The interrogation chamber beneath the palace was not marked on any official blueprint. Known only to the Emperor's inner circle, it was etched into stone that hummed with age — ancient warding glyphs glowing faintly, like coals under ash.
Uther stood in the center of the circular room, watching the sleeping form of the assassin — Nirelle, the Cult agent — bound in luminous arc-chains. Elena adjusted the memory-extraction sigil nearby, sweat beading her brow.
> [System Alert – Interrogation Interface Ready]
Target: Cult Agent "Whisper Thorn" | Mental Fortitude: High
Skill Required: Insight or Arcane Extraction
Assistance Detected: Elena (Arcane Linguist – Tier III)
Elena glanced at him. "We only get one clean attempt. If we push too hard, her mind fractures. But if we don't push hard enough... she hides everything."
Uther nodded. "Let's begin."
He stepped forward, placing his palm on the sigil. Light surged, and Nirelle's body tensed as the memory ritual activated.
---
Inside the Mindscape
The stone chamber dissolved. Uther found himself standing in a different space — a mental arena formed of black sand and glowing constellations. The subconscious. The place between thought and identity.
Nirelle stood opposite him — younger, dressed not in assassin's garb, but as a street orphan in a rain-soaked alley.
She saw him and flinched. "You don't belong here."
"I've walked worse paths," Uther replied, stepping closer.
The stars above shifted, forming scenes — flickers of memory. A red-robed figure placing a dagger in a child's hands. A voice: "Become shadow. Be their silence."
"Who trained you?" Uther asked.
She sneered. "You think cutting off the head ends the serpent? You're wrong. Velmire was only the sheath."
Uther watched the memories play out: Velmire nobles passing coded messages. Cult priests masked as advisors. One face stood out — a woman with eyes like obsidian mirrors. Calm, terrible.
"Who is she?" Uther demanded.
Nirelle's memory faltered. "They call her the Glass Matron… she's the architect. Older than Velmire. Older than this war."
The stars flared red.
A ward activated — a failsafe.
> [System Notice – Memory Rejection Imminent]
Emergency Trigger Detected: Neural Burn Protocol Active
"Damn it," Elena's voice echoed through the link. "She's collapsing the memory — Uther, pull now or lose her!"
But Uther focused deeper.
He reached for the one image Nirelle hadn't hidden — a citadel carved into a mountain, surrounded by withered trees and black spires.
He burned it into his mind.
Then everything shattered.
---
Reality – Interrogation Chamber
Uther gasped as he returned, staggering back. The arc-chains around Nirelle pulsed once… then dimmed. Her body slumped forward — not dead, but unconscious, soul-exhausted.
Elena caught him. "You saw it?"
"A place," Uther said hoarsely. "A mountain fortress. Real. Forgotten. That's where the heart of the Cult lies."
He straightened. "And the Matron is already moving."
> [Quest Unlocked – "Root of the Serpent"]
Objective: Locate and Infiltrate the Mountain Citadel
Reward: Unknown | Risk: Maximum
Note: This is a World-Tier Quest – Only proceed when fully prepared
Elena frowned. "This goes beyond Velmire now. If we're right, the Cult wasn't just feeding on politics — they were engineering collapse."
"And they're not finished," Uther said. "They've lost cover in the capital. Next, they'll strike where we're weakest."
His gaze drifted toward the map.
Hollow's Edge.
---
Meanwhile – The Forest's Edge
Back at Hollow's Edge, dusk fell across the silver-tree walls. Children practiced with wooden blades while sentinels monitored the perimeter. Garrick stood atop the western tower, eyes narrowed at the treeline.
He didn't like the wind. It carried silence — not peace, but waiting.
> [System Notice – Territory Alert: Anomaly Detected]
Scout Report: Trees displaced. No prints. No sound. Mana trace: "Fleshbound Sigil – Aberrant"
He turned to Mara beside him. "We've got trouble."
She nodded grimly. "I'll rally the defenders."
---
Narrative Split – Double Pressure
In the Palace:
Uther returned to the Emperor's private chambers, summoned in haste. The ruler's golden mask was removed now — only the weary eyes of a man burdened by legacy.
"I read the decrypted report," the Emperor said. "This mountain citadel — if it's real — could explain the disappearances, the lost Core expeditions, even the Shadow March rebellions."
Uther didn't flinch. "Then let me go there. Quietly. With my team."
The Emperor studied him. "You'll have no banners. No name. You'll be declared absent from court — to give you freedom and plausible deniability."
"I understand."
"But if you fail…" The Emperor stood. "This empire may not survive the next season."
> [System Update – Title Appended: Envoy of the Forgotten Path]
This title grants hidden clearance across ancient Warden ruins and lost faction territories.
Uther bowed, then turned toward the door.
---
At Hollow's Edge:
The forest erupted.
Twisted figures — half-man, half-shadow — surged from the woods. Aberrant cult constructs, bred in secret. They struck not with siege weapons, but with silence, bypassing wards.
But Hollow's Edge was ready.
Crystalline towers ignited. Sentinels rained burning arcs. Borin's scouts triggered mana traps that exploded into vines of fire.
Garrick met one of the aberrants head-on, driving a relic spear through its core. "You think we forgot how to bleed?" he roared.
> [System Event – Hollow's Edge Defense Protocols Activated]
Morale: High | Casualties: Minimal | Constructs Destroyed: 73%
Alert: Aberrant Variant Detected – Leechborn
From the rear of the enemy lines, something larger stirred.
A creature robed in human skin and iron writhed forward — not a soldier, but a message.
Its voice echoed across the battlefield: "Your master flees to the mountains. But the village burns behind him."
Mara raised her sword. "Then we show them this village never kneels."
---
Final Scene – Between Worlds
As Uther prepared to leave the capital under cover of night, he looked back at the skyline once more.
He could feel it — like a thread pulled tight between his heart and Hollow's Edge.
The Cult was striking everywhere at once.
But he had a name now.
A place.
A mission that could unravel the serpent's body and expose the true hand behind the veil.
And for the first time, the war didn't feel like defense.
It felt like justice.