The heavy door groaned open, and a hush swept over us as the room inside stretched wide and silent, lined with towering shelves packed with ancient books. The faint smell of old paper hung in the air like dust you could almost taste. Dim magelight flickered across the stone floor, throwing soft shadows that rippled between the rows.
"So this is the Guild's underground archive…" Cecilia's voice trailed in awe, her violet eyes widening.
"Let's split up and search. There should be records on Zelva Kingdom's tech… or anything tied to the app," I said quietly, my voice echoing against the cold walls.
We fanned out. Lilis slipped between shelves, cat-quick, eyes darting as her fingers skimmed faded spines. Caina moved slower, precise, brushing dust from each cover before opening it with careful hands. My boots scuffed softly over the stone as I scanned for anything that looked even half out of place.
A soft thump came from Cain's side. "This one…" Her voice wavered. She pulled out a weathered book buried behind the back row, wiping a layer of gray dust from its cracked cover. When she opened it, a whiff of old ink drifted out, and brittle yellowed pages peeled apart like they might crumble if he breathed too hard.
"'The Legacy and Selection Law of Zelva Kingdom,'" she read. The name alone sent a ripple of tension through the air. We gathered close as faint words in curling script bled through the parchment like whispers from another world.
"Zelva… had technology fused with complex magic, meant to choose the future of humanity itself…" Cain's calm voice had a faint tightness under it. Cecilia's lips parted slightly as she traced a fingertip down the fragile page.
"It says they created something with a selection function… to guide the kingdom by linking people with exceptional potential, making chosen ones to uphold its glory." Her voice shook, just barely.
"Wait— that's… just like the Matching Adventure app," Lilis said, her voice small. The words seemed to hang there, cold. Past and present overlapping in a way that made the back of my neck prickle.
We read on, each page heavier than the last.
"Parties who used the device… vanished one after another…?" Cain's brows drew together.
"What… does that mean?" I asked, frowning. The thought clawed uneasily at my chest.
"No details here. But if it was sealed away, there had to be a reason," Caina said. Her tone stayed steady, but her eyes flicked like she was mapping the whole picture in her head.
"…So we've been walking straight into the legacy of Zelva without even knowing." I tightened my grip on my sword hilt until my knuckles ached.
"We should compile this and report back to the Guild," I said.
"Yes… but there are signs someone tried to hide this information," Cecilia murmured, turning another stiff page with careful hands.
"Which means… someone in the Guild might already know." The words left my mouth colder than I meant.
Then the air changed.
A sudden sharp chill slithered down my back—like killing intent brushing the edge of my skin.
"Move!!" I barked.
Shadows tore open. Black-hooded figures slipped out of the darkness between the shelves, their eyes flat and empty as they swung their blades at us without a word.
"Assassins!? Here!?" Lilis darted back in a blur. Light flared behind her as Cecilia cast, a blazing wall snapping into place just in time to block the first strike. Sparks flew as steel slammed against it.
"These aren't Guild members," Cecilia said coldly, her gaze cutting through the haze like glass.
"We are the will of the Kingdom…" one of them whispered. His voice was like a knife sliding over stone, flat and cold.
"The… will of the Kingdom?" I raised my sword, and the man smiled without warmth.
"Stop digging. You vanish here."
The next instant, one assassin traced a magic circle in midair. Black fire surged out of it with a roar.
"Tch—these aren't normal killers!" Cain's lightning shot forward but splashed against a layered magic barrier that shimmered like glass.
"They're using defensive sigils too? They're seriously trying to erase us!" Lilis threw a knife, but the hooded man twisted aside as if he'd seen it coming before she even moved.
I closed distance with one and swung hard, but he slipped out of range like water, then snapped his sword hilt toward my ribs in a brutal counter. The impact numbed my arm.
If Elsa were here… she could've broken through this formation. The thought stabbed through my head as we stumbled back, barely holding the line.
"At this rate… they'll crush us right here…!"
"Smoke bomb!" Lilis shouted. She flung a small orb to the ground, and it burst with a pop. White smoke billowed, swallowing the whole archive in a heartbeat.
"This way!" I hissed. We bolted, boots pounding as the choking haze swallowed our trail.
But then, there are no footstep following us. Just silence.
"Why… aren't they chasing us?" I asked, glancing back.
Through the thinning smoke, I caught one last glimpse. Their leader stood motionless deep in the archive, his voice soft as it slipped into the dark like a curse.
"The Selection… is not yet complete."
I didn't wait to understand. We ran, our breaths ragged, every step echoing in the ancient halls as we tore back toward the Guild. But his words clung behind us like shadows, cold and heavy.
One thing was certain.
"This isn't just the Guild's problem anymore," I muttered. My fist clenched around nothing but air—and in that hollow grip, resolve flared, hot and sharp.
This was only the beginning. And somehow, I knew… our real test hadn't even started.
Notes:
• Cecilia - Gentle yet firm healer (v1c11) — Leon's emotional support and moral anchor. Wields holy healing and purification magic. Graceful, golden hair, violet eyes. Reminder: Kind priestess with hidden resolve.
• Lilis - Agile rogue/thief — Leon's close friend and playful teaser. Strikes fast with twin daggers and vanishes into stealth. Petite, light-blonde hair, mischievous green eyes. Reminder: Playful trickster hiding sharp instincts.
• Cain - Calm, brilliant mage — the group's strategist and analyst. Uses lightning magic with precise, logical focus. Slender, silver hair, calm blue eyes. Reminder: Stoic thinker and precision spellcaster.
• Elsa - Proud red-haired warrior — once a frontline fighter, deeply trusts (and loves) Leon. Masters raw strength and combat. Tall, long crimson hair, fierce golden eyes. Reminder: Fierce protector, sharper after her return.