Ryle sat on the rooftop balcony of the Elden Castle, watching the stars shimmer above like broken fragments of truth. He'd hardly slept since the encounter with Nytheris. The nightmare had left a residue in his soul—a discomfort that even Thea's quiet presence couldn't soothe.
But something else was bothering him now.
He glanced down at the back of his right hand.
There it was again.
A mark, faint at first, but now clearly visible—a black triangle, with a vertical line running through its center, pulsing softly with dark light.
It wasn't a wound. It didn't hurt.
But it felt like something watching him.
Before he could analyze further, a voice echoed in his mind—telepathic, urgent, and familiar.
"Ryle."
He stiffened. "Sylvaris?"
"Dravenith has a mark. On his left shoulder. We need you. Now."
Ryle didn't hesitate. He turned to Thea, who had just entered their room, a book tucked under her arm.
"Thea," he said, his voice tight. "We're going to Dragon Mountain. Now."
The air above Dragon Mountain crackled with tension as Ryle and Thea landed on the rocky ledge outside the hidden cave, the home of the dragons.
Dravenith stood waiting
"Show me," he said before Ryle could speak.
Ryle held up his hand.
Dravenith pulled her sleeve aside—revealing the same triangle and line, but on his left shoulder, etched in a deeper black, almost burned into her flesh.
"Who did this?" Ryle asked.
Dravenith shook his head. "It appeared the same night you fought Nytheris."
"Same for me," he said.
They both turned as Vaelthia, the great dragon matriarch and their mother, descended from the shadows of the cave. Regal, calm… until she saw the marks.
Her smile froze. "Oh, that? Just, uh… magical residue from, um, dragon energy. Harmless, really."
Ryle narrowed his eyes. Dravenith raised an eyebrow.
They spoke in unison.
"She's terrible at lying."
Vaelthia chuckled nervously. "Can't blame me for trying."
Before she could explain—or invent another excuse—an explosion ripped through the air, shaking the cavern walls.
Dust rained down. Cracks splintered the entrance.
Ryle and Dravenith turned sharply.
Outside.
They ran to the ledge.
Sylvaris, in her humanoid form, was in midair—locked in combat with a figure cloaked in black, the air around them rippling with raw force.
As the wind blasted the cloak away, the figure was revealed—
A man, calm and expressionless, with two small horns curving from his forehead.
His left arm was grotesque, warped, and inhuman—covered in blinking eyes, each iris moving independently, watching everything.
Dravenith's face darkened. "What the hell is that…"
The man raised his grotesque arm and pointed at Sylvaris.
A beam of concentrated light shot forward—white-hot, humming like divine judgment.
It obliterated Sylvaris midair.
She vanished into ash.
Thea gasped. "No—!"
But then—
Sylvaris reformed behind the man, arms stretched, grinning madly.
Her voice echoed, deeper than before.
"I'm an undead, idiot."
She lunged again.
The man didn't flinch.
His eyes locked onto Thea, who stood on the ledge behind Ryle, hand near her swords.
He smiled.
A slow, unnatural smile.
And in a flash—he vanished.
Thea's hand flew to Twinlight.
Too late.
The man reappeared inches from her, eyes wide, ready to strike.
But before he could land a blow—
CLANG!
A fiery blade intercepted him, sparks flying.
Tobin stood between them, flames bursting from his sword.
"You're not touching her," he said coldly.
The man took a step back, smiling with no malice, as if testing them.
And then—
A whisper behind Ryle.
"That's him," Kessia said, stepping out of the shadows, her daggers drawn, eyes narrowing.
"The freak who killed Nytheris."
Ryle's mind spun.
The beam.
The eyes.
The article.
He remembered it clearly—one of the first things he ever published as a journalist.
A murderer who appears from nowhere, kills high-level targets, and vanishes.
Never speaks.
Never leaves tracks.
A walking myth.
A nightmare given form.
His codename was whispered only once in every military report.
"Fiend."
Ryle's fists clenched.
He raised his hand.
The mark on his skin burned.
And the Fiend smiled again.