Rael leaned ba his chair, eyes sing the s. Discussions about Ast flooded the forums, the sheer volume making it impossible to keep up with everything.

  It had been a month sinch. In that time, the game had gone from an ambitious project to a full-blown phenomenon. The numbers were staggering—almost half the world lugged in, the sheer realism and time dition drawing in pyers like nothing before.

  But what caught Rael's attention wasn't just the popurity—it was the infrastructure.

  How the hell was Kepler Inc. ready for this?

  Even with how advanced immersion pods had been before Ast, there was no way millions of people should've been able to access them so easily. Supply s, manufacturing, distribution—it all should've taken years to scale up. Ahe moment the game uhe hardware was already there. Like they had been waiting.

  Rael's fiapped idly against the desk. Something didn't add up.

  Pushing the thought aside for now, he refreshed the forum.

  A post caught his eye.

  "Eclipse Recruitment plete! Here's Who Made It In—"

  He clicked. The post wasn't long, just a summary of the guild's ret trials and the results. A list of notable ood out, including SureArrow, Takane, Kazan, and a few others. The eion, as expected, was lively.

  [Kaleidos]: Never heard of these guys before, who even is their guild leader?[Wraith_9]: Noctus. Used to be a pro.[Fmeborn]: LOL another washed-up pr to relive the glory days.[Omnivore]: Nah, I was irials. These guys actually have some solid pyers.[HollowEdge]: Bruh, half these names are randos. This guild is gon rolled in high-level tent.[Stormwake]: Noctus… wait, as in Aureus?

  [SilverLance]: Pretty sure that's just a rumor. He doesn't py like Aureus.[Pryon]: If he is Aureus, wouldn't he have joined an actual top guild instead of making his own?[NexV]: Who cares? Either way, they're just another new guild. Let's see if they even st a month.

  Typical. Rael scrolled past the noise, gng at some more ral takes. Some pyers were genuinely curious about how Eclipse would perform, others were skeptical but open-minded. He wasn't surprised. New guilds rose and fell every day. Reputation alone wasn't enough—performatered more.

  Closing the tab, Rael leaned back again, gaze lingering on the ceiling.

  The world aying attention. Maybe not closely yet, but the eyes were there. Watg.

  Fine by him.

  He'd make sure they saw something worth watg.

  Rael scrolled further down the forums. Muild discussions filled the spae celebrating, others already speg on the early top tenders.

  One name kept popping up.

  Solomon's Demons.

  Apex's guild.

  They were already a Level 3 guild with a hundred members, and if the ents were anything to go by, they were being hailed as the number one guild in Ast so far.

  [NightHowl]: Bro, Solomon's Demons already hit Level 3. They're insane.[AshenBolt]: Makes sense. Apex is grinding like a madman.[edGss]: Meanwhile, Eclipse is Level 2. Not bad, but kinda slow pared to SD.[IronMonger]: That's Aureus' guild, right? They just recruited like 50 people.[Strayder]: Yeah, but how good are they? Trials were open-invite, so who knows.

  Rael exhaled slowly.

  Fifty members wasn't a small number. It was the cap for Level 2 guilds. They weren't behind—not really. But perception mattered. And right now, Solomon's Demons had taken the spotlight.

  Not that he cared. Eclipse wasn't here to sprint.

  This was just the beginning.* * *

  Today was the day.

  The guild was finally rge enough to warrant some structure. Eclipse wasn't just a small group anymore—it needed anization. To optimize guild operations, they would be splitting into divisions, each with a specialized focus.

  Rael logged in, stepping into the guild hall.

  The pce had ged. It wasn't just the upgrades from reag Level 2; the emosphere was different. More settled. More structured.

  The open spao longer felt like a repurposed ste room—it actually looked like a funing guild now. The once bare walls had banners dispying Eclipse's insignia, and the furniture wasn't just a mismatched colle of whatever they could find. Sturdy wooden tables, reinforced chairs, and proper ste racks gave the hall a sense of permanence.

  The mission board was the biggest addition. Mounted on the far side of the hall, it was already filling up with avaible quests. Members stood around it, discussing their options. Some were low-ranked scouting missions, others involved esc mert caravans or hunting down dangerous creatures.

  Despite the improvements, the hall felt… hollow.

  Rael gnced around. Almost half the guild was absent. Some were out on assigs, while others had simply logged off. Mira wasn't here. SureArrow was also missing.

  It didn't matter. The ones here would be enough.

  "Yo, finally decided to show up?"

  Rael turned as Leon approached, hands tucked into his coat pockets. His usual easygoing smirk was in pce, but there was a sharpness in his eyes. "Gale and Elias are off doing whatever, so it's just us right now."

  Rael nodded. "We're setting up the divisions today."

  "Yeah, I figured. You want a speech or just get straight to it?"

  "Gather everyone first. Ten minutes."

  Leon sighed dramatically but turned on his heel. "Alright, alright. I'll round them up. Try not to look too serious, boss."

  Rael ighe ent, stepping forward as Leon started calling out. The chatter in the guild hall slowly died doeople turoward him. Some still looked a little unsure—a few recruits who hadn't ied with him much yet. Others, like Takane, Lupus, and Kazan, were more rexed.

  It didn't take long. Within minutes, every active member had assembled.

  Rael let the siletle before speaking.

  Rael's gaze swept over the gathered members, making sure he had their attention. When he spoke, his voice was steady, cutting through the lingering murmurs.

  "As you all know, we've grown past just being a small group. The way things are now won't work in the long run. We ructure. Efficy. So, from today, Eclipse will be divided into three divisions, each with a specific focus."

  He let that sink in for a moment befesturing toward Elias.

  "Elias will be leading the division responsible for espionage, information gathering, and defensive measures."

  Elias, leaning zily against a table, raised an eyebrow. "Wait, defensive measures?"

  Rael gave him a ft look. "Yes."

  "But I blow things up half the time," Elias deadpanned.

  That was all it took. A ripple of ughter spread through the crowd, a few members shaking their heads knowingly.

  "Exactly," Leon quipped, smirking. "You handle defense by making sure there's nothio attack."

  Mhter followed. Elias dramatically pced a hand over his heart. "I am honored."

  Rael tinued, ign Elias's antics. "Gale will lead the main bat division. His unit won't be restricted to any particur fighting style—it'll be the bae of our strength. Whether it's dungeon raids, territory defense, e-scale battles, they'll be the first in and the st out."

  Gale, standing with his arms crossed, gave a short nod. No unnecessary words—just quiet aowledgment.

  "Leon will take charge of the utility division—crafting, alchemy, potion-making, and logistics."

  Leon made a vague gesture. "So, the guys that make sure we don't all run out of potions and ons mid-fight. Got it."

  Rael nodded. "More than that. We'll need dedicated bcksmiths. When we reach Level 3, I want you to find one worth adding."

  Leon hummed. "Sounds like work. But fine, I'll make it happen."

  "Good."

  Rael let his eyes settle ohree of them. "You'll all be vice guild leaders. You have full authority over your divisions, and your word carries the highest weight after mine."

  That got a rea. The three of them exged gnces, processing the weight of the responsibility. Then, almost in sync, they turned ba.

  Leon tilted his head. "And what about you?"

  Gale frowned slightly. "Yeah. If we're handling all this, what's your role?"

  Elias grinned. "Oh, I know. He's gonna sit bad look mysterious."

  Rael exhaled quietly, theheir gazes. "I'll make sure nothing happens to any of you."

  The room quieted.

  He let his words settle before tinuing. "My job is to ensure you all do yours without fear. I'll hahe things that threaten us before they bee a problem."

  Elias clicked his tongue. "So, you're just gonna be lurking in the shadows, huh?"

  Rael didn't answer, but the implication was clear.

  A beat of silehen, Kaza out a low whistle. "Damn. That's a real leader's answer."

  The atmosphere shifted—not just respect, but something deeper. A sense of certainty.

  Then, Elias broke it.

  "Still, kinda dramatibsp;

  The moment shattered with another wave of ughter.

  * * *

  Rael traveled alone, his cloak billowing slightly with each step as he made his way northward. The ndscape shifted as he left Vash'kar behind—the rugged frontier city that housed Eclipse's headquarters.

  Vash'kar y on the western edge of the Order's trolled nds, a stronghold standiweeive civilization and the untamed wilds beyond. But the west wasn't the real problem for the Order.

  The north a? That was where chaned.

  From the Veil—the barrier that separated Solmora's tral ti from the realms beyond—endless hordes of monsters poured forth, testing the limits of Order-trolled nd. Ae the Order's domihey only truly trolled about 40% of the tral ti. The rest was fractured, divided between various anizations, indepe kingdoms, and hidden fas, each with their own cims and ambitions.

  And now, Rael was heading north.

  To Zarfar.

  The reason? A gamble.

  He had used the Cursed Beads, a relic that revealed a single hidden truth to its wielder. The item was dangerous for him before—back when he was a tempr.

  He had used it simply to test its effects, expeg something trivial or cryptistead, the hidden truth it revealed was far more direct than he had anticipated.

  A whisper carried by unseen lips. A verse woven in the ce of an old bard's song.

  Where the frozen bck meets embered gold,Where the silent ruins whisper old,A piece of Zenith waits in deep,Buried where the lost ones sleep.

  It could mean anything.

  But to Rael, it meant ohing: a fragment of Zenith was at Zarfar.

  The roads leading to Zarfar were well-maintained, carved through the northern ndscape by the Order's engineers. Rael's mount trotted steadily, the rhythmic ctter of its hooves blending into the quiet hum of the wilderness. Uhe more dangerions beyond the Order's reach, these routes were reinforced and patrolled, ensuring safe travel for merts, pilgrims, and anyone else willing to abide by their authority.

  As he neared Zarfar, the distant silhouettes of stone buildings and wooden caravans came into view, led between rolling hills and winding rivers. Unlike Vash'kar, which stood as a frontier bastion of the Order's military presence, Zarfar beloo the Mert Alliance—a powerful and politically plex glomerate of trade houses and indepe fas. The Order tolerated them as long as they paid their dues and maintaiability, but their influence did end here in the same way.

  That meant Zarfar operated under different rules.

  It ce where deals were made in shadowed ers, where tracts held more weight than vows of loyalty, and where dictated w. It was also where the cursed beads had led him. The relic's cryptic revetion had given him ails, only a poetit that a fragment of Zenith could be found here. How or why it had ended up in a town dominated by merts, he didn't know.

  For now, he o gather information.

  * * *

  The tavern was warm, filled with the thick st of roasted meat, spiced ale, and sweat. versations blended into one another—merts discussing supply routes, meraries boasting of past tracts, and travelers sharing half-true tales of distant nds. A bard strummed an out-of-tune melody he hearth, his voice lost beh the ambient chatter.

  Rael stepped inside and found a quiet er, leaning against the wooden frame of a support beam. His eyes sed the room, pig apart details—what ons were carried, who was grouped together, and atg whom.

  He was just settling in when a blur of movement passed him.

  A figure—small, quick—ducked loressed against his side.

  Rael's eyes flicked downward. A girl, no older than sixteen, tucked herself against the shadow of his cloak. Her clothes were dusty from travel, her blonde hair hiddeh a hood. She clutched something ed in cloth against her chest.

  Before he could say a word, she whispered sharply.

  "Please."

  Her body was tense, her breath shallow. Rael exhaled through his nose, his gaze already moving past her toward the entrance.

  Two men had just walked in.

  They sed the room, eyes sharp and focused. Their armor wasn't uniform, but the way they carried themselves made their purpose clear—meraries. Not the rowdy, half-drunk kind. The kind that worked for someone.

  Rael shifted slightly, adjusting his cloak without a word. The fabric draped further over the girl, obsg her from view.

  One of the meraries gnced in his dire but moved on after a moment.

  The girl exhaled softly. "…Thank you."

  Rael studied her for a sed before speaking. "Who are you hiding from?"

  She hesitated, then uned the cloth in her hands, revealing a simple ceramic vase.

  At a ghere was nothing special about it. Ns, no inscriptions, just a pin, smooth surface. But there was something off about the way she held it—like it was heavier than it should have been.

  "Take this," she said, voice low. "You o deliver it to my brother, Victor."

  Rael frowned. "Why not do it yourself?"

  Her fiightened around the cloth.

  "…I won't make it."

  Before he could press further, she turned and ran, disappearing into the maze of tables and bodies.

  A sed ter, his interface lit up.

  [System Notificatio Received: Deliver the Ceramic Vase to Victor.(Reward: ???)

  Rael sighed slowly, turning the vase over in his hands.

  He didn't know what the girl had just dragged him into.

  Rael stepped out of the tavern, blending into the moving crowd. The meraries were still inside, but they wouldn't take long to realize something was off. Staying put wasn't an option.

  He moved through the town with purpose, keeping to side streets and narrow alleys. Zarfar wasn't a rge city, but it was dehe structures were packed close, built upward rather than outward, and the streets were a maze of stairways, hanging cloth banners, and stacked crates.

  Eventually, he slipped into a quieter district, a desote street lined with shuttered shops and fading nterns. Here, information was more valuable than gold—if one knew where to ask.

  Rael found the dealer where he expected.

  A hunched figure in a tattered cloak sat near a worn-out stall, a small brazier burning beside him. The man wasn't selling wares, only waiting. His face artially obscured by a hood, but his eyes gleamed with awareness as he studied Rael's approach.

  "You look like someone who wants something," the dealer rasped, voice dry.

  Rael didn't bother with pleasantries. He reached into his iory and pulled out a rough sketch—a depi of a fragment, drawn based on what little he had seen of his own.

  The dealer took one gnce before his entire demeanor shifted.

  His body tensed, fiwitg slightly before he exhaled sharply. "…I don't know anything about that."

  Rael didn't move, didn't blink.

  The dealer swallowed. "Listen, stranger, if you value your life, drop this. There are things in this world better left buried."

  Rael took a step forward. The dealer took a step back.

  Aep.

  The dealer turo leave—

  Rael moved.

  A sharp grip caught the dealer's colr, smming him against the nearby wall. The brazier rattled from the impact, embers spilling onto the ground. The man wheezed, hands gripping Rael's wrist in panic.

  "I don't have time for this," Rael said ftly.

  The dealer let out a short, breathless ugh. "You think—cough—you think threatening me will help? If I talk, I die."

  Rael pushed harder, the stone ressing into the man's back. His voice lowered.

  "You'll die either way."

  The dealer's lips trembled. Then, after a long pause, his shoulders slumped.

  "Fine," he muttered. "Not like it'll matter soon."

  Rael eased his grip slightly. The dealer sucked in a shaky breath before whispering:

  "The fragment you're looking for… It's with the Gurdle family."

  Rael didn't react immediately. He let the words settle, watg the dealer carefully. Then, after a pause, he spoke.

  "…And who are they?"

  The dealer hesitated, then scoffed. "You really don't know?"

  Rael said nothing.

  The man exhaled shakily, gng around the empty street before l his voice.

  "The Gurdle family. A promi mert house—one of the biggest in Zarfar." His fiwitched slightly. "They trol trade routes, own warehouses, fund expeditions… They don't like people meddling in their business."

  Rael's grip loosened slightly, but he didn't step back. "And what does a mert family want with something like this?"

  The dealer shook his head. "I don't know. And I don't want to know."

  His tone was final. He was doalking.

  Rael studied him for a moment lohen finally let go. The dealer slumped against the wall, rubbing his throat. He looked at Rael like he was already a dead man.

  "Fet you heard anything," the dealer muttered. "If you're smart, you'll turn around and leave Zarfar."

  Rael didn't answer.

  Because that wasn't an option.