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Chapter 98 — When the Door Breaks First
House Viremont's holding compound sat where the river bent inward, stone walls hugging the water like a clenched fist.
Officially, it was a customs annex.
Unofficially, everyone in Blackreach knew what went inside never came out the same.
Torches burned along the outer wall. Guards paced in pairs. Sigils carved into the stone pulsed faintly—noble-grade warding, legal, licensed, and rotten.
From the rooftop across the canal, Renn watched the building with hollow eyes.
"That's it," he whispered.
Kairo stood beside him, cloak fluttering faintly in the night wind. Shadows crawled across the tiles like living ink, quiet, patient.
"How many times did they take people through that door?" Kairo asked.
Renn swallowed.
"Too many."
CIEL overlaid the structure in Kairo's vision.
[Building schematic acquired.]
[Internal holding cells: 14.]
[Living signatures detected: 9.]
[One juvenile match — probability 97.2%.]
Kairo closed his eyes briefly.
Then opened them.
"Operatives," he said softly.
The shadows behind him moved.
Ten figures stepped forward, forming a loose half-circle. No uniforms. No insignia. Faces hidden in hooded darkness.
Umbra Operatives.
"Rules," Kairo continued. "No civilian casualties. No uncontrolled kills."
One operative tilted his head. "And the nobles?"
Kairo's voice didn't change.
"Break what protects them."
The operative smiled under the hood.
---
Below, a pair of Viremont guards leaned against the gatehouse.
"I'm telling you," one said, yawning. "Next week's levy will be heavier. House needs coin."
"From who?" the other scoffed. "Dock rats?"
Before the word finished—
The shadows under their feet rose.
Not fast.
Not violent.
Just enough.
Their legs locked.
"What the—?"
A third shadow slid across the wall and cut the torchlight, plunging the gate into darkness.
A whisper passed through the air.
"Blessing: Shadow Bind"
Effect:
– Immobilizes targets by anchoring their shadows
– Strength scales with ambient darkness
– Non-lethal unless pressure is applied
The guards struggled.
Then slept.
Their bodies were lowered gently to the ground.
The gate opened from the inside.
---
Inside the compound, alarms hadn't rung yet.
That was intentional.
Umbra didn't announce itself.
It arrived.
A patrol turned the corner.
"Who's there—"
The lead operative stepped forward and tapped the man's chest.
"Blessing: Contract Imprint"
Effect:
– Forces recognition of binding authority
– Suppresses hostile action against Umbra-marked agents
– Induces hesitation and compliance
The guard froze mid-motion, eyes unfocused.
"What…?" he murmured.
Another operative struck the back of his neck.
Down.
The second guard tried to shout.
A shadow slid into his mouth.
Not choking.
Silencing.
Kairo entered the compound last.
Renn stayed on the roof, fingers digging into stone.
He couldn't watch.
But he listened.
---
The first resistance came at the inner doors.
Six guards. One noble enforcer.
The enforcer wore a crimson mantle etched with sigils.
"Stop!" he barked. "This is House Viremont property! By authority of—"
Kairo stepped into the torchlight.
The man hesitated.
Too young.
Too calm.
"Who are you?" the enforcer demanded.
Kairo didn't answer.
CIEL spoke inside his mind.
[Target bears "Blessing: Noble Mandate".]
Effect:
– Grants authority-based command over non-nobles
– Suppresses resistance through social hierarchy enforcement
– Fails when authority is challenged by equal-or-higher system
Kairo raised his hand.
Shadows gathered.
"Blessing: Umbra Override"
Effect:
– Temporarily nullifies authority-based blessings within shadow domain
– Requires sustained focus
– Leaves user mentally taxed
The enforcer's sigils flickered.
"What did you do?" he snapped.
Kairo walked forward.
"I removed your excuse," he said.
The guards rushed.
They were good.
Trained.
Blessed.
One swung a halberd glowing with mana.
"Blessing: Cleaving Wind"
Effect:
– Enhances cutting force with compressed air
– Effective against armored targets
An operative intercepted.
Not with a weapon.
With a shadow wall.
The halberd struck and rebounded violently, throwing the guard off balance.
Another operative moved behind him and pulled.
The man collapsed, shadow torn from his footing.
Kairo faced the enforcer.
"You branded a child," Kairo said quietly.
The enforcer sneered. "Legal detention."
Kairo tilted his head.
"No," he said. "The brand was fake."
He stepped closer.
The enforcer backed up instinctively.
"House Viremont has rights!" the man shouted. "You think the city will side with you?"
Kairo smiled faintly.
"I think the city will see."
He snapped his fingers.
The shadows opened the doors to the inner holding cells.
---
Screams echoed.
Chains rattled.
Cell doors burst open.
Prisoners staggered into the light—dockworkers, couriers, a merchant missing two fingers.
And one boy.
Renn's brother.
He was thin. Bruised. Alive.
The noble enforcer turned pale.
"You—! You can't just—!"
Kairo's shadow moved.
It wrapped around the man's arm and ripped the blessing lattice from his body.
"Blessing: Noble Mandate" shattered.
The enforcer collapsed, screaming—not in pain, but in loss.
Kairo leaned down.
"You don't get to hide behind law," he said softly. "Not tonight."
He stood and turned to the operatives.
"Bind him," he ordered. "Alive."
The shadows obeyed.
---
Outside, the alarms finally rang.
Too late.
Citizens gathered as prisoners were escorted out—alive, shaking, visible.
Someone shouted.
"They're freeing them!"
Another whispered.
"That's Umbra…"
Renn ran down the stairs, breathless.
He saw his brother.
For a moment, he didn't move.
Then—
"Jorin!"
The older boy looked up.
"…Renn?"
They collided, clutching each other, sobbing openly.
Kairo watched from a distance.
CIEL recorded.
[Public sentiment spike detected.]
[Witness count: Rising rapidly.]
City guards arrived.
They stopped when they saw the noble enforcer bound and kneeling.
"By whose authority—" a captain began.
Kairo turned.
"Umbra's," he said.
The captain hesitated.
He looked at the freed prisoners.
At the branded sigils fading.
At the crowd watching.
Slowly—
He lowered his sword.
"We'll… take statements," the captain said.
Kairo nodded.
"That would be wise."
---
By morning, the city buzzed.
House Viremont's compound was sealed.
A magistrate denied ever approving the brands.
Nobles whispered.
Merchants watched.
And Renn sat beside his brother, both wrapped in borrowed cloaks, staring at Kairo like he wasn't real.
Renn finally spoke.
"…How do I repay you?"
Kairo crouched.
"You live," he said. "Both of you."
He stood and turned away.
Behind him, shadows folded back into place.
Umbra had made its first statement.
And the city had heard it.
---