The city of Solgrith lay beneath stormy clouds, surrounded by blackened forests and old stone walls. Unlike the shining capitals of empire, Solgrith was made of ash, iron, and memory — a place where survivors lived and old sins festered.
Zehn Caelum stood on a worn outcropping overlooking the city. Kael beside him, Daryn behind.
The wind carried the scent of wet earth and blood. Not fresh — old. Ritualistic.
"Myra was last seen here," Daryn said, scanning a map etched in runes. "Three weeks ago, a noble carriage vanished near the Hollow Ward. No bodies. Just a black crescent marked on the stone."
Zehn's jaw clenched.
"That was her mark. But flipped."
Kael looked confused. "Flipped?"
Zehn nodded. "In our code, an upside-down Fang means reversal of allegiance. She's telling us something... or taunting."
> ❖ [System Notice: Bond Signature – Detected]
❖ [Strength: Weak, Fragmented | Distance: Less than 1 km]
❖ [Warning: Shadow Pulse Unstable – Origin Inhuman]
Zehn's eyes glowed faintly.
"She's nearby. But she's no longer just an assassin."
---
They moved fast. Through the winding alleys of Hollow Ward, where even guards feared to patrol.
Every wall was etched with warnings — blood symbols, ancient shadow sigils. People whispered of ghosts that walked with skin, and a silver-haired priestess who bled shadows.
They found the ruin by nightfall.
An old cathedral. Collapsed spires, shattered glass, and a blood-marked altar at its heart.
Zehn stepped forward, and the world grew still.
Kael read the warning aloud, carved in the stone:
> "The Moon That Bleeds Shall Not Bow Again."
Zehn whispered, "It's her handwriting."
The altar pulsed.
> ❖ [System Alert: Domain Breach Detected]
❖ [Shadow Territory Entered – Owner: Unknown (Corrupted)]
❖ [Mental Interference Level: 3%... 7%... 12%]
Zehn drew his blade. "She set a trap… for me."
Then the mist rose.
---
From behind the altar, a figure stepped out.
She wore robes blacker than midnight, laced in silver veins of energy. Her hair was long, silver-white, eyes glowing faint violet — like his, but colder. Hollow. Beyond human.
Myra Lune.
Her voice cut like silk through steel. "You really came."
Zehn didn't speak.
She took another step. "I thought you'd hate me. Or kill me on sight."
"I still might."
Myra smiled sadly. "You won't. You never could. That's why I did what I did."
Kael moved beside Zehn, tense. "She looks... wrong. Different."
> ❖ [System Scan Initiated...]
❖ [Race: Hybrid — Shadow-Blood Ascendant]
❖ [Level: ???]
❖ [Intent: Complex | Hostile Potential: High]
Zehn raised his blade.
"Talk. Now."
Myra's expression hardened. "I saved your life, Zehn. Ten years ago, when the Chancellor sent the Inquisition to purge us, I made the choice you wouldn't — I let you die. Or made them believe it. It was the only way."
Zehn's blade didn't drop.
"You disappeared."
"I had to. They took me. Locked me beneath the palace. Tried to control me — but they didn't understand what I was. What I could become."
She raised her hand — the air shimmered, and dark wings formed behind her. Not real wings — energy. Ethereal. Regal. Terrifying.
"I'm not just Myra anymore. I'm something... else."
Zehn didn't move.
"Then are you still one of us?"
She hesitated.
Kael snarled, "Answer him!"
Myra looked Zehn in the eyes.
"I'm not your Third Fang anymore. I'm something older. Something deeper. But I never betrayed you."
She raised her hand and slowly cut her palm.
Blood fell… but it wasn't red.
It was black. Glowing.
She placed the bleeding palm on the cracked altar — and it flared with the ancient sigil of the Silent Fang.
The same mark Zehn carried.
> ❖ [System Sync Triggered: Legacy Link Detected]
❖ [Myra Lune – Fang Bond Reactivated]
❖ [Status: Unknown Ally]
❖ [Trust: 43%]
Zehn lowered his blade… slightly.
"Then prove it."
---
Outside the cathedral, a horn blew.
A wave of mana exploded through the sky.
Daryn rushed in. "Empire forces! Inquisitors — Class-A squads. They've surrounded the district!"
Zehn cursed. "They tracked me here."
Myra's eyes flashed. "No. They tracked me. I've killed too many of their priests recently."
Kael readied his blades. "So what now?"
Zehn stepped forward.
"We walk out. Together."
Myra raised an eyebrow. "And if they open fire?"
Zehn's voice was ice.
"Then we remind them why they once feared our name."