramosphere. Pyers were already pulling out their rec orbs, and a few brave ones inched closer to the glowing symbols, only to be held back by the Order's soldiers.

  Elias nudged Rael lightly. "Do we, uh, do anything? Or do we just... watch?"

  Rael squinted against the pulsing light. The runes' glow cast long, twisted shadows across the square, giving every movement a strange, jittery quality. It was only when a flicker of motion caught his eye that he realized something was wrong.

  "Up there," he murmured, nudging Gale.

  On the roof of a nearby building, a shadowy figure stood silhouetted against the dim sky. The figure's cloak billowed in an unnatural breeze, its edges frayed and tattered. A mask obscured their face—smooth, white, with oy eye holes and a crude, painted smile.

  The crowd's murmurs quieted, as if the entire square was holding its breath. The figure raised their arms, and a low, distorted voice echoed through the air, amplified by some unseen magic.

  "This world," the figure began, voice rippling like a stohrough still water, "shall atone for its sins. The true end is near, and only those who embrace the truth shall be spared."

  A shiver ran through the crowd, and Rael felt the hairs on his hands rise. The words were vague, but the tone—unhieetering on the edge of mania—was enough to ule even the bravest.

  The figure's head tipped back, a ugh slipping out—sharp, erratic. Then, as if the act itself had pulled them back to reality, they spun on their heel and darted across the rooftop.

  "There!" one of the knights shouted. "After them!"

  Armored figures surged forward, a ctter of steel and urgency. A few pyers, always eager for a spectacle, joihe chase with whoops and cheers. The shadowy figure moved with inhuman agility, vaulting from one rooftop to the , the crowd below following the movement like an audie a theater.

  Elias blinked. "Okay. That was... weird."

  Gale crossed his arms. "Anyone else getting 'mysterious cult' vibes?"

  Leon's eyes narrowed, but his expression was more curiosity than fear. "Definitely feels like a story quest. Maybe a event for Vash'kar?"

  Rael didn't respond immediately. His gaze lingered o rooftop the figure had touched, the echo of that ugh still hanging in the air. "If it is a quest, it's not one we were briefed on."

  "What now?" Kazan asked, his hands resting on his on.

  "We wait," Rael said. "If this is something real, the Order will make a statement. If it's a system event, there'll be an annou soon enough."

  Elias tilted his head, a smirk pying on his lips. "And if it's her?"

  "Then," Rael said, a shadow of a smile crossing his face, "we'll find out the hard way."

  The crowd began to disperse, the excitement of the spectacle giving way to the uainty of the unknown. The runes tiheir silent pulse, as if the city itself had bee part of a grander, darker rhythm. And as they turned back toward their guild hall, the members of Eclipse couldn't shake the feeling that Vash'kar's story had just taken a very straurn.

  * * *

  Rael and Gale made their way through the bustling Adventure Guild hall, weaving through the crowd of pyers and NPCs. The 2x event had turhe pto a hive of activity, with adventurers jostling fh-reward quests and exging information ied murmurs.

  Rael's eyes swept over the mission board, nding on the new se beled Cult Activity Iigation. The quests listed there were bizarre: Iigate Strange Runes, Report Sightings of Masked Individuals, Assist the Order with Re Patrols. Eae bore the silver emblem of high-priority missions, their rewards generous.

  Gale whistled low. "They really went all out with this, huh? Didn't we just see that ruhing happen? How do they have quests up already?"

  "It's fast," Rael agreed, a crease f between his brows. "Either the Order's on top of things, or this reemptive."

  A receptionist walked by, her arms filled with fresh quest parts. Rael caught her attention. "Excuse me, the cult missions—are they new?"

  She nodded. "Yes, the Order sent them in this m. They're iigating a rogue cult believed to be responsible for disturbances around Vash'kar."

  "What kind of disturbances?" Gale asked.

  "Nothing crete. No casualties, just... oddities. Strange lights, whispers, symbols showing up on buildings. The knights are wary, but so far it's mostly just spooking civilians."

  Gale scoffed. "Sounds like a bunch of weirdos rolepying. If no one's hurt, how serious it be?"

  The receptionist hesitated, then shrugged lightly before moving on. Rael turned back to the board, his fiapping his side.

  "What do you think?" Gale asked, his tone casual. "Are we cult hunters now, or are we stig to good old-fashioned monster smashing?"

  Rael sidered the missions. The cult might've been a real threat, or just an eborate event cooked up by the system. But without evidence, all he could do was stay wary.

  "Let's focus on what we know." He selected a mission titled Cull 20 Hellbears in the Ashen Thicket. A simple hunting quest with good rewards. "If the cult is real, more information will surface. Until then, we farm rep."

  Gale leaned over, reading the missioails. "Hellbears, huh? Never fought those before. You think they're as bad as people say?"

  Rael shrugged. "Just stay on your feet, and you'll be fine."

  "Cool." Gale stretched his shoulders, his armor ptes king softly. "Holy, I'd rather fight bears than chase some dude in a mask quoting edgy poetry."

  Rael allowed a faint smirk. "Agreed. If we see any cultists in the woods, we'll tell them to get in line behind the Hellbears."

  As they turo leave, Rael's gaze lingered on the cult missions. Other adventurers were already grabbing them, faces lit with excitement at the promise of intrigue.

  * * *

  The Ashen Thicket lived up to its name. Charcoal-bck trees stretched upward, their twisted branches like skeletal fingers against a pale gray sky. The air hung heavy with the st of smoke and ash, each breath tinged with the acrid bite of sulfur.

  Rael and Gale moved through the underbrush, their steps light despite their armor. The ground ched beh their boots, charred leaves crumbling into powder. A faint, irregur heat rippled through the air, almost like standing too close to an open fe.

  "There." Rael's voice was soft, his finger pointing ahead.

  Two Hellbears lumbered into view, their massive bodies barely distinguishable from the scorched forest. At a ghey might have passed for ordinary bears—until the heat shimmered around them, and their molten-red eyes fixed oruders.

  Their fur seemed to absorb light, the dark bristles threaded with sm embers. Their paws left burnt patches in their wake, each step a sizzling brand on the earth. The bears' breath fogged the air, steam rising off their muzzles.

  Gale drew his sword, the bde ringing as it left its sheath. "They look... kind of normal. You know, if you ighe whole 'walking bonfire' vibe."

  Rael nodded, his grip tightening around Hollow Requiem. "Stay nimble. Their ability to ignore pain makes them dangerous."

  The quest description had mentiohe Hellbears' unique ability, Frenzy, which allowed them to push through any injury without hesitation. Coupled with their molten-hot cws, they were a deadly mix of brute ford relentless aggression.

  One of the Hellbears snarled, a deep rumbling sound that vibrated through the ground. Without warning, it charged, its cws tearing into the earth. Gale sidestepped, his sword arg down in a powerful swing that bit into the bear's fnk.

  The creature didn't flinch. Blood, thid dark, oozed from the wound, but the Hellbear only shed out harder. Its molten paw grazed Gale's armor, and steam hissed where the metal sizzled.

  "Damn," Gale muttered, "that's hotter than I expected."

  Rael moved to fnk the other bear. His scythe spun, aivated Abyssal Harvest, a purplish aura enveloping the bde as he drove it into the Hellbear's shoulder. The bear's flesh parted uhe strike, but it didn't even slow down. Instead, it charged him anyway, jaws snapping, its molten cws gouging the ground as it barreled forward.

  Rael slipped aside, his Soulstep leaving a shadowy afterimage. His scythe swept out, carving a deep gash along its spihis time, the creature's hind legs gave out, and it colpsed in a heap, its body still twitg.

  "First one down," Rael called.

  Gale finished his oppo with a swift, three-bde ssh bo. His sword cut through the air in rapid succession, each strike leaving a faint trail of energy. The Hellbear barely had time to react before the final blow cleaved through its neck, its molten cws leaving scorch marks even ih.

  [Quest: Hellbear Cull (2/20)]

  Gale let out a breath, wiping sweat from his brow. "Man, I love Being a Bdewarden, cutting through mobs, getting rewards... This is the life. Just kill stuff aronger."

  Rael's lips curled into a small smile. "Yeah. But we've still got a lot more bears to go. With the event boost, it'd be a waste not to keep farming XP."

  Gale sheathed his sword, flexing his fingers as if to shake off the heat. "Agreed. Plus, those cws are worth a det amount. Fire element mats always sell well."

  They both crouched to harvest the bears' cws, the talons still warm to the touch. Each cw held a faint reddish hue, a sign of its elemental nature. With the event's doubled rewards, they'd make a det profit alongside the XP gain.

  "Leon would probably bite our heads off if we came back without gathering all the mats," Gale joked. "Ever since he got the resource ma role, I don't think he's had a full night's sleep."

  Rael chuckled. "He's been so focused on the guild's development, he's overlooking his own levels. I told him to take a break, but you know how he is."

  Gale shook his head. "At least he's not like Elias. I swear, that guy has found a loophole in every dungeon we've run. Half the time, I think he's using the newer recruits as bait."

  Rael smirked. "It's not a loophole if nobody reports him. And hey, if it works, it works."

  Gale snorted. "True. Just hope he's not too btant about it. The st thing we need is him getting a reputation for... you know, 'creative strategies.'"

  A distant roar echoed through the woods. Another Hellbear, drawn by the st of blood. Rael rose, his scythe gleaming in the dim light.

  "Back to work?" Gale asked, already drawing his sword.

  Rael nodded. "Back to work."