[Perspective: Lord Faraz]
The young girl was strikingly beautiful, and her scent was equally enchanting.
"Please!" she implored, tears streaming down her face as she gazed at me in desperation. "Don't do this..."
Her trembling only intensified when she saw my smile, becoming ever more enticing as I unclasped my heavy brocade cloak. It slipped from my shoulders, forming a luxurious pool of velvet on the floor illuminated by the firelight.
"Come now," I coaxed, my voice gentle as if soothing a frightened animal. "Don't be difficult. You'll enjoy it."
Why wouldn't she? I was a Lord, and she a maid. In time, she would realize that my favor was the greatest advantage she could attain in life.
"PLEASE! SOMEBODY HELP—"
"Remember where you are, this is my keep," I warned, savoring the despair that clouded her eyes as the harsh truth settled in. "Nobody is coming—"
BOOM.
The sound was cataclysmic, more than just noise—it was a physical jolt. The entire fortress quaked violently, expelling the air from my lungs. Dust cascaded from the stone ceiling, covering the expensive silk sheets with a grey layer.
"What in the hells?"
For a fleeting moment, I was immobilized, transfixed by the sight above as cracks spread across the ceiling like a spider's web. I wasn't paralyzed by fear but by sheer bewilderment. Who would dare disrupt me? Was it an earthquake?
Then came the shouting. But it wasn't the boisterous revelry of my men; these were screams—brief, terrified, and then... silence.
Annoyed, I strode to the window and flung open the shutters.
The air reeked of iron.
In the courtyard, a man locked eyes with me. He stood motionless amid the carnage. His sword was not the only thing dripping with crimson; the ground was saturated with it. My men—my elite guards—were strewn about like shattered dolls, their armor sliced through as if it were mere parchment.
I blinked, trying to comprehend the devastation before me, then looked back at the man.
He offered no shouts, no boasts. He merely stepped over a corpse and began to make his way toward the entrance of my keep.
"Who the hell is that..."
I didn't linger for an explanation; his gaze conveyed all I needed to know. I ignored the maid cowering in the corner; even my attire was insignificant at that moment.
I turned and bolted from the room, bursting into the corridor.
All around me, the fortress cried out.
From the East.
From the West.
From the South.
From the North.
The dying screams of my men resonated from every direction, creating a bewildering cacophony of slaughter. I had no sense of direction, only the urgency to flee.
And then, abruptly, I heard it.
Scrape.
Scrape.
The grating noise of a heavy blade being dragged across the stone floor compelled me to glance over my shoulder. My heart nearly leaped from my chest as I saw the intruder in my keep, advancing at a leisurely pace, his eyes devoid of emotion.
Panic gripped my legs. I turned away and dashed into the nearest room, slamming the door behind me.
Without pausing for breath, I sprang into action. Books, shelves, tables—I dragged anything within reach to barricade the door. The value of the heirlooms I destroyed was inconsequential; I knew that letting that beast into this room would seal my fate.
Once the pile was high enough to offer a fleeting sense of solace, I took several stumbling steps backward, scanning the room frantically.
"There must be an exit... Think, Faraz, think!"
My mind raced back to the blueprints of the building. Though those fools hadn't installed an escape route in every room yet, my luck couldn't be that bad. Surely this room must have a hidden passage, a servant's tunnel, something—
My thoughts were abruptly interrupted by an unfamiliar sensation.
A burning cold erupted in my stomach.
When my gaze met the source, my eyes widened. Steel protruded from my gut, covered in my own blood.
My vision blurred with each passing second. I struggled to comprehend what exactly had just happened, but one thing was certain: the ominous presence of someone standing behind me.
My heart hammered against my ribs as I slowly turned my head. The monster had somehow made his way into my room. The barricade was untouched. The windows were closed.
"Ho-how can this... be?" I struggled to speak, blood bubbling past my lips as I felt the painful slide of the blade leaving my back.
My knees hit the floor. The sound of my ragged breathing mingled with the heavy thud of boots as he stepped around to loom over me.
"Why?" I gasped.
He remained silent, looking through me as though I did not even exist.
"I—"
His arm moved so swiftly that it became a blur. I scarcely noticed the flash of steel slicing through the air before a quick, sharp pain seared across my neck.
Suddenly, the room tipped to one side, and darkness claimed me.
---
[Perspective: Raikynn]
When his head rolled to my feet, I didn't pick it up immediately. Instead, I wiped the blood from my blade with a cloth, savoring the quiet of the night as it finally reclaimed the forest surrounding the fortress. Only after sheathing my blade did I reach into my pouch to retrieve a small, empty messenger scroll. With a focused thought, I infused a spark of mana into the paper.
Target eliminated.
I released the scroll. It disintegrated into ash before reaching the ground, its message already delivered to the client by the wind. Only then did I pick up the severed head of Lord Faraz and place it into a heavy sack. Without a backward glance, I left the room, stepping through the shadows and reemerging outside the now silent chamber.
As I navigated the chaos I had wrought, making my way through the fortress gates, my attention was suddenly drawn to the treeline.
Thwack.
An arrow struck the dirt path just inches from where my next step would have landed. I didn't look for the archer; the arrow's shaft revealed everything. It wasn't an attack; it was a message. Attached to the black fletching was a small scroll, sealed with purple wax.
What revealed its origins was the sigil. A serpent devouring its own tail.
The Assassin's Guild.
I pulled the arrow free and broke the seal. There were no words, only a time, a location, and the Guildmaster's signature.