The next village was silent.
Charred wood. Collapsed roofs. Burned corpses with armor still glowing faintly with holy enchantments.
Lira gasped as she stepped over a child's toy, melted into the stone.
"This wasn't monsters," she whispered. "This was them. Your enemies."
Kael didn't answer. He walked through the ashes, his cloak brushing the dirt like a judge's robe. Zar stalked nearby, sniffing for survivors.
[New Area: Redfall – Destroyed Border Hamlet]
[Population: 0 | Resources: Scarce | Spirits: Lingering]
"SAGE: Suggestion – Establish base. Proximity to frontlines optimal for recruitment, evolution, and territory control."
Kael looked around. Crumbling walls. Exposed roots. Broken altar.
"Yes," he muttered. "This will do."
They worked through the night.
Zar cleared the center courtyard and planted crude stakes. Lira carved runes for barrier magic — small, weak, but better than nothing. Kael meditated in the ruins of the old church, absorbing the pain left in the stone. His mana responded eagerly.
[Passive: Abyssal Resonance – Activated]
[Emotion Residue Absorbed: +37 Mana | Skill Catalyst Formed]
[New Skill Gained: Crown of Grief Lv.1 – Temporarily instills overwhelming despair in enemies within radius]
He rose slowly.
"Let it be known," he said aloud. "This ruin is mine."
[New Territory Claimed: Fallen Redfall]
[Kael – Title Earned: Lord of Ash]
[Followers gain bonus effects while within this domain.]
But something heard him.
Far in the lower ruins, where the ground dipped and a dry well remained, a faint groan echoed upward.
[Alert: Dungeon Entrance Detected Beneath Redfall]
[Classification: Sub-Tier Trial Crypt – Unopened]
[Recommended Rank: E+ and above]
Kael's eyes flashed silver.
"SAGE. If I clear this?"
"Authority will increase. Chance to awaken a Domain Core: 37%. Dungeon Key Required."
He knelt and traced the ancient well's rim with dark mana.
It opened with a shudder.
Zar readied his blade. "More fighting, Master?"
"No," Kael said. "More rising."
The Long Night in Redfall
For days, Kael and his allies rebuilt.
Redfall, though broken, began to breathe again — in whispers of darkness and rebirth. Kael placed bone totems at each corner of the ruined hamlet. The air shifted.
[Structure Built: Abyssal Warding Totem x4]
[Territory Defense +25% | Detection Radius Extended]
Lira found a shattered library beneath a collapsed inn. Within, scrolls of forgotten spells written in blood-bound ink.
[Lira Skill Gained: Veil of the Weeping Flame Lv.1]
Zar trained without rest. Sparring against phantoms conjured by Kael's shadow.
[Zar – Combat Rank E+ → Approaching D-]
Kael's power continued to evolve.
He communed with the well, every night.
The Trial Crypt pulsed.
[New Passive Developing: Sovereign of Hollow Thrones – 14%]
And then — the scouts came.
Not soldiers. Slaves. Broken men sent by the kingdoms. All killed before they crossed the wards.
One survived. A boy. No older than ten. Carrying a message carved into his skin:
"Kneel, or your darkness will drown in holy flame."
Kael healed the boy. Gave him food. And sent him back.
With a different message.
A sigil.
The black crown. Now marked with blood.
Elsewhere, in High Loras
War horns blared through the gilded spires of the capital.
Inside the Grand Hall of Thorns, beneath banners soaked in generations of divine law, a council of kings and high priests now knew of Redfall's reclamation — not by light, but by darkness.
"He's building a throne," said one. "If we wait longer—"
"There will be no world left to save," said another.
"Summon the champions."
Six names were read.
Holy Knights. Archmages. A Saint.
The last? A Fallen Hero — once abyss-touched, now loyal to the light.
The war to destroy Kael had begun.
[Kael – Rank: E+]
[Territory Gained: Redfall Ruins]
[Dungeon Unlocked: Trial Crypt (Unentered)]
[Followers: Zar (E+), Lira (F)]
[Status: Territory Holder | Marked for Cleansing by Kingdom Council]
[Threat Level: Rising]