Betrayal never comes from the shadows—it comes from the ones who stand beside you in the light."
---
Three Days Later – Vanguard Academy, Sector Nine
The silence in the shelter was too loud.
Lina was recovering. The treatment from the stolen C-Class core had stabilized her blood. But she hadn't spoken since the attack. Her eyes—once full of innocent sarcasm—were quieter now. Always flicking to the door. Always afraid of what might enter.
Kael hated that look.
He wanted to promise her it was over.
But it wasn't.
The system had confirmed it.
---
> [Active Quest: Blood and Ashes]
Objective: Track the Inquisition's handler within Vanguard Academy.
Leads: 1
Hunter used internal security credentials.
Entry Point: Sector 4 – Archives Sub-Level
Reward: Bloodline Artifact or Moral Path Bonus
Morality Impact: HIGH
---
Kael stood, slipped on his jacket, and left quietly before dawn.
He had a lead.
And this time, he wouldn't wait for them to come.
---
Sector 4 – Archives Sub-Level
The deeper Kael went, the older the academy became.
Below the high-tech learning floors and training domes, Vanguard's archive sub-levels resembled a buried fortress—stone corridors reinforced with iron vault doors, storage crates filled with essence-crystal records, and rooms sealed by fingerprint-encoded keys.
But Kael didn't need keys.
The system had already bypassed three locks.
He moved like a phantom.
Eventually, he found the room.
It wasn't guarded.
Which meant it was either forgotten—or forbidden.
He slipped inside.
The lights flickered to life.
Hundreds of old mission reports, clearance documents, and black-market intel cubes lined the walls. But only one was still warm.
On the desk.
> [Essence Core Signature Detected – Match: Dead Hunter ID#11972]
Scanning file owner…
> Name: Lucien Graye – Vanguard Instructor, Internal Operations Division
Clearance Level: Black
Status: Active
Kael froze.
Lucien Graye.
He was no ordinary instructor—he worked behind the scenes, rarely appeared on student radars, and was rumored to have ties to Vanguard's disciplinary division.
And he had sent a hunter after Kael's sister.
> You're not just a traitor.
You're a coward.
Kael's fists clenched.
Then the door behind him clicked.
He turned—
And found himself face-to-face with Lyra.
---
Confrontation
Lyra didn't flinch.
She looked at him, then at the file cube glowing on the desk.
"You found it too," she said quietly.
Kael narrowed his eyes. "Too?"
She stepped forward. "I traced the same access logs. Graye's fingerprints were used to authorize the hunter's entry. I didn't want to believe it at first."
Kael's voice was sharp. "Then you were blind."
Lyra's jaw tightened.
"You're not the only one risking everything, Kael. But if you charge in blind, they'll bury you before you reach him."
Kael stepped closer. "He came after my sister. She's ten years old."
"I know."
Silence.
Two wolves in the dark.
Then Lyra sighed and pulled out a folded note from her jacket.
"Here," she said. "I intercepted this two hours ago. It's a meeting notice. Graye has a secure transfer scheduled tonight—data and core samples—to a contact named Elias Vorn."
Kael blinked.
"Elias Vorn… that's not a Vanguard name."
Lyra shook her head.
"It's worse. He's one of the Seven Judges of the Inquisition."
Kael stared at her, breath caught.
> Then this isn't just a rogue instructor.
This is infiltration.
He looked down at the system screen.
The quest updated.
---
> [Quest Updated: Blood and Ashes]
Optional Choice Unlocked – Divergent Path:
Choice 1 – Expose Graye to Vanguard Council.
Reward: Moral Path Bonus
Lyra Affinity: +20
Bloodline Suppression Reinforced
Risk: Graye may escape and report to the Inquisition
> Choice 2 – Execute Graye in Secret.
Reward: Bloodline Artifact – "Hunter's Spine Ring"
Lyra Affinity: –15
Bloodline Instinct Boost: +10%
Risk: Morality Divergence will rise
---
Kael felt the two roads stretch before him.
A line between vengeance and restraint.
Lyra watched him.
"You're not beyond saving," she said softly.
> A lie I want to believe.
But Kael had made his choice before he even walked into this room.
---
That Night – The Secure Transfer Room
Lucien Graye sat alone inside a low-lit vault, reviewing sealed blood samples and data chips labeled with Kael's ID.
He didn't notice the shadow move behind him.
Not until the door locked itself with a click.
Graye turned. "What—"
Kael appeared, face blank, eyes glowing softly crimson.
"Hello, Instructor."
Graye reached for a hidden weapon—too slow.
Kael moved faster than a whisper, crushed his wrist, and slammed his head into the table.
The man slumped.
Bleeding.
"You sent a killer after a child," Kael said, kneeling beside him.
"She wasn't the target," Graye hissed, spitting blood. "She was a message."
Kael stared into his eyes.
"Then here's mine."
---
> [Choice Selected: Execute Graye]
Moral Divergence: +15%
Path of Dusk: 61%
Bloodline Mutation Enhanced
Artifact Received: "Hunter's Spine Ring"
Effect: Increases stealth by +20%, grants immunity to detection by B-Class Hunter Scanners.
Lyra Affinity: –15
Hidden Quest Unlocked: "Heir of Crimson Judgment"
---
Kael stood alone in the vault as the system confirmed Graye's final breath.
No alarms were raised.
No one saw him leave.
But the stain of that night clung to him like oil on water.
And above him, for the second night in a row, the second blood moon cast its glow across the sky—brighter now, redder, hungrier.
---
The Following Morning – Academy Courtyard
Word spread fast.
Lucien Graye had vanished.
Some said he defected.
Others whispered of an assassination.
Only two people knew the truth.
And only one of them was willing to face it.
---
Lyra Voss stood on the west balcony, arms crossed, eyes fixed on the courtyard below.
She watched Kael walk across the stone path, students parting around him like a tide.
She didn't wave.
She didn't call out.
But she whispered, "You chose the darker path, Kael. Let's see if you can survive it."
Then she turned and walked away.
---
End of Chapter 9