The road to Ironsong Pass was a path carved from old scars.
Centuries ago, it had been a trade route connecting the eastern cities with the border realms. Now, it stood mostly forgotten—worn cobbles overrun by creeping roots, rusted signposts half-swallowed by moss. But Kael could feel it, deep in the ground: residual energy, pulsing faintly like a buried heartbeat.
"Feel that?" Arin asked, her hand brushing her staff.
Kael nodded. "The earth remembers blood."
They walked in silence for hours, passing husks of old wagons and a broken statue of a winged warrior, its head severed and missing. The sky above had begun to darken—not from clouds, but from a strange haziness that hung over the mountains like the breath of something sleeping.
[System Alert: You are entering a Minor Corruption Zone – All healing reduced 15%]
[Ambient Mana Distortion Detected – Spellcasting may misfire]
Kael glanced at Arin. "Careful with your runes. The corruption's thicker here."
She nodded, drawing a glyph in the air to test it. The flame wavered, flickered green, then corrected itself. "It's not stable… but I can manage."
As they reached a bend in the mountain path, a strange figure blocked the road ahead.
It was tall—nearly two meters—and cloaked in tattered gray robes. Its face was obscured by a wooden mask shaped like a screaming angel. Around its neck hung a chain of silver fangs.
Kael raised his blade. "Identify yourself."
The figure didn't speak. Instead, it raised a pale hand, and a System window appeared—not Kael's, but something ancient, jagged, and blood-red.
[Abyssal Envoy Detected]
[Name: Veyrix, Herald of the Hollow Moon]
[LVL ?? | Alignment: Corrupted Angel | Threat Level: Unknown]
Arin's grip on her staff tightened. "That's not a monster… it's something worse."
Veyrix finally spoke, voice like cracked bells. "The System has made its choice. You, Kael, are its gambler."
"I'm its weapon," Kael growled. "And you're in my way."
The Herald tilted its head. "The crown you carry calls to older kings. Turn back, and perhaps your soul will remain your own."
"I'll decide what I become," Kael snapped.
The air shifted.
Veyrix raised its hand, and three shadow beasts burst from the nearby rocks—hulking, quadrupedal monsters formed of bone and ash.
[Mini-Boss Encounter – Abyssal Hounds LVL 13 x3]
[Party Disadvantage – Underleveled: -5% Dodge, -3% Damage Reduction]
Kael charged before the System could even finish calculating.
He ducked under the first beast's leap, slicing upward through its jaw. Black blood sprayed, hissing as it touched the corrupted stone. Arin followed, her flame spiraling around the hounds in a burning vortex.
[Combo Triggered: Coordinated Strike – Bonus Damage Applied]
One beast fell, limbs thrashing. But the others circled, faster now. One slammed into Kael's side, throwing him into a tree.
[HP -180 | Bleed Status: Moderate]
Kael wiped blood from his mouth, rage bubbling beneath his skin. "Time to push the edge."
[System Ability Unlocked: Martial Surge – Temporarily boost physical speed and reaction +25% for 10 seconds | Cooldown: 120s]
He activated it.
The world slowed.
Kael blurred forward, a cyclone of steel and momentum. He danced between the hounds, blade flashing, limbs a blur. One tried to snap at him—he twisted mid-air and drove his sword into its spine.
[Critical! -760 HP]
The last hound lunged at Arin—too fast.
"Arin!" Kael shouted.
She gritted her teeth, forcing her magic to obey.
[Emergency Cast: Flame Wall]
A pillar of flame erupted between them, scorching the beast in mid-leap. It slammed into the barrier, shrieking as it burned alive.
Ash settled. Silence followed.
Veyrix didn't move.
[Mini-Bosses Defeated – +2400 XP]
[Level Up – Kael: LVL 11 | Arin: LVL 9]
Kael pointed his blade at the Herald. "You going to run now?"
But the masked figure merely stared. "We do not run. We wait."
With that, Veyrix disintegrated into motes of shadow, carried away by a wind that didn't exist.
Kael lowered his blade. "What the hell was that?"
Arin whispered, "That… wasn't just a corrupted. That was a fallen one. An angel that broke its own oaths."
Kael looked up at the murky sky.
If angels were falling and demons were rising, the balance of the world had already cracked.
[System Alert: "Crown of the Hollowed" has Resonated – Map Fragment Updated]
A new marker appeared on his map: "Sanctuary Ruins – Forgotten Temple of the Skybound".
Kael narrowed his eyes. "Next stop?"
Arin sighed. "Sanctuary Ruins."
They began their march once more. The air was colder now. Somewhere far away, the Hollow Moon began to rise.