Chapter 34 — Blades in the Black

The temple ruins hadn't changed since yesterday. Stagnant mist clung to the cracked floor. Scorched symbols lined the stone columns, worn smooth by time and sin alike.

SeTa ran his hand over the ancient altar. "No fresh blood," he noted.

Kael tightened his grip on his blade. "They'll come soon. The system timer doesn't lie."

> [Quest Timer: 31 Hours Remaining]

They'd spent the early hours mapping the outer perimeter—trap glyphs, scattered offerings, and hidden sentries. The cult was preparing a ritual that would corrupt one of their own into something far worse.

But something felt… off.

SeTa's passive perception was screaming. Not from the cult. From something else.

Kael must've felt it too. His Hellbound Inquisitor aura flared subtly, a burning shade of crimson beneath his skin.

Then, the mist rippled unnaturally.

"Contact," SeTa whispered.

A moment later, black-cloaked figures burst from the shadows—not cultists, but far more organized.

> [Alert: Player Hostiles Detected]

Guild Affiliation: Ishara's Talon

Status: Kill-on-Sight Designation Active

SeTa cursed under his breath. "They followed us out here?"

Kael's eyes narrowed. "No. They planned this."

The ambush was surgical. Two teleporters flanked their rear while archers rained silence-coated arrows from a ridge. A halberd-wielding enforcer lunged toward Kael, radiant with hate.

SeTa dove sideways, conjuring barriers from his Nullborn authority mid-fall. Arrows shattered against void-etched shields. His mind raced—how many? Six? No, eight. Coordinated. Veteran tier.

Kael, meanwhile, was in the thick of it. His blade clashed against two duelists. Shadows licked his heels, a sign his subclass was awakening—responding to the threat like a starving beast.

But they were outnumbered.

> [Status Effect: Suppression Field Detected — MP Recovery Halved]

[Status Effect: Ambush Initiation — Cooldowns Extended by 2 Seconds]

SeTa gritted his teeth. Even his time-warped instincts couldn't rewrite the situation.

"We retreat," he called out.

Kael growled but nodded. He sent a fire burst behind him to cover their movement.

Together, they broke into the Ravine trails. The terrain was jagged, sharp with nature's teeth, but it was enough to stall their pursuers. The duo split briefly, using Kael's darkness-tether to regroup near a derelict trade outpost they'd passed earlier.

Blood dripped from Kael's cheek. SeTa's coat was torn across the left side.

They didn't speak for a few moments—just breathed. Listened. Calculated.

Then SeTa broke the silence. "They marked me back in the city."

Kael spat into the dirt. "Bastards waited for you to leave the protection zone."

"They want to isolate and eliminate me before I get too high-profile."

"You're already too high-profile."

SeTa's mind churned. "This wasn't random. They timed it with your quest. Figured I'd follow you."

Kael chuckled, bitter. "First time being bait for the prodigy."

SeTa reached into his satchel and pulled out a compressed map of Solport's outer sectors. "We'll fall back. Gear up. No one attacks us and gets away with it."

Kael nodded. "Then we turn the quest into a trap. Force the cult into a public area. Let Ishara's Talon think they've baited us again."

"And we reverse it."

They made their way to the city edge, cloaks drawn tight. Solport's interior was too monitored for the Talon to make a move there, but its underbelly—black markets, freelance forges, wandering alchemists—offered what they needed.

Over the next day, they moved like ghosts.

SeTa upgraded his armor with spectral resistance plating and picked up a potion set enchanted by one of the Temple of Veiled Flame's mid-tier priests—someone who owed him a favor. Kael secured a custom sigil that would let him nullify silencing fields for five seconds—a lifetime in combat.

They even visited a shrine rumored to offer blessings from a forgotten war deity. The priest had laughed them off at first. Then he saw SeTa's class title.

He didn't laugh again.

When night fell, they returned to the outskirts.

Kael checked his quest timer.

> [Quest Timer: 12 Hours Remaining]

[Optional: Ritual Location Compromised — 3 New Possibilities Unlocked]

"Let's give them one hell of a show," Kael said.

SeTa stood beside him, hands in his coat pockets. "Next time they come for us…"

"They won't leave breathing," Kael finished.

Darkness swirled around them. Not fear. Not dread.

Just preparation.

And war.