The Brotherhood's war room was dim, lit only by the soft glow of a few arcane lanterns mounted along the stone walls. A large round table sat at the center, scarred with age, its surface etched with maps, runes, and old bloodstains.
Every member of the Black Halo was present, the room buzzing with murmurs and shifting feet.
Lora stood at the head of the table, her arms crossed, red robe faintly gleaming in the lanternlight. Her expression was unreadable—stern, focused, and cold.
"Listen up," she said, and the room silenced immediately.
She turned to the table and unfurled a map, slamming a dagger into its center to pin it down.
"Our target is here," she said, tapping a marked region near the eastern trade routes. "A fortified convoy—protected by mercenaries and two Arcanists. They're transporting something off the books. Something the kingdom doesn't want anyone seeing."
Malrek leaned forward. "What are we stealing?"
"Not stealing. Extracting," Lora replied. "A person."
The room tensed.
"Who?" Blake asked, stepping closer.
Lora hesitated for a heartbeat.
"Her name is Selene. A deviant—high-value, dangerous, and powerful because of her soulbrand. They're trying to smuggle her across the border before anyone notices. Our client wants her alive."
Javier whistled low. "So… just another day at the office."
"Not quite," Lora said. "This one's a timed job. We have less than a day before the convoy reaches royal territory. Once it crosses the border, we lose her."
She looked up, her eyes landing on Mirai.
"You'll be leading the infiltration."
Gasps rippled across the room.
Mirai blinked. "Me?"
"You're familiar with the terrain, and your soulbrand is perfect for the job. This mission needs finesse before fire. You're ready."
Blake saw the conflict in Mirai's eyes—pride, fear, determination.
"The rest of us will move in as soon as she signals. Malrek, Javier, and Blake—you're on direct assault. Disrupt the guard formation and create a diversion."
Malrek cracked his knuckles. "Finally. Something to hit."
"What about me?" asked Drayce, one of the younger members. He was a small, young boy with short black hair.
"Backup. If things go wrong, you burn the convoy with your technique. Leave no traces."
Lora straightened, her voice sharp now.
"Remember: this isn't just another raid. We're rescuing one of our own. If the kingdom's willing to chain her up and hide her in the dark, then she might be someone they fear."
The room went still again.
Then Blake asked, "And if she's dangerous to us too?"
Lora's eyes locked with his.
"Then we put her down ourselves."
Silence. Then she turned, heading for the exit.
"We leave in two hours. Gear up."
In the gear room, the air smelled of oil, leather, and steel. Blake tightened the straps on his dark brown battle vest, the hardened leather flexing with every breath. Beside him, Malrek stood bare-chested, admiring himself in the mirror before slipping on his outfit.
"Looking good is half the battle," He said smugly.
"And getting punched in the face is the other half," Javier quipped as he adjusted his gauntlets. His blonde hair was slicked back, and the sides of his head were shaved clean. He glanced over at Blake and grinned. "Oi, white hair—you ready to get your ass handed to you on your first mission?"
Blake rolled his eyes. "You talk a lot for someone who got kicked out of the ring yesterday."
"That was a fluke, and you know it," Javier muttered.
Drayce sat quietly in the corner, fastening the clasps on his gear. He didn't speak unless he had to, but the faint shimmer of his Soulbrand was visible along his arm—veins of ember-black energy pulsing with restrained fury. The air around him was noticeably warmer.
"Calm down, Drayce," Lora said, entering the room. "Don't burn the place down before we even leave."
He looked away, jaw tight.
"I'm calm," he muttered.
She tossed him a dark cloak. "Keep that energy for when we reach the convoy."
Mirai was already outside, adjusting the saddle on her horse. Her hair was tied up, and a faint shimmer danced across her skin—the early signs of her camouflage technique warming up.
One by one, the team mounted up. The evening was quiet, with only the wind whispering through the trees as their horses set off into the setting sun.
They rode in formation—Lora at the front, Malrek and Blake close behind, Javier and Drayce trailing, Mirai weaving in and out of view like a shadow with a pulse.
Blake rode up beside Lora.
"So… who's the client?" he asked casually.
Lora didn't look at him. "You don't need to know."
Her voice was sharp—too sharp. Blake raised an eyebrow but didn't press. Still, something about her tone, her stiff posture, the way she avoided eye contact—it unsettled him. This was his first mission, but he knew suspicion when he saw it.
Behind them, Javier nudged Malrek.
"She's hiding something."
"Aren't we all?" Malrek replied with a shrug.
The road ahead stretched like a vein of silver in the moonlight. Trees loomed like silent sentinels on either side. They would reach the ambush point by dawn.
They set up camp deep in a clearing, well off the main road. Trees formed a dark wall around them, and the only light came from the crackling campfire in the center. Horses were tied to nearby branches, and packs were unloaded. Everyone moved like clockwork, accustomed to the rhythm of missions.
Javier tossed a bundle of kindling onto the fire and grinned at Blake.
"Oi, white hair, you sure you're not gonna freeze tonight? You look like a damn ghost out here."
"You worried about me, Javier?" Blake shot back with a smirk. "I didn't know you cared."
"Pfft," Javier scoffed. "Just don't want to drag your frozen corpse back. You'd be heavy, and I don't do charity."
Drayce sat cross-legged near the edge of the firelight, staring into the flames. Shadows flickered across his face, giving his features a strange, calm intensity. Every so often, his black flames—abyssphyre—crackled at his fingertips as if reacting to his thoughts.
"What're you thinking about?" Mirai asked, appearing beside him almost silently.
"Nothing," Drayce replied. "Just… keeping it in check."
"You're doing better," she said softly, offering him a smile. "No smoke yet."
Across the fire, Malrek leaned back on his bedroll, arms crossed behind his head.
"Y'know," he said lazily, "first missions usually go sideways. Someone panics, someone bleeds, someone cries. Usually Javier."
"Oi—!" Javier started.
"I'm kidding," Malrek said, though the grin under his mask was obvious. "Mostly."
Blake poked at the fire with a stick, then looked at Lora, who had been sitting apart from the group, quietly checking her gear. She hadn't said much since they set up.
"Still not gonna tell me who hired us?" he asked.
Lora looked up, met his eyes. The fire reflected in them like twin sparks.
"Not tonight."
"I don't like going in blind," Blake muttered.
"You'll manage," she replied.
Silence settled for a beat—until Mirai broke it by clapping her hands.
"Alright. Who wants to play a game?"
Javier groaned. "If it's that stupid coin-flip lie game again, I'm out."
"Nope," Mirai said, grinning. "Truth or dare. Brotherhood edition."
Even Malrek sat up at that.
"Oh no," he said. "This won't end well."
They played under starlight. Dares turned into harmless mischief—Javier had to sing a lullaby in falsetto, Drayce had to hold hands with Malrek for five full minutes. Truths revealed hidden scars and small confessions. Lora didn't join, but even she cracked a smile at Blake's terrible impersonation of Malrek.
Later, when the fire died down and most of them were asleep, Blake sat alone on a fallen log just outside the camp.
He stared at the stars, breathing in the cold night air.
Mirai approached quietly and sat beside him. They didn't speak for a while.
"Why's your hair white?" she finally asked.
Blake shrugged. "I don't know. Been like this since I was a kid. My brothers always said I was cursed."
"Do you believe them?"
He smiled faintly. "Not anymore. But I'm gonna find out one day. I want to know everything about myself… even the parts no one else wants to."
Mirai studied him, then laughed softly. "You're weird."
"And yet you're the one sitting next to me," Blake teased.
She nudged him with her shoulder. "Shut up."
They sat in silence again until sleep finally won. By dawn, the stars were gone. And the mission awaited.
The group rode in silence as the sun crept over the horizon, washing the forest in pale gold. The road had narrowed into a dirt trail flanked by thick underbrush and moss-covered trees, their twisted branches clawing at the morning mist.
Blake rode near the front, flanked by Malrek and Javier, while Lora and Mirai trailed behind with Drayce in the rear, ever watchful. No one had spoken since breaking camp. The lightness from the night before had vanished, replaced by a sharpened edge in the air.
Lora eventually raised a hand, signaling them to slow. The horses came to a stop just beyond a slope overlooking a small valley.
"There," she said, dismounting.
The others followed suit and gathered beside her at the edge. Below was a fortified compound, half-hidden by thick tree cover and overgrown vines. A crumbling wall surrounded it, its stone weathered with time. Moss clung to the broken towers, and dark banners flapped gently in the wind, marked with a crest Blake didn't recognize.
Several guards patrolled the perimeter—light armor, lightly armed, but disciplined. This wasn't a random bandit hideout. It was organized.
"This is it?" Malrek asked, arms crossed.
"Yes," Lora replied. "The intel was right. This is where they're keeping it."
"It?" Blake asked, eyeing her.
"The package," Lora said quickly. "
Blake frowned, but didn't push further. Not now.
Javier knelt and pulled a scope from his pouch, peering through it.
"Guard rotations every five minutes. Back wall looks weak. Could slip in that way."
"Mirai?" Lora turned to her.
Mirai nodded, already focusing. Her outline shimmered faintly—then vanished. Her Soulbrand allowed her to bend light around her body, rendering her practically invisible. She called it Veil. Silent as a shadow, she descended the slope alone to scout.
"She'll give us a signal when it's time," Lora said.
"And what's the signal?" Drayce asked.
"You'll know," Lora replied.
Malrek cracked his knuckles. "Hope this, Selene, is worth it. My boots are already muddy, and I hate mud."
Blake crouched near a tree, watching the compound. Something about it felt… wrong. Not just the secrecy. There was something beneath it—an unease he couldn't name. He kept his hand close to his weapon.
"Stay sharp," Lora said, voice low.
Blake adjusted the leather straps on his chest, glancing at the others. Malrek stood beside him, spinning a dagger between his fingers. Javier stretched his arms, humming a soft tune as if getting ready for a performance. Drayce sat in silence, eyes locked on the compound ahead, his irises faintly glowing with a dangerous hue.
Then it came—a subtle flash in the trees. A ripple of light, like heat shimmer.
Mirai's signal.
"That's our cue," Lora whispered. "Let's move."
The team split into their roles with silent efficiency. Mirai had already disabled the back patrols and opened a gap in the crumbling wall. One by one, they slipped inside the compound's perimeter.
Inside, the air felt thicker, heavier with tension. Shadows danced between broken columns and ruined towers. The guards were scattered, unaware. Too easy, Blake thought. His instincts were screaming.
They reached the central courtyard quickly. A carriage—dark wood reinforced with iron—sat surrounded by crates and armed guards. Two figures in cloaks stood by it, speaking in hushed tones.
"That's the convoy," Malrek muttered. "Time to hit."
Without waiting, he launched forward—swift and surgical. Blake and Javier followed, fists and steel flying. Chaos exploded across the courtyard.
Lora's blades danced in the torchlight. Drayce activated Abysspyre, his Soulbrand—his gaze igniting the crates, engulfing them in black flame. Screams echoed. Guards dropped like flies.
Blake ducked a sword swipe, countered with a bone-cracking punch, and moved on instinct. His training took over. They were winning.
Then a scream cut through the chaos.
Selene.
She had been with the convoy, tied up and restrained as part of the mission target—though no one had expected her to be more than just a prisoner. Now, she stood at the center of it all, eyes wide with terror. Her body trembled violently, her skin glowing faintly gold.
Blake turned just in time to see her Soulbrand activate—and lose control.
Her scream became a roar.
Golden tendrils of energy burst from her back like wings of fire. Scales rippled across her arms. Her hands curled into claws. Her spine arched, body twisting in unnatural ways as her soul reacted violently to the fear, the blood, the magic around her.
"She's turning—!" Malrek shouted.
A shockwave burst from Selene, knocking half the team to the ground. The air burned with heat. Her eyes were no longer human.
The dragon was awakening.
Blake stared, horrified—not at the power, but at the pain on her face. She wasn't in control.
"She doesn't want this," he whispered.
But it was too late.
The mission was no longer about winning. It was about surviving.