Kaito woke up slowly.
The room was quiet. Morning light peeked through the window of the inn, soft and golden. Lyria had one arm resting across his chest, asleep beside him. Seren was curled up on a chair by the door, hair a mess, book half fallen from her lap.
Peaceful. Beautiful even.
But something felt off.
He didn't know what it was yet, but his gut was already tightening.
[ERROR: Passive Threat Detection – Activated.]
He stared at the notification in his vision. That wasn't normal.
He carefully slipped out from under Lyria's arm, grabbed his shirt, and went towards the window.
Outside, Hallowrest truly did look different in daylight. No mist, no glowing glyphs, just a rough, weathered city full of wooden buildings and busy walkways. Soldiers in mismatched armor laughed loudly as they passed by, some of them already drunk. Market stalls were open, selling meat skewers, cheap rings, and weird potions that probably didn't do what they promised.
It looked normal. Sketchy, but normal.
So why did it feel wrong?
Lyria and Seren joined him soon after.
Seren handed him a piece of dried fruit and said, "You were twitching in your sleep again."
"Was I?" he said, chewing slowly. "Thought I slept fine."
"Liar," Lyria said, elbowing him.
"Maybe, let's check out the city later?" Kaito suggested.
Lyria wasn't fond of that idea, but seren was. And she wasn't about to let Seren and Kaito stroll the city together. Definitely not.
Later...
As they walked together down the main street of Hallowrest, dodging wagons and maybe drunk guards. Kaito slowed.
Something was still... off.
He looked up.
A figure stood between two broken pillars in the crowd, cloaked, hood drawn, unmoving despite the wind.
He blinked.
The figure was gone.
Kaito stared.
Nothing.
The system in his head flickered faintly.
[WARNING: Aura Disturbance Detected]
Source: Unknown. Trace unstable.
He rubbed his arms, suddenly cold despite the sun.
Lyria's voice cut through the moment. "What is it?"
Kaito forced a smile. "Just... thought I saw someone."
"Where?"
He looked again. Empty.
"I think it's just the system."
But his heart was moving faster than it should.
While walking through the city's eastern quarter, Kaito's gaze caught something pinned to a cracked board beside a rowdy pub.
A flyer, torn at the edges, smudged with dirt.
"The Daring Die Rich Or They Just Die."
Join Ashveil's Adventurers' Guild. Contracts Daily. Coin Generous. Glory Optional. Survival... not guaranteed.
Kaito snorted. "Now that's honest marketing."
He turned to show the others. "Hey, what if we joined up? Make some coin, clear a few goblins, die with dramatic flair?"
He had watched a few anime with that premise. He never seen a goblin before.
"Ashveil?"
Lyria scowled. "You're joking."
"I'm serious. We need money, right?"
Seren folded her arms. "And equipment. And allies. Unfortunately, this might be the smartest idea you've had since you fell out of the sky."
"Hey! I had at least three good ideas before that."
"Two at best," Seren said. "And one of them involved kissing a golem."
They scrolled through other the board.
"Goblin nest – 30 gold, bring ears."
"Delivery job – low pay, no questions."
"REWARD: Investigate the Silent Crypt. Several parties missing. Corpses... still walking?"
"Yep," Kaito said. "Definitely not signing up for that last one."
"You might not have a choice," Seren replied. "That crypt's mana is leaking into the city. I can feel it."
Lyria grabbed one of the fliers and scanned it.
Her jaw tightened.
"This quest is five days old. But they haven't removed it. That means no one came back."
Kaito looked at her. "You think it's connected to the system thing?"
"I don't know," she said. "But something about this place is wrong. Too quiet. Too... watched.
"I don't like it."
---
On their way back to the inn, they cut through an alley behind the supply depot. Lyria moved stiffly, her hands hovering near her sword.
"You okay?" Kaito asked.
"I know this smell," she muttered. "Oil, ash, and frostbite powder. That's Legion work load."
"We are being followed."
Just then, a cloaked figure stepped out from the shadow, blocking their path.
Kaito instinctively reached for the dagger Lyria had Gave him. Seren's fingers lit with a blue glow. Lyria was already moving.
But the stranger didn't attack.
"Knight Flame," the Voice was deep. Older. Familiar.
Lyria froze.
"By the gods..." she said quietly. "Cindel?"
"Cindel?.."
The figure pulled back his hood. The man's face was older, scarred and pale, but his eyes burned with the same fire that Lyria carried when he first met her in the forest.
He used to be one of hers. One of the Black Flame Legion soldiers.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, in a demanding tone.
"You know this guy?" Seren asked, hands still glowing.
"I followed the signal," he said. "The one your boy carries."
His eyes locked on Kaito.
"Signal?"
"That thing in him... it's drawing the wrong kind of attention. You need to leave this city. Or we'll all burn again."
"I didn't know I was a working GPS." Kaito murmured.
"I just came to warn you Lyria."
He didn't wait for a response, he just turned and vanished down the alley too fast, too silent for a man his age.
Kaito stood there, heart pounding.
"Okay," he said. "That was creepy as hell."
Lyria didn't respond. She was staring at the alley like she'd just seen a ghost.
That night, back in their room, Lyria said what none of them wanted to say:
"We can't stay here."
Seren looked annoyed, but not surprised. "You think more Black Flame survivors will come?"
"No," Lyria said. "I think something worse might. I could feel it in Cindel's voice."
Kaito leaned against the wall. "So what do we do?"
"We leave. Find somewhere quiet. Somewhere nobody knows your name. We train you properly. You stop relying on system glitches and start fighting."
"I thought we did that already, maybe we will always be watched." Seren said.
Kaito looked between them.
"Or....." With his arms raised.
"Ashveil? You know the place with guilds."
"You just want to play make believe fantasy."
"It's not the worst idea. We can also use the guild to survive." Lyria added.
"We will figure something out, but first we have to leave here."
Kaito gave seren the question look.
Seren sighed. "I'll come. Obviously. But I'm not sharing a bedroll."
"You say that every time," Lyria said.
"Well, this time I mean it."
They packed that night. Quietly. No one spoke as they moved.
Just before dawn, as the sky turned pale, they slipped through the city gates under cloaks and shadows.
And as they crossed the outer field, Kaito's interface flickered one last time.
[SYSTEM UPDATE: Exile Protocol – Phase Two Activated.]
[Warning: Unstable Fragments Detected.]
Kaito exhaled and grinned to himself.
"Whoa.... Unstable fragments?"
Lyria smacked his arm lightly. "You'll live. Probably."
Seren muttered behind him, "I should've stayed in my tower."
She definitely should have.
They walked into the rising sun, toward whatever came next.
Together.