The night hung heavy over the city, as if the very darkness itself had thickened beyond its usual depth. The air was oppressive, pressing down on their chests, forcing people to hold their breath without realizing it.
Kano walked slowly through the narrow streets of the western sector, his gaze wandering over the houses, their windows flickering with fleeting lights. The city seemed to hold its breath, too quiet, like the tense silence before a storm.
Heavy footsteps echoed behind them.
— "Too quiet," mumbled Rudgard, running his hand along the handle of his hammer. — "Something should happen, anything, just to break this silence that's starting to irritate me."
Naira walked to the right, her fingers continuously tightening and loosening around the axe handle. Like everyone here, she sensed something strange, but she didn't like to speak of such things out loud.
— "Don't worry, dwarf," she muttered, spitting on the ground. — "If anyone shows up, I'll be the first to start smashing."
Lianel was silent, but her eyes constantly scanned the darkness. She walked slightly ahead, as though leading the group.
Selina walked beside Kano, her fingers nervously brushing the edge of her sleeve. Suddenly, she gripped Kano's hand tightly, halting him in his tracks.
— "The barrier…" Her voice was barely a whisper. — "Something's affecting it. This isn't normal."
Kano lifted his head.
The dome enveloping the city flickered, as it should for a magical barrier. But in certain spots, its glow seemed unstable. He saw thin, dark veins running along the surface of the dome, barely noticeable, but impossible to ignore.
— "It's like it's breaking apart," he murmured.
Lianel stopped so abruptly that Rudgard nearly collided with her.
— "Something's coming," she said.
Her hand reached for the arrow, narrowing her eyes as she stared into the darkness beyond the barrier. Something flickered among the trees. It wasn't the usual rustling of branches from the wind.
Naira gripped her axe tighter.
— "If they come, I'll strike first."
Kano could feel the stillness of the air around them. The silence, the feeling of waiting... it was wrong.
Suddenly, a scream ripped through the east sector.
Sharp, piercing, full of terror.
Kano felt something cold run down his spine.
— "It's begun," he said quietly.
Everyone else had already drawn their weapons.
The night was no longer silent.
The scream shattered the quiet, pulling the city from its false calm. It was short, cut off… and did not repeat.
Kano barely had time to take a step forward when he felt something shift in the air. The barrier, which had been pulsing with a steady magical light just moments before, shuddered. Its glow dimmed, and dark spirals began to form on the surface, as if something was eating it from the inside.
— "What is this?" Lianel raised her bow, her eyes wide. — "Are they already inside?!"
Selina tightly gripped Kano's hand, and he felt her fingers tremble.
— "This isn't just an attack," her voice was soft, almost trembling. — "They know what they're doing. They're targeting the weak points of the barrier!"
Naira clicked her tongue, sharply turning toward the nearest barrier node in the western sector.
— "What the hell are we doing standing here, talking?" She shifted her axe to one hand. — "We need to stop them before they make things worse!"
Rudgard was already heading toward the barrier node, where deep magical seals were carved into the ground. His steps were heavy and quick as his hand reached for his hammer.
— "Damn it… I don't see any enemies!"
Kano saw nothing either. But he felt them.
The darkness began to move.
Shadows tore free from the alleys, as if they had grown from the very walls, spilling from dark corners, twisting the shapes of the streets. At first, it seemed like just a movement in the night's gloom, but then… they came alive.
Black silhouettes in cloaks emerged from the darkness, as if they were part of it. There were dozens of them. Long folds of fabric obscured their faces, but faint red eyes glowed from beneath their hoods.
Kano felt something tighten within him. His heart raced, and his fingers instinctively gripped the hilt of his sword.
— "The Secret Order…" Selina whispered, stepping back a pace.
Lianel didn't wait. She shot first.
The arrow whistled through the air, striking one of the silhouettes… and passed right through it. The black cloak billowed, as if there was no body inside, only smoke.
— "An illusion!" she exclaimed.
But not all of them.
One of the cultists suddenly lunged forward, moving faster than the human eye could track. His hand, wrapped in black shadow, reached out toward Naira, aiming straight for her.
Naira didn't retreat.
She spun around, and her axe struck with such force that the street trembled with the sound of the air being split. The blade cut through the darkness, scattering black mist, but the cultist managed to dodge back just in time.
— "They move like demons!" she shouted.
Rudgard didn't hesitate. He took two heavy steps forward and swung his hammer down onto the cobblestones. The ground beneath the ominous figures shook, and a wave of debris shot up. Those who didn't manage to jump back were knocked to the ground, scattered like toys.
Kano drew his sword and fell into a fighting stance.
— "They're testing us," he said. "This isn't the real attack yet."
The cultists advanced again, but this time they didn't stop.
The streets filled with shadows, the magical barrier flickered out, and the city was swallowed by a new, dark reality.
And this was just the beginning.
The darkness felt alive. It crawled through the narrow streets of the city, creeping up the walls, swallowing the light of the lanterns, and creating the sensation that the city itself was dissolving into the abyss. Kano felt something within him tighten, as if his own body was trying to respond to the magic that filled the air.
The barrier, which had been unyielding just moments before, now trembled, as if something was devouring it from the inside. The dome's flickering light dimmed, and a low, guttural hum echoed through the air, like a distant groan.
The cultists no longer tested them – they attacked.
Naira was already in the heart of the battle. Her battle axe moved with a frenetic speed, cutting through the air and striking enemy figures with such force that the dark mist shattered, scattering like waves crashing against a rock.
— "They're not human!" she yelled, cleaving one attacker in half. But instead of blood, black gloom poured from his body, quickly dissipating into the air.
Rudgard stood like a wall. His hammer slammed into the ground, shattering the cobblestones and sending shockwaves that forced the cultists to retreat. But they didn't stop. They fell, but their forms reformed, rising from the shadows as though they had never disappeared.
— "Can they even die?!" he shouted, stepping back a few paces to avoid a retaliatory strike.
Lianel didn't answer with words. She quickly drew the string and loosed three arrows at once. They cut through the street's darkness, piercing several cultists at once. But even after their bodies hit the ground, they left nothing behind but black smoke.
Kano felt an unfamiliar sensation growing in his chest. It wasn't fear. It was something else. His muscles tensed on their own, and his breathing deepened.
And then the air changed.
The street grew colder. Even the lantern flames dimmed. Each breath felt heavier, as if the very oxygen was trying to flee from this place.
From the darkness, two emerged.
The first was dressed in a black robe, his face hidden beneath the hood, but a thin smile was visible – calm, as if nothing in the world mattered to him. His hands were wrapped in dark magic that pulsed around him like shadows with a will of their own.
— "You're late," his voice was soft, but there was something wrong about it, something that made the heart freeze for a moment. — "The barrier will fall soon."