[Alista's POV]
The air in the room was stagnant, thick with the metallic scent of fresh blood. Alista Tudor stood over the body of a man who lay sprawled on the cold stone floor, a single, precise sword wound piercing his chest. He was an assassin—the latest in a string of shadow-dwellers sent to silence the Blood Emperor and his cohort.
"How many does this make?" Alista asked, his voice a low, dangerous vibration.
Klaus leaned against the doorframe, his expression grim. "He's the third this week. His name was Jeff. He used to be part of Tessai's group back in the Bright Castle."
Alista's brow furrowed. "Used to be?"
"That's the strange part," Klaus replied. "He officially quit the group and moved to the Outer Settlements a few days ago. When I checked with Tessai, he denied any involvement. He wasn't lying—Tessai sounded genuinely annoyed. Besides, word on the street was that Jeff was planning to join us."
Alista looked down at the corpse, his eyes narrowing. "Then why try to kill me? If Gunlaug wanted me dead, he wouldn't send a mid-tier defector like Jeff. He would send Harus."
"Maybe he's taking it slow," Klaus suggested. "Testing our guard. Or maybe someone else is pulling the strings."
Alista leaned over the body, closing his eyes for a moment of silence. "Give him a proper burial. Make sure no one knows he got this close. I don't want the settlers thinking we're vulnerable."
Klaus nodded and dragged the body away.
When Alista stepped out of the room, he was met with the bustling reality of the new faction he had built. Outside, a large group of Sleepers occupied the courtyard. Some were engaged in practice spars, the ring of steel against steel echoing through the ruins; others were trading Soul Shards or sharing a meager meal.
Artemis, Fors, and Gwen were in the center of the training grounds, their movements fluid and lethal. They paused as Alista approached, acknowledging him with nods of respect.
Artemis stepped away from her spar, wiping sweat from her brow. She moved close to him, her voice a barely audible whisper. "Did you find out who sent him?"
"We need to discuss it," Alista replied. "Gather everyone."
Months had passed since Sunless had left the Changing Star's cohort. In that time, the Outer Settlement had fractured into two unofficial camps.
The first was the Changing Star's Faction. To many, Nephis was a saint, a savior leading grand expeditions into the wilderness to find a way home. Her reputation was built on light and the promise of salvation.
The second was the Blood Emperor's Cohort. Alista's group was seen as the Champions of the Interior. After the legendary kill of the Spire Messenger, Alista had focused on the logistics of survival. He organized mini-hunts for the smaller groups of Sleepers, increasing the settlement's productivity and raising the quality of life for everyone involved. He didn't promise a distant heaven; he provided a better today.
Yet, despite their shared goals, no alliance existed between the two powers.
Inside their private meeting room, the five core members sat in a tense circle. Klaus laid out the facts of the recent assassination attempts.
Gwen's hands moved in rapid, sharp signs: [What is their motive? What do they gain from our deaths?]
"I don't know," Fors admitted, leaning back. "Killing the people who keep the settlement fed seems like a fast way to starve."
"They want to scare us," Artemis argued. "They want us to retreat into the shadows so they can take total control."
Klaus looked at the others, his voice dropping an octave. "It might be a play from the Changing Star. We need to be on high alert."
Gwen signaled again, her expression one of pure disbelief: [Why would she target us? We aren't her enemies.]
"We don't know," Alista said, cutting through the speculation. "But we are open to every possibility right now. Trust no one outside this room."
[Changing Star's Lodge]
In a room draped in white and lit by low candles, Nephis and Cassie sat in a silence that was far from peaceful.
"The third assassin failed," Nephis said, her voice flat. "Alista walks away without a scratch."
Cassie's sightless eyes seemed to stare into the void. Her voice was colder than the winter air. "We convinced the new recruits to publicly join the Blood Emperor's side as a mask. It was a perfect infiltration. The fact that it still failed suggests Alista's instincts—or his companions—are sharper than we anticipated."
"I contacted Seishan for a joint effort," Nephis added, "but she denied us. She's likely allied with Alista now. Two of her former Handmaidens have already moved to his camp."
Cassie tapped her staff against the stone. "Our window is closing. If we are to claim the First Bright Lord's legacy, we cannot have the Blood Emperor breathing down our necks. We need to kill him."
"How?" Nephis asked.
"An invitation," Cassie suggested. "Invite him to our next expedition. We bring him alone, without his cohort. In the chaos of the wilderness, accidents happen. We can return and tell the people he died as a noble sacrifice for the sake of the settlement."
Nephis nodded slowly, her silver eyes reflecting no emotion. "I will go to the Bright Castle and set the stage."
Alista stepped out for a breath of fresh air, hoping to clear the lingering tension of the meeting. As he navigated the ruins, he spotted a familiar, diminutive figure with messy black hair.
"Sunless?" Alista called out.
Sunny turned, his expression instantly souring into a glare. "What the hell is this bastard doing here?"
Alista's brow twitched. "Who are you calling a bastard, shorty?"
Sunny's frown deepened. "What do you want, Alista? Come to gloat about your little 'empire'?"
Before Alista could retort, he noticed a shimmer of white in his peripheral vision. Nephis was approaching, watching the two of them with an unreadable gaze.
"Sunny, you're back," Nephis said. "And... hello, Blood Emperor."
Sunny slowly turned, forcing a strained, awkward smile onto his face. "Hey, Neph. Long time no see." He then muttered under his breath, "Why did she have to be here?"
Alista facepalmed.
"You do realize you said that out loud, don't you?" Nephis asked, a corner of her mouth twitching.
Sunny blinked, his eyes widening in shock as he realized his inner thoughts had slipped his tongue. "Huh... what?"
"You just zoned out and mumbled 'why did she have to be here,'" Nephis said, her smile broadening slightly. "That was not very polite."
Sunny hid his burning embarrassment behind a desperate grin. "Yeah, well... I meant it."
Alista shook his head, turning to walk away. "Anyway, I'm out of here. Do whatever you want, you two."
As Alista walked in the opposite direction, his mind shifted. 'So, Sunny has returned from his solo hunt. That means the timeline is moving. It's time to hunt that Fallen Devil and retrieve the Weaver's Mask. I'm not letting Sunny get his hands on it this time.'
"Blood Emperor," a voice called out, stopping him in his tracks.
He turned to see Nephis. She had left Sunny behind and was now walking toward him with purpose.
"What do you want?" Alista asked.
Nephis stopped a few feet away, her expression turning into a mask of professional gravity. "I need to discuss something important with you. Alone."
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