The city of Ironveil was built inside a mountain.
Its walls were enormous.
Its mines stretched beneath the earth for miles.
And its streets were ruled by mercenaries.
No king controlled Ironveil.
No noble ruled it.
Instead, five mercenary houses controlled everything.
Five armies.
Five commanders.
One city.
For years, anyone who tried to challenge them disappeared.
Then Kael Veyron arrived.
He walked through the western gate alone.
No army followed him.
No escort.
No banner.
Just a black coat and a sword resting against his shoulder.
A mercenary guard laughed.
"You're alone?"
Kael looked at him.
"Yes."
The guard grinned.
"Then you're either brave or stupid."
Kael continued walking.
"Neither."
The first mercenary attacked him in an alley.
Kael didn't even draw his sword.
He stepped aside.
The man's blade passed harmlessly through the space where Kael had been.
Kael struck his wrist.
The weapon fell.
Then Kael kicked him backward.
Three more appeared.
Kael sighed.
"This city really needs better security."
The three charged.
Kael drew his sword.
The moment the blade left its sheath...
Something changed.
A strange pressure spread through the alley.
His ability awakened.
Weapon Dominion.
Kael could understand weapons.
Not simply how to hold them.
How they moved.
How they were balanced.
How they were made.
How to make them stronger.
And more importantly...
How to make them obey him.
The sword in his hand trembled.
Kael smiled.
"Let's test something."
He swung.
The strike never touched the attackers.
Yet the force behind it sent them stumbling backward.
Kael stared at his sword.
"...Interesting."
News spread quickly.
The Hollow Blade had entered Ironveil.
The five mercenary houses didn't take him seriously.
That lasted until sunset.
The first house sent twenty men.
Kael defeated them.
The second sent forty.
He defeated them.
The third sent an elite squad carrying enchanted weapons.
Kael looked at their weapons.
Then smiled.
"You really shouldn't have brought those."
The mercenaries charged.
Kael raised his hand.
Every weapon in their hands stopped.
Silence.
Their faces changed.
Kael closed his fingers.
The weapons flew from their hands.
They landed behind him.
One mercenary whispered:
"What are you?"
Kael turned.
"Someone with better equipment."
The fifth house finally acted.
Their leader, Varos Kane, was considered the strongest fighter in Ironveil.
He carried an enormous black greatsword known as Gravemarch.
The sword had supposedly been forged from metal found deep beneath the mountain.
Varos waited in the central arena.
Kael entered.
"You've caused enough trouble."
Kael looked around.
"Five houses controlling an entire city."
He shook his head.
"Trouble isn't what I'd call it."
Varos lifted Gravemarch.
"You think your little trick with weapons will defeat me?"
Kael drew his sword.
"No."
He stared directly at him.
"I think your weapon will."
Varos charged.
The greatsword crashed downward.
Kael blocked.
The impact shook the arena.
Kael slid backward.
His eyes narrowed.
"Strong."
Varos smiled.
"I told you."
Kael looked at his sword.
Then at Gravemarch.
His ability stirred.
Something deeper.
Something he hadn't felt before.
He reached toward the enemy weapon.
Not physically.
Through his power.
The connection formed.
For the first time, Kael understood something.
Weapon Dominion wasn't about controlling weapons.
It was about understanding them completely.
Every weapon had a nature.
A purpose.
A limit.
And if he understood that limit...
He could break it.
Kael whispered:
"Yield."
Gravemarch trembled.
Varos froze.
"No..."
The greatsword suddenly changed direction.
Kael stepped forward.
Varos was disarmed.
The enormous weapon flew across the arena and landed at Kael's feet.
Kael picked it up.
The sword felt lighter than it should have.
He swung it once.
The stone floor cracked beneath the pressure.
Kael stared at it.
Then smiled.
"My ability evolved."
The five mercenary houses surrendered before midnight.
Ironveil belonged to Kael.
The city expected him to become another ruler.
He refused.
Instead, he dismantled the five houses and placed the mines under new administration.
Workers were paid.
Food stores were opened.
The mercenary barracks were converted into training grounds.
Kael stood on the highest platform overlooking the city.
An old miner approached.
"Who do we answer to now?"
Kael looked toward the mountain peaks.
"You'll answer to the organization."
"The organization?"
Kael nodded.
"You'll learn its name soon enough."
He climbed the tallest tower.
There, waiting for him, was a black banner.
Kael unfolded it.
The same symbol.
The same crest.
He planted it into the stone.
The wind caught it.
Black against the pale moon.
Kael looked at the city below.
Two territories.
Two victories.
And still...
He knew this was only the beginning.
Because Elias hadn't sent them here to become rulers.
He had sent them here to prove something.
The world could be taken.
Piece by piece.
Territory by territory.
Until the people at the top finally realized what was happening.
Kael turned away from the city.
"The Hollow Blade has completed his mission."
The black book whispered somewhere far away.
"Two."
And beneath the mountain...
Something ancient seemed to stir.
Kael stopped.
He looked back.
For one brief second, he thought he heard a whisper beneath the stone.
Not Elias.
Not the book.
Something older.
Then it vanished.
Kael narrowed his eyes.
"...What was that?"
No answer came.
He walked away.
Unaware that beneath Ironveil...
A secret buried long before the current kingdom had been waiting for someone to find it.