The guild master closed the door behind them.
Kael, Serena, and the guild master were now standing inside a small office on the second floor of the Ironbrook Adventurer Guild.
The room was simple.
A desk.
Several shelves filled with old documents.
A large map of the surrounding area covered one wall.
Kael looked around.
"You said something has been happening in Ironbrook for months."
The guild master sat behind his desk.
"I did."
Serena remained standing.
"What exactly do you know?"
The guild master didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he opened a drawer and pulled out several old reports.
He placed them on the desk.
"These are reports from the last four months."
Kael picked up the first one.
It described a merchant caravan that had disappeared on the northern road.
Another report mentioned three hunters who never returned from the forest.
Another involved several crates of weapons disappearing from a warehouse.
Kael looked at the dates.
"They're all different."
"Yes."
"But they have something in common."
The guild master nodded.
"They all happened near places where people later reported seeing strange blue lights."
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"Blue lights..."
Serena looked at him.
"Like the crystal in Mistwood."
"Exactly."
The guild master leaned back.
"At first, we thought these were unrelated incidents. Bandits, monsters, accidents. Nothing unusual."
He placed another document on the table.
"Then we found this."
Kael looked down.
It was a drawing.
A simple symbol.
An eye-like shape surrounded by several curved lines.
Kael immediately recognized it.
"The same symbol."
Serena stepped closer.
"Where did you find this?"
"On the wall of an abandoned building outside Ironbrook."
Kael stared at the drawing.
His hand suddenly felt warm.
He quickly placed it behind his back.
The guild master noticed.
"You all right?"
"Yeah."
Kael looked at his hand.
Nothing.
No light.
No mark.
He frowned.
*Again?*
The guild master continued.
"Three adventurers investigated that building."
"What happened to them?" Serena asked.
"They returned."
"All three?"
"Yes."
Kael looked relieved.
"Then what's the problem?"
The guild master looked at him.
"They returned without remembering what happened inside."
Kael's expression changed.
"What?"
"They remember entering the building. After that, nothing. The next thing they remember is waking up outside."
Serena frowned.
"Memory loss?"
"We don't know."
Kael looked back at the symbol.
"Did they see anyone?"
"No."
"Any monsters?"
"No."
"Blue light?"
The guild master nodded.
"One of them said he saw a blue light just before losing consciousness."
Kael was silent.
The pieces were slowly connecting.
The hooded man.
The strange crystal.
The creature in Mistwood.
The creature in the forest today.
The symbol.
And somehow, his parents.
Kael looked at the guild master.
"You said you know something about the symbol."
"I know enough to tell you that you should stay away from it."
Kael frowned.
"That's not an answer."
"It's the safest answer I can give you."
"I'm already involved."
"I know."
The guild master sighed.
"That's why I'm telling you this."
He opened another drawer.
This time, he pulled out an old book.
It was covered in dust.
Kael stared at it.
"How old is that?"
"Older than Ironbrook."
He opened the book carefully.
Several pages were filled with handwritten notes.
Most were difficult to read.
Some had faded with time.
The guild master stopped at one page.
"There."
Kael leaned closer.
The same eye-like symbol was drawn on the page.
Underneath it were several words.
Kael couldn't understand all of them.
"What does it say?"
The guild master pointed at the writing.
"The translation isn't perfect."
He read slowly.
"An organization... hidden beneath the surface..."
He turned the page.
"Those who seek the awakening of something called..."
He stopped.
Kael looked at him.
"Called what?"
The guild master frowned.
"The word is damaged."
He examined the page again.
"Only the first part remains."
"What is it?"
The guild master hesitated.
"Void."
Kael's expression changed slightly.
"Void?"
"That's all we know."
Serena looked at Kael.
He didn't say anything.
For some reason, the word felt familiar.
Not like something he had heard before.
More like something he had forgotten.
The guild master closed the book.
"That's enough."
Kael shook his head.
"No."
The guild master looked at him.
"I need to know."
"Kael."
"I've been looking for information about my parents for years."
His voice remained calm, but there was more emotion behind it now.
"Someone came to me in Mistwood and told me they knew what happened to them."
The guild master stayed silent.
"He said my parents disappeared because of me."
Serena looked at Kael.
She hadn't heard that part before.
Kael continued.
"Then today, that creature knew my name."
The guild master's expression became serious.
"What exactly did it say?"
"It said it had been told to watch for me."
"By whom?"
"I don't know."
Kael clenched his fist.
"But it's the same person."
The guild master slowly nodded.
"I believe you."
Kael looked at him.
"Then help me."
The guild master leaned back.
For several seconds, he didn't say anything.
Finally, he opened another drawer.
"This is something I've never shown anyone outside the guild."
He pulled out a small metal box.
It was old.
Very old.
He placed it on the desk.
Kael looked at it.
"What's inside?"
"I don't know."
"You don't know?"
"It was found in the same abandoned building."
The guild master unlocked it.
Inside was a small piece of dark metal.
Kael stared at it.
The moment he saw it, his hand became hot.
He stepped backward.
"What is that?"
The guild master noticed his reaction.
"You recognize it?"
"No."
Kael stared at the object.
"I don't know what it is."
The metal suddenly gave off a faint blue glow.
Kael's eyes widened.
Serena immediately drew her sword.
"What the hell?"
The guild master stood.
The glow lasted only a few seconds.
Then it disappeared.
Kael looked at his hand.
A faint blue mark had appeared on the back of it.
This time, he saw it.
"What..."
The mark looked almost identical to the symbol.
But there was one difference.
The symbol on the metal was an eye.
The mark on Kael's hand looked like only part of it.
Serena stepped closer.
"Kael."
"I'm fine."
"That doesn't look normal."
"I know."
The guild master stared at Kael.
His expression had completely changed.
"That's impossible."
Kael looked at him.
"What?"
The guild master pointed at his hand.
"That mark."
"You've seen it before?"
"No."
He shook his head.
"But I've read about it."
Kael's heart started beating faster.
"Where?"
"In an old record."
The guild master quickly grabbed the book again and started flipping through the pages.
He turned several pages.
Then several more.
Finally, he stopped.
Kael stepped closer.
"What does it say?"
The guild master read silently.
His face became pale.
Serena noticed.
"What?"
The guild master looked at Kael.
"It says the mark appears on those who carry the blood of the Voidborn."
Silence.
Kael stared at him.
"Voidborn?"
The word echoed in his mind.
The guild master nodded slowly.
"But there's a problem."
"What?"
"According to the record, the last known Voidborn disappeared hundreds of years ago."
Kael looked at his hand.
The mark was already fading.
"Then why is it on me?"
Nobody answered.
Suddenly—
A loud explosion shook the building.
The windows rattled.
Kael immediately drew his sword.
Serena rushed to the door.
"What was that?"
Another explosion followed.
This time, much closer.
People began shouting downstairs.
The guild master grabbed his weapon.
"We're under attack."
Kael looked toward the window.
Smoke was rising from somewhere near the eastern side of the city.
Serena looked at him.
"Stay close."
Kael nodded.
They ran downstairs.
The guild hall was already in chaos.
Adventurers were grabbing weapons.
Guild workers were helping injured people.
Someone shouted from the entrance.
"Monsters!"
Another voice followed.
"They're coming from the eastern gate!"
Kael looked at Serena.
"How many?"
"I don't know."
The guild master shouted to the adventurers.
"Everyone below Silver Rank stays inside!"
Several adventurers immediately protested.
"We can help!"
"No!" the guild master shouted. "This isn't a normal monster attack!"
Kael looked toward the eastern gate.
His instincts were telling him something was wrong.
Not just because of the monsters.
There was something else.
He could feel it.
A faint pressure.
Like the same feeling he had experienced in Mistwood.
Serena noticed his expression.
"You feel it too?"
Kael nodded.
"Something is there."
The guild master looked at them.
"Stay together."
Kael and Serena ran outside.
The streets were filled with people.
Some were fleeing.
Others were helping the guards.
Kael could hear roars coming from the eastern side.
They ran toward the sound.
When they reached the main street, Kael stopped.
A group of monsters was attacking the city gate.
Orcs.
Goblins.
And several creatures Kael had never seen before.
But that wasn't what caught his attention.
Behind them stood a man in a black cloak.
Kael recognized him immediately.
The hooded man.
He was standing on top of a building.
Watching.
Their eyes met.
The man raised one hand.
The eye-like symbol appeared on his palm.
Kael's hand suddenly burned.
He grabbed it.
"Kael?"
Serena looked at him.
He ignored the pain and stared at the hooded man.
The man smiled.
Then he spoke, even though they were too far apart for his voice to reach them.
Kael somehow heard him anyway.
"Now you're beginning to remember."
Kael's eyes widened.
"Remember what?"
The hooded man turned away.
"We'll talk soon."
Then blue light surrounded him.
And he disappeared.
Kael stared at the empty rooftop.
Serena tightened her grip on her sword.
"What did he say?"
Kael slowly lowered his hand.
He looked toward the monsters attacking the city.
Then back toward the place where the hooded man had vanished.
"I think..."
He took a breath.
"...this attack wasn't meant to destroy Ironbrook."
Serena understood.
"It was meant to distract us."
Kael nodded.
"And whatever he wanted..."
He looked at the fading blue mark on his hand.
"...he already got it."
---
100 ps = 1 extra chapter
200 ps = 2 Extra chapter
1 Golden ticket = 3 Extra Chapter