The first rays of dawn painted Ravenfall's towering walls in shades of gold as Kael stood before the Hunter Association headquarters. His black cloak concealed Eclipse, while the newly issued Bronze Hunter badge rested inside his coat rather than on his chest.
For now, the fewer people who knew his identity, the better.
The city was already alive.
Merchants opened their shops.
Hunters gathered around mission boards.
Children chased one another through the streets.
None of them realized the boy they had mourned weeks earlier was walking among them.
Inside the Association, Gareth waved him over.
"Right on time."
Kael glanced around the room.
The expedition was smaller than he expected.
Only six people.
Gareth.
Leona.
Two experienced Bronze Hunters.
One Silver Hunter serving as the team's commander.
And himself.
The Silver Hunter stepped forward.
He appeared to be in his early thirties, with short brown hair and a long scar running across his jaw. Unlike Marcus, there wasn't a trace of arrogance in his expression.
"I'm Ethan."
"I'll be leading this mission."
His sharp eyes settled on Kael.
"So you're Ghost."
Kael nodded once.
"I've heard Captain Gareth's report."
Ethan crossed his arms.
"I don't care how talented you are."
"Out there..."
"...everyone follows orders."
Kael answered immediately.
"Understood."
Ethan seemed slightly surprised by the lack of argument.
"Good."
He turned toward the others.
"We move now."
Within minutes, the group left Ravenfall through the northern gate.
Blackstone Village lay nearly sixty miles away, surrounded by dense forests and abandoned mining settlements.
The journey remained peaceful during the first several hours.
Birds filled the trees with song.
The roads bustled with merchant caravans.
Nothing suggested anything was wrong.
Until...
They crossed an old stone bridge.
The silence struck Kael first.
No birds.
No insects.
Even the wind seemed unwilling to disturb the forest.
He instinctively activated Void Sense.
Nothing.
Not because the forest was empty.
Because everything was hiding.
Kael quietly walked beside Ethan.
"The animals disappeared."
Ethan glanced around.
"You noticed."
"They're afraid."
"They should be."
The Silver Hunter's expression hardened.
"This started two days ago."
Leona whispered, "I don't like this."
No one disagreed.
By noon, the group reached the outskirts of Blackstone Village.
Everyone stopped.
The village stood exactly where it should.
The wooden houses remained intact.
Smoke still drifted lazily from several chimneys.
Fresh laundry hung between buildings.
Half-finished meals rested on outdoor tables.
It looked...
Occupied.
Yet not a single person could be seen.
Ethan slowly drew his sword.
"Formation."
The Hunters spread out.
Kael quietly observed his surroundings.
No footprints.
No blood.
No signs of battle.
It was as though every villager had simply...
Vanished.
Gareth entered the first house.
Moments later, his voice echoed outside.
"Empty."
Another Hunter searched the blacksmith's workshop.
"Nothing here."
The inn.
The church.
The storage barns.
Every building was exactly the same.
Completely abandoned.
Leona slowly picked up a doll lying beside a well.
"It looks like someone dropped this..."
"...while running."
Kael knelt beside the dirt road.
His fingers brushed against the ground.
Void Insight activated.
For a split second...
Faint black footprints appeared.
Dozens.
Hundreds.
They led toward the abandoned mine beyond the village.
Then vanished.
The vision disappeared.
Kael stood.
"The mine."
Everyone looked at him.
"Something went there."
Ethan frowned.
"You found tracks?"
"Not normal ones."
The Silver Hunter didn't question further.
He trusted Kael's instincts more than his incomplete explanation.
The expedition cautiously approached the mine entrance.
A rusted sign still hung above it.
Blackstone Iron Mine
The wooden supports groaned with every passing breeze.
Darkness swallowed everything beyond the entrance.
Leona shivered.
"It feels..."
"...wrong."
Kael agreed.
This wasn't ordinary darkness.
It resembled the feeling he had experienced near the First Void Sovereign.
Not nearly as powerful.
But...
Similar.
The System suddenly reacted.
Hidden Quest Detected
Investigate the Blackstone Mine
Difficulty: Unknown
Warning: Corrupted Energy Present
Kael's heartbeat quickened.
Corrupted Energy.
A term the System had never used before.
Ethan lit a lantern.
"Stay close."
The group entered.
The tunnel descended steadily beneath the earth.
Mining tracks stretched into the darkness.
Broken carts lay overturned.
Old pickaxes remained abandoned where miners had left them.
Nearly fifteen minutes passed.
Nothing.
Then...
A sound echoed ahead.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
Water.
Or...
Something thicker.
The tunnel opened into an enormous underground chamber.
Everyone froze.
Hundreds of villagers stood motionless throughout the cavern.
Men.
Women.
Children.
Not one moved.
Not one spoke.
Their eyes remained closed.
Each person stood facing the exact same direction.
Toward a massive black crystal growing from the center of the chamber.
Its surface pulsed like a beating heart.
Dark veins spread from it into the surrounding ground, reaching every villager's feet.
Leona covered her mouth.
"They're..."
"They're alive."
One elderly villager suddenly opened his eyes.
They were completely black.
No pupils.
No whites.
Only darkness.
Then another pair opened.
Then another.
Within seconds...
Hundreds of black eyes slowly turned toward the Hunters.
Every villager spoke at the exact same moment.
In the exact same voice.
"You..."
"...are late."
The lantern in Ethan's hand suddenly shattered.
Darkness swallowed the chamber.
And somewhere within it...
Something smiled.