The air was cooler at dawn, but the heat of the previous day still clung to the Desert Spire like a memory that refused to fade. Liam stood at the highest balcony, arms crossed, watching as the last shadows of night gave way to the burning light of the sun. The sands stretched out endlessly, but his eyes were on the horizon...
where dark clouds gathered over the next zone.
Zone 16: Skyhold Ruins.
Behind him, the system map flickered, glowing with new data.
> [System Alert] Zone 16: Skyhold Ruins Status: Active Foreign Overlord Signature: Confirmed Conflict Trial: Imminent Time Remaining: 16 Hours Reward: Territory Unlock / Bond Opportunity / Relic Access
Liam narrowed his eyes. Another Overlord. One with territory. And likely... wives.
A rival.
He turned as footsteps approached. Rena stood there, already armored, her expression calm but sharp. "Scouts have returned. No horde movement detected near the spire. We have a clear path to Skyhold."
Liam nodded. "Good. We're moving out in an hour. Full force."
"You want everyone?" Rena asked. "Even the ones who just got back?"
He hesitated. The wives could travel freely between zones now, but holding each territory mattered. His power rested on their loyalty... and their presence.
"Aisha, Rena, Kaelithra, Elyra, Naia, and Ice Queen," he said. "They come with me. The rest guard the Spire and Mall Fortress."
Rena nodded. "I'll get them ready."
She turned to leave, but Liam reached for her hand, stopping her. "Stay for a moment."
Rena paused, surprised. "What is it?"
He stepped closer, fingers brushing hers. "You stood by me when this started. I need you beside me for this too."
Her eyes softened. "Always."
---
An hour later, the group gathered at the spire's edge. Kaelithra twirled her daggers restlessly, Elyra adjusted her bowstring, and Naia stood silent, staff in hand. Ice Queen observed them all with her usual cool detachment.
Aisha arrived last, striding out in light armor, her blades strapped at her back. "Skyhold's cursed," she said. "They say it was a Warlord citadel before the collapse. Whoever's there now... they're not playing defense."
Liam led them down into the desert. Their mounts waited... beastkin steeds tamed by Aisha. They rode fast, sand kicking up in their wake.
---
By midday, the ruins appeared.
Skyhold was massive. Broken towers reached for the sky like skeletal fingers. Walls stood in crumbling defiance, carved with old symbols of power. The air was thick with tension. And something else.
The presence of another system.
> [System Alert] Zone 16 Entry Confirmed Overlord Conflict Trial: Pending Detected Bond Network: Unknown Combat Readiness: High Warning: Hostile Territory
Liam dismounted, drawing his sword. "Stay close. No assumptions. We scout first. Then we challenge."
As they moved through the ruins, echoes followed them. Voices. Movement.
Kaelithra whispered, "We're being watched."
A figure appeared atop a ruined wall. Clad in silver armor, a man watched them, flanked by two women.
"Overlord Voss," the man called. "Welcome to Skyhold."
Liam raised his sword. "Who are you?"
"Someone with a claim," the man replied. "Leave now, and your wives remain untouched. Stay... and you lose everything."
Liam stepped forward. "I don't bow... And those are my women."
> [System Alert] Overlord Trial: Activated Time Limit: 12 Hours Condition: Defeat Rival / Claim Zone Reward: Bond Access / Skyhold Control / Elite Skill
Kaelithra smirked. "Well... this just got interesting."
Liam narrowed his eyes, the wind rising around him.
Skyhold would fall.
And he would claim it all.
---
The man atop the wall said nothing more. His silver armor caught the sun, gleaming like a warning. The two beautiful women beside him stood still... one cloaked in feathers and bone, the other draped in pale silks that shimmered unnaturally.
Liam felt the bond tighten behind him. His wives were watching, listening, waiting for his move. He didn't speak yet. He read the terrain instead. Every cracked stone and broken archway in Skyhold whispered ambush.
And the system agreed.
> [System Alert] Territory Hazard: Elevated Enemy Presence: Confirmed Trap Probability: 61% Tactical Suggestion: Split Entry or Force Confrontation
Aisha stepped to his side, arms folded, her expression unreadable. "I know that look," she said. "He's stalling. Trying to bait us into open ground."
Kaelithra chuckled softly, twirling a dagger between her fingers. "Let him try. I haven't bled anyone in days."
Naia's voice cut low and smooth. "I sense ley disruption. There's a relic nearby... something buried in this zone."
"Another reason to push," Liam murmured. "We take Skyhold, we take their secrets."
The man on the wall finally stepped down, vanishing into the ruins below.
> [System Notification] Overlord Markus: Stealth Phase Initiated Zone Boss Status: Shared Control (Pending)
Rena shifted uneasily. "Shared control? That means he's bonded this place... but not fully."
"Which means we can break it," Liam said. "Split up. Sweep the perimeter. No engagements unless I give the signal. If he wants to play the predator, we'll bait him instead."
He split them in pairs... Rena with Naia, Kaelithra with Elyra, Ice Queen with Aisha... and sent them into the shattered husk of Skyhold, each team taking a different ruin-spire route. The system pulsed in his vision, mapping their movements in real-time.
He moved alone, deeper into the ruins.
The silence grew heavier as he passed under a crumbled archway lined with old banners. The once-golden sigil of the Warlords fluttered weakly in the wind, faded and forgotten.
A whisper reached his ear. Not from the system. A real voice.
"Overlord…"
Liam spun, sword drawn.
The woman in silk stood behind him now—closer than she should've been able to get. Her skin shimmered like moonlight, and her eyes were pale mirrors. No hostility. Not yet. Only… curiosity.
"You're not like the others," she said softly. "Yours is not a system made for war. It was made for dominance."
Liam tensed. "You bonded to Markus?"
Her smile was slow. "Once. But he never understood what I was. What I needed."
He narrowed his eyes. "Then what are you doing here?"
The woman stepped forward, voice a whisper against the wind. "Waiting for someone worth following."
He didn't let his sword drop.
> [System Alert] Bond Resonance: Detected Target Status: Disengaged / Compatible Bond Chance: 32% – Suppressed by Active Overlord Link
Liam's gaze hardened. "I don't steal wives. I claim them. And only if they choose me."
She tilted her head. "Then I choose to watch... for now."
And just like that, she vanished into the ruins again.
The system flared red.
> [Combat Triggered]
[Location: Outer Chamber – South Spire]
Combatants: Kaelithra & Elyra vs Elite Bound Beasts
Liam bolted toward the signal, vaulting through collapsed beams and broken stone. The clash of steel echoed ahead, followed by a burst of flame and a shriek that sounded almost human.
He rounded the corner to find Kaelithra on top of a shattered statue, blades flashing, slicing into a pair of mutated hounds with crystallized limbs. Elyra fired from behind a cracked pillar, her arrows glowing as they struck true.
Liam joined the fight with a roar, sword flashing through the final beast. It fell, dissolving into ash.
Kaelithra landed beside him, panting, a fresh cut trailing down her cheek.
"You took your time," she growled.
He stepped forward, thumb brushing the blood from her skin. "I knew you could handle it."
Her breath caught... just for a second. Elyra watched, lips curling into something that wasn't quite a smile.
"Not bad, Overlord," she said. "But they were scouts. If that bastard Markus is hiding his best, we haven't seen it yet."
> [System Alert] Sync Levels Rising: Kaelithra +1%, Elyra +2% Bond Pressure Increasing – Shared Response: Positive
Liam looked toward the inner spires, heart steady, sword still warm in his grip.
"We've stirred the ruins. Now let's shake them."
---
Back at the edge of Skyhold, the system's map lit up.
Rena's voice echoed through the comm link.
"We found something. A sub-core. Hidden under the main plaza."
Liam responded immediately. "Markus?"
"Not yet. But something old. Very old."
Naia's voice joined. "It's pulsing. Like it's waiting."
> [System Update] Sub-Core Node: Discovered
Relic Potential: High
Requires: Overlord Sync (90%) + Active Bond Presence (Minimum 3)
Liam called the others back. It was time to reunite.
Not for a battle.
For the real fight.
To claim Skyhold for good.
And whatever lay beneath its bones.