Chapter 10 — Versalis, the City of Divine Medals
Versalis…
A land that glimmers like an ancient wound upon the world's skin, buried deep in the dark.
Its tall, blackened walls stretch to the skies like the broken bones of a dead city.
Through its narrow, twisting alleys, the sound of bells tolls — bells that ring for heroes who never returned.
At the heart of Versalis stands The Hall of Heroes.
A massive structure, with volcanic stone pillars and walls carved with ghostlike faces.
In the center of the hall, seven towering statues stand tall…
Seven figures forged of dark silver…
Each one representing a rank of the guild.
But only three statues shine with a different light…
Three figures, burning eternal in the hall's sacred flames.
Donati…
A hero whose name became legend.
A man who brought shadows to their knees and fell in a merciless battle.
His statue's face is scarred and proud…
A bitter smile, as if he knew his time had come.
Zelia…
A lady holding a flame in her stone palms.
Trapped in the Forbidden Ruins — a place where cursed earth still breathes.
For a year she has been imprisoned in darkness.
Yet the stone fire in her eyes still burns.
Karen…
A name that drifts in whispers.
His statue is half-faded and empty.
No face, no name…
Only a shining divine medal hanging before it, glowing quietly.
People say:
"Karen never stood in the hall… because he lives in the shadows."
Now, Arya, fourteen years old, arrives from distant lands.
Wounds from years of travel and battles weigh heavy on her body and soul.
She takes shelter in a grand inn at the city's main square.
An inn with walls of charred wood, high ceilings, and misty windows.
Rooms filled with faded paintings of hunters and shadows…
And a lively hall where the sounds of laughter, drinks, and sword-talk mix.
Arya joins the Versalis Adventurer's Guild.
A guild of shadow hunters…
Each time a shadow is slain, a shadow crystal drops…
Crystals traded for medals of honor:
Wooden, Bronze, Iron, Gold, Black Gold, Rainbow, and Divine.
In her first hunt, deep within the abandoned city, Arya faces a human-shaped shadow.
A savage battle…
A moment where Arya awakens a part of darkness inside her…
Her eyes glow briefly in the dark…
And her sword, surging with a wild dark energy, pierces through the heart of the shadow.
A small black crystal drops from its corpse…
And Arya's first bronze medal begins to glow in the guild's hall.
But the people of Versalis whisper…
"That girl… she carries the scent of shadows… and looks too much like Donati…"
Arya does not yet know… this city is the beginning of the darkest chapter of her fate.
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