Smoke lingered in the upper towers. Though the assassins had failed, the attempt had left an impact one not of loss, but of urgency. The Western Dominion had shown their hand, however subtle. Leon now knew what direction to strike and when to hold back.
In the grand hall, plans were being drafted at a furious pace.
Leon stood at the center of a shifting storm. Around him, his commanders debated, his generals growled, and Seren Vey stood silently, watching it all with the eyes of a hawk.
"Three attempts in one night," Korrin said, slamming a gauntleted fist onto the war table. "And they failed, but that won't be the last."
"It won't," Leon agreed. "That's why we strike now. Not with swords but with shadow."
The Trial of Seren Vey
He turned to Seren. "I told you there'd be a test."
"I'm ready," she said.
"There's a hidden fortress in the borderlands. The Black Root Bastion. You will infiltrate it. Inside is a ledger coded, protected, guarded by men loyal only to Elrodan. Bring it to me."
She didn't flinch. "And if I'm caught?"
Leon's expression was stone. "You won't be."
Elara stepped forward. "I'll provide the shadowwalk rune. One use. No more."
Korrin grunted. "And if she doesn't return?"
Leon answered, "Then she wasn't worth trusting."
Beneath the Fortress
Two days later…
The rain was falling in thick sheets as Seren stood at the edge of the rocky cliff overlooking the fortress. A harsh wind tugged at her cloak. Lightning flashed, revealing jagged watchtowers and the massive iron gate.
She whispered an incantation and pressed the rune Elara gave her to her palm.
A blink.
A ripple.
She vanished.
Inside the fortress, she slipped past guards like a phantom, her body moving with precise, deadly grace. She scaled a wall, ducked under a patrol, and finally reached the archive vault iron-banded and arcane-locked.
Too easy.
She picked the lock, bypassed the minor warding spells, and slipped inside.
The ledger was there bound in black leather, marked with a sigil of a serpent eating its own tail.
She grabbed it and the trap sprung.
Arrows shot from the walls. A ward activated, lighting the room in red runes.
Guards stormed in.
Seren dove through a secret chute, using the shadowwalk rune at the last second. Her body turned to smoke and slipped through the cracks.
Return to the Capital
She landed hard in the throne room, battered, soaked, and bleeding from a graze across her cheek.
Leon looked up from the war map.
"You're late."
Seren dropped the ledger at his feet. "But I came back."
Elara picked up the book, eyes widening as the runes flickered across the cover.
"This… this details every troop movement, secret operation, and covert funding trail Elrodan's using. This is a goldmine."
Leon locked eyes with Seren. "Then welcome to the inner circle."
System Notification
[Quest Complete: Trial of the Shadow]
[Ally Recruited: Seren Vey – Loyalty 70% – Status: Trusted Agent]
[New Title Unlocked: Shadowlord of Strategy]
[New Ability: Webmaster – Passive bonus to all espionage actions +15%]
Vision of Fire
That night, Leon dreamed.
A crimson sky.
Ash falling like snow.
A broken crown rolling across scorched stone.
And at the center of it all him standing atop a mountain of corpses, holding a sword that bled fire.
A woman's voice echoed in the void.
"You may rise, Emperor… but every kingdom you burn will burn a piece of your soul with it."
He awoke with a start.
The war was coming faster than expected.
And the cost… was climbing.
The Falcon and the Fang
The sky over the Western Dominion burned red with the setting sun. But beneath the glow, an army stirred.
In the southern barracks of the Dominion's capital, High Marshal Tyren Blackfang donned his war gear. Silver armor polished to a gleam, crimson cloak bearing the sigil of a falcon impaling a snake, and a great halberd etched with runes of command and destruction.
He turned to the messenger kneeling behind him.
"You said Leon executed three Dominion spies and seized Black Root Bastion's ledger?"
"Yes, High Marshal. And he's already deciphering it."
Tyren's jaw tightened. "Then war isn't coming. It's already here."
He strode through the barracks like a storm, the thunder of his boots shaking the stone beneath him.
The Council of Shadows
Back in the Empire of Thalor, Leon sat with Elara, Korrin, Seren, and a new figure cloaked in robes stitched with stars Master Vaelor, a Seer of the Veil.
"The System is accelerating," Vaelor whispered, casting bones onto the table. "Fate threads are being cut. Someone is tampering with prophecy."
Leon folded his arms. "Prophecy doesn't rule me."
"No," Vaelor smiled. "But it fears you. That's why it's fighting back."
Korrin grunted. "Enough riddles. What are we dealing with?"
Elara opened the stolen ledger. "Tyren Blackfang has been summoned. He commands the Sky Legion elite cavalry, rune-bound falcons, and windblades."
Leon's eyes glinted. "Then we test his wings."
System Notification
[New Threat Detected: Tyren Blackfang – Level 58 Warlord]
[Warning: Adversary is equipped with Legendary Weapon: Windreaper Halberd]
[New Quest: Break the Sky]
Objective: Counter the Sky Legion's first strike. Prevent morale loss. Prepare your own elite force.
Rise of the Black Talons
Leon summoned his top tacticians.
"We'll form a specialized force. Fast, silent, lethal. Trained to fight in the skies."
Korrin blinked. "You mean… flying soldiers?"
Leon smirked. "We'll give them wings."
They began training volunteers with aerial combat gear salvaged from fallen Dominion outposts. Seren recruited former sky mercenaries. Elara engineered wind-resistance runes. And Vaelor provided an ancient spell to channel wind spirits into mobility boosts.
They would be called The Black Talons.
The First Clash
It came three days later.
The night sky shimmered as over fifty Sky Legion falcons screeched into the Empire's western watchtowers. Soldiers screamed, fire rained, and alarms blared.
But this time, they weren't unprepared.
From the darkness, Black Talons launched gliding, diving, striking with deadly precision.
Seren led the vanguard, blades flashing as she danced across enemy falcons, cutting through wings and armor alike.
Leon stood on the central tower, watching the skies light up.
He raised his hand.
"Windbreaker protocol."
A burst of arcane energy exploded from hidden pylons disrupting air currents and grounding most of the enemy flight.
Sky Legion forces plummeted in chaos.
Tyren, hovering in the air with runes blazing on his boots, locked eyes with Leon.
"I see you, boy."
Leon didn't flinch. "Come then, falcon. Let's see how sharp your beak is."
Duel in the Storm
Tyren soared toward him like a hurricane.
Leon activated Phase Shift a rare ability unlocked from his Emperor Path vanishing and reappearing midair above the High Marshal.
Their weapons clashed in mid-sky, shockwaves tearing clouds apart.
Each blow was a symphony of power, wind, and fury.
Tyren growled. "You're not like the others. You've seen war."
Leon's sword flashed. "I am war."
They crashed to the earth, both wounded, but the battle's outcome was clear.
Tyren retreated.
The Sky Legion fell back.
Victory belonged to Leon.
System Notification
[Quest Complete: Break the Sky]
[Sky Legion Defeated – Morale Boost +20%]
[Tyren Blackfang – Respect +5 / Hatred +10]
[New Upgrade Unlocked: Skyforge Barracks – Train Elite Aerial Units]
At the Edge of Empire
Tyren knelt before a hooded figure in the shadows of the Dominion's war council.
"He is no mere prince. The System bends around him."
The figure nodded.
"Then we will do what the System cannot."
From the darkness, dozens of crimson eyes opened.
"Awaken the Forgotten."