The temporary reprieve from the Sentinel's audit bought Elias precious, fleeting time, but Sage Arthan's direct move confirmed the escalating danger. He was no longer working in the shadows; he was openly challenging the highest powers in the Realm. Elias knew he couldn't delay any longer. He had to unravel the identity of the Phantom User, the one who had so subtly manipulated the Ledger for the Alchemists' Guild. The Observer had claimed it was a Guild-aligned Sage, but something felt off.
He returned to the subtle edits, the exquisite precision, the perfect integration of the Phantom's manipulations. He cross-referenced the patterns he had seen, the beneficiaries of the hidden promotions and the erased failures, with the Observer's own internal data on Guild hierarchy and influence. He looked for a figure powerful enough to command such loyalty, skilled enough to perform such undetectable work, and secretive enough to remain hidden for so long.
Then, a name surfaced, a faint echo from a century-old record. A Rank 6 alchemist named Master Veyra. The official records stated she had died decades ago in a catastrophic lab accident, a tragic loss to the Guild. But the Observer's fragmented data hinted at inconsistencies, anomalies in the karmic footprint of the accident itself.
Elias focused his Karmic Lens, delving into the Observer's deepest, raw data streams, bypassing the normal Ledger interface. He sought the true karmic signature of Master Veyra, both before and after her supposed death. The "accident," he discovered, was a perfectly orchestrated illusion. Veyra's karmic footprint hadn't dissipated; it had simply shifted, cloaked itself in an entirely new identity, a new reality. Her "death" was a carefully crafted cover-up.
A chilling insight solidified in Elias's mind: The Phantom User wasn't Sage Arthan. It was his former apprentice, Master Veyra, now the Guild's secret leader. She was a Rank 6 alchemist, a master of manipulation, and clearly, a devoted student of Arthan's dark arts. Her "death" had allowed her to operate entirely outside the normal strictures of society, a ghost in the machine, tirelessly working to advance the Guild's agenda.
This explained everything. Veyra's edits always spared alchemists – she was fiercely loyal to her craft, protecting her own. The subtle nature of her manipulations, the way she made failures disappear, wasn't just about power; it was about protecting the Guild's most valuable assets, ensuring their rise through the ranks.
The Observer's voice, emanating from Lian's form, confirmed his discovery. "Master Veyra. A true shadow. She inherited Arthan's methods, but she perfected them. She is the blade that executes his will within the Guild."
Elias felt a profound sense of clarity, but also a renewed sense of dread. He wasn't just fighting a corrupt Sage. He was fighting a hidden leader, a ghost of an alchemist who wielded the Ledger with the precision of a master surgeon, whose loyalty to Arthan was absolute, and who was now coordinating the karmic weapon's completion. The web of power was tighter, more insidious than he had ever imagined.