Night stretched across the land like ink spilling inside glass—smooth, quiet, perfect for killing.
The floating runic carriage drifted high above the forests and rivers, invisible to any eye below, its engines humming like restrained thunder.
Inside it sat Rhaziel, Nyxara, and their five newly bonded recruits.
No one spoke at first.
The recruits were still adjusting to their newly enhanced senses—hearing the heartbeat of the carriage, feeling the rune-flow in their blood, sensing the flickers of emotion around them.
Nyxara observed them with a twisted, playful excitement.
"They're like newborn wolves," she murmured to Rhaziel. "Teeth ready. Minds not quite steady. It's adorable."
Rhaziel didn't smile, yet something coldly approving glinted in his eyes.
"They'll sharpen quickly. Or they'll die quickly."
Approaching the Ledger Stronghold
A holographic map projected itself above the carriage floor.
Black rivers, clusters of forest, and finally a jagged cluster of stone buildings appeared—towers fused together haphazardly, reinforced by runic plates.
The Obsidian Ledger's Headquarters.
Not impressive.
Not grand.
But strategically positioned along trade routes connected to several large powers.
Nyxara lazily traced a finger across the hologram.
"This little roach nest moves more contraband than some kingdoms," she said. "Killing its leader will make noise… but bending him to us will create opportunity."
Rhaziel nodded.
"He's valuable alive. His people are not."
The recruits swallowed hard.
Rhaziel's Battle Directive
The carriage trembled lightly as it began to descend toward the Ledger compound, still invisible behind its dimensional shroud.
Rhaziel finally turned to the recruits.
His gaze cut through them like a blade.
"Tonight will teach you why secrecy is power."
He pressed his hand to the hologram, zooming in on guards moving across the roof.
"The Obsidian Ledger believes it is hidden.
It believes no one can touch it without sparking retaliation.
We are going to prove them wrong."
Nyxara crossed her legs, dark laughter spilling from her lips.
"And children… don't disappoint us. We gave you power. Show us you deserve it."
The Mission Roles
Rhaziel pointed:
Knight-Captain Zara — "You will lead the ground insertion. Silence every outer guard."
The Rune-Scarred Wanderer, Vesk — "Disrupt their wards. You can feel where they're weakest."
The Flame-Mage Girl, Eia — "Control the interior hallways. Burn only what we don't want."
The Twin-Soul Mage, Noro/Thel — "Intercept reinforcements. Use both minds."
The Young Prodigy, Teren — "Shadow Nyxara. Learn."
Teren blinked, stunned.
"M-me? Shadow Lady Nyxara?"
Nyxara leaned close, lips brushing his ear.
"Stick with me, cutie. Or you'll die first."
He gulped hard enough to choke.
The Descent
The carriage dissolved into smoke as it reached the compound perimeter, depositing everyone onto a quiet rooftop.
Moonlight reflected off black stone, making everything shimmer like obsidian glass.
Rhaziel and Nyxara were the only calm ones among them.
"Begin," Rhaziel said.
And the recruits moved.
Zara — The Silent Execution
Zara dashed across the rooftop, blade drawn. Her new sigil pulsed red beneath her collar, making her faster, sharper, utterly ruthless.
Two guards rounded the corner.
They didn't even see her.
Their throats opened in perfect slashes—no sound, no struggle.
She grabbed their bodies before they fell, dragging them into shadow.
She whispered to herself:
"Serving shadows feels… natural."
Vesk — Breaking the Wards
Vesk pressed his glowing, rune-eaten hand against the wall.
He grimaced as the building's protective spell resisted him—but his new power bit into it like acid.
"Yesss… break for me…"
A pulse rippled outward, collapsing the ward silently.
Inside the compound, alarms should have triggered.
None did.
Eia — Fire Without Light
Eia entered a narrow hallway, palms glowing faintly. Normally her flames flared uncontrolled, explosive—
—but now, under the Monarchs' sigil, her fire coiled like a serpent in her hand.
Three guards drew weapons.
She exhaled.
The fire slithered forward in a whisper.
Their bodies melted without screams.
Eia's eyes widened.
"I… can control it."
And she smiled with something like joy.
Noro & Thel — Two Minds, One Doom
The twin-souled mage stood in the northern corridor. His eyes flickered between blue and gold as each soul surfaced.
Footsteps echoed.
Reinforcements.
Noro spoke first, voice calm:
"We trap them."
Thel's voice followed, harsher:
"No. We swallow them."
A telekinetic implosion crushed the entire squad into a single mass of ruined armor and bone.
The body dropped heavily to the floor.
Both souls sighed.
"Acceptable."
Teren — Learning From a Monster
Teren followed Nyxara through the halls, trying not to vomit from the pressure of her aura.
Nyxara didn't walk.
She waltzed.
Her fingers trailed along walls, leaving streaks of black energy that swallowed torches, erased sound, choked the light.
A guard appeared.
Nyxara touched his neck—
—and he melted into ink.
Teren's hands shook.
"H-how… how are we supposed to—"
Nyxara pressed a finger to his lips.
"You're not supposed to be like me, darling.
You're supposed to survive me."
Rhaziel — The Target
Rhaziel stepped through the central doors into the Ledger leader's chamber.
Dozens of guards stood ready.
Crossbows raised.
Wards lit.
Traps primed.
The Ledger boss—a tall man with tattoos of silver and black—glared at Rhaziel.
"You picked the wrong night to die, stranger."
Rhaziel didn't stop walking.
Five crossbows fired.
The bolts froze midair.
Rhaziel flicked his fingers.
The bolts turned around—
—and impaled the guards who fired them.
The Ledger boss paled.
"What… what are you…?"
Rhaziel reached him, grabbed his throat, and lifted him off the ground like lifting a coat off a hook.
"I am the beginning of your obedience," he said coldly.
"And the end of your power."
He slammed him to the floor, knee on his chest.
"You will work for me."
"I will never—"
Rhaziel pressed a finger to his forehead.
The boss convulsed violently as Rhaziel etched a new rune into his mind—binding him.
It was not a plea for loyalty.
It was a rewiring of reality.
"You belong to the Shrouded War now," Rhaziel said.
"And you will never betray us."
The Team Reunites
One by one, the recruits converged in the central chamber, bloodied but exhilarated.
Nyxara appeared behind Rhaziel, stepping over corpses like stepping over puddles.
"Hmm," she purred, "they did well."
Rhaziel nodded once.
"No casualties. Efficient kills. Precise control."
Nyxara smiled at the recruits.
"I'm almost proud of you."
The recruits straightened with terrified pride.
The Ledger's Fall
Within the hour:
Every guard was dead
The leader was bound
The entire smuggling network was under Rhaziel and Nyxara's control
All traces of the attack were erased
The bodies dissolved into red-black dust
The wards were rewritten to serve the Shrouded Monarchs alone
The Obsidian Ledger still appeared intact.
Trade routes still operated.
Shipments still moved.
Orders still flowed.
No one would suspect a thing.
But now, everything served Rhaziel.
The Chapter's Closing Scene
Standing atop the Ledger's rooftop, Rhaziel looked out over the smog-covered cityscape.
"Tonight," he said quietly, "the world didn't notice us."
Nyxara wrapped an arm around his shoulders, smirking.
"They will. Eventually."
Rhaziel's eyes narrowed.
"And by then, it will be too late."
The recruits watched silently.
Teren whispered, "What happens now, my lord?"
Rhaziel turned.
Nyxara licked her lips.
And together they said:
"Now… we take another piece."
The night swallowed their laughter.