Date: January 1, 2018 | Time: 10:15 AM
Location: Requiem Guild Headquarters – Central Office
Perspective: Celia
The interior of the Requiem Guild was a place of business, far removed from the rowdy cheering of the lower-tier taverns. I walked close to Kai, my black dress swishing softly against the polished floor.
I liked how we looked together—matchhhhingggg!!!
A receptionist blocked our path near the grand staircase. He was a stiff-looking man with a chin that pointed too high.
"I'm sorry," the man said, not looking sorry at all.
"Guild Master Sylvia is not seeing anyone without a prior appointment. Please leave your request with the front desk."
Lucas stepped forward, flashing a practiced, gentlemanly smile. I could tell he was about to start one of his long, charismatic speeches to charm our way in. But before he could utter a word, Kai reached out. He placed a hand on Lucas's shoulder, gently pulling him back.
"Let me," Kai murmured.
I watched as Kai walked the receptionist toward a corner. They whispered for a few minutes. I couldn't hear the words, but I saw the receptionist's stiff posture melt. His eyes widened, then softened, and then he let out a short, surprised laugh.
When they returned, they looked like lifelong bestfriends.
"My apologies for the wait!" the man said, beaming.
"I'm Marcus. The receptionist and C-ranked—just your average guy, really, but I know quality when I see it. Follow me, please. Sylvia will be delighted."
As Marcus led us up the stairs, I leaned into Kai, whispering so only he could hear.
"How did you do that, Kai? He was ready to throw us out."
Kai didn't even look at me, his expression perfectly neutral.
"I told him he had the eyes of a man who appreciated rare vintage ales and that I happened to know the owner of the Gilded Tankard. A little recognition goes a long way with people who feel invisible."
Lucas snorted from behind us. "Basically, he used his 'Fake Connections' to gaslight a man into friendship. Teach me your ways, Master."
We reached a set of double oak doors at the end of the hall. Marcus knocked once and opened them.
"Welcoming myself!" Lucas shouted, strolling inside before Marcus could even announce us. He acted like he owned the building, his hands in his pockets as he surveyed the room.
I followed, my eyes narrowing as I scanned the office. It was large and filled with books. Two girls were inside. One was sitting behind the desk—silver hair, silver eyes, looking every bit the 'Goddess' Lucas had described.
That had to be Sylvia.
But then, my gaze shifted to the other girl standing near the window. My heart skipped a beat, in surprise..
No way.
Sophia?
"Lucas?" Sylvia said, looking up from her papers. Her voice was flat, devoid of the arrogance. "What are you doing here? And why are you entering without permission?"
"Oh, come on, Sylvia," Lucas said, leaning against her desk. "Is that any way to treat an old friend? I heard you were running the show here and figured I'd bring my business to the best."
Sylvia sighed, her silver eyes flicking toward me. "And you brought a friend. Is she the reason for this sudden visit?"
"Not just her," Lucas said, a mischievous glint in his eyes. He snapped his fingers toward the open door. "I brought someone special. Someone you haven't seen in a very long time."
Kai stepped into the room.
The silence that followed was deafening. Sylvia froze, her pen hovering over the parchment. But it was Sophia who reacted the most. She turned pale, her breath hitching as she stared at Kai as if seeing a ghost.
"Kaiser...?" Sophia stuttered.
My eyes sharpened instantly. I felt the familiar, dark prickle of my Cursed magic reacting to my mood. My fingers brushed the ring on my hand.
Yeah… they went to the same academy.
"Look at this," Sylvia said, her voice dry as she leaned back in her chair. "The dead actually decided to come back to life. I thought ghosts usually stayed in their graves, Kaiser."
"That's the first thing you have to say to me, Sylvia?" Kaiser asked, his tone flat. "I expected a bit more effort for a resurrection."
"Well, I could do much better," Sylvia replied, a sharp smirk playing on her silver lips. "But I'm not sure your heart could handle a proper welcome. You were always a bit dramatic about your exits."
Sophia took a hesitant step closer, her green eyes wide as she scanned Kaiser's face, searching for a flaw in the reality before her. "You're alive..." she whispered, her voice cracking.
"Kaiser, you're... you're really alive."
"Back from the afterlife," Kaiser said with a brief nod. "It was crowded. I figured I'd come back here and bother you all instead."
I stood rooted to the spot, my blood beginning to simmer.
I remembered Sophia. We had been 'friends' once, along with Arius and Isaac. She was part of that original circle back at Levinton. But the way she was looking at him—with that raw, trembling awe—made the Cursed magic in my veins pulse with a violent, territorial need.
I recalled her mentioning once that Kaiser had 'faked' his death. It had been a shock then, but seeing the pieces fit together now was infuriating. I forced myself to stay quiet, my fingers digging into the fabric of my dress, but inside, I was already imagining her six feet under.
"Wait, back up," Sophia said, her voice regaining some of its stubborn edge as she looked at Kaiser. "You faked it! You actually let everyone think you were gone! Do you have any idea how much of a whiny mess we were? It was exhausting!"
"You are always a mess," Kaiser countered sarcastically. "I simply provided you with a more valid reason to be one. Besides, the solitude was quite refreshing. No academy politics, no lingering debts... it was almost peaceful."
"Peaceful? You're a jerk!" Sophia huffed, though her eyes were shining. "You could have at least sent a letter. A note? Anything? 'Hey, I'm not actually a corpse, don't mind the funeral.' It's the bare minimum, Kaiser!"
"Letters leave trails," Kaiser shrugged. "Dead men are much better at keeping secrets."
"And you," Sylvia interjected, turning her silver gaze to Lucas. "You're just as bad for bringing him here without a warning. You always did have a penchant for the theatrical, you lone wolf."
"Lone wolf?" Lucas let out a sharp laugh. "Is that what we're calling 'top of the class' these days? I prefer the term 'charismatic leader,' but I guess 'Goddess' Sylvia is too busy failing at her paperwork to recognize greatness when it walks in."
"Don't call me that," Sylvia snapped, her composure slipping as she stood up. "And don't act like you own this guild. You're a guest, Lucas. One who is currently trespassing on my patience."
Sophia giggled at the exchange, but Lucas immediately pointed a finger at her. "Don't laugh! You're just as clumsy as you were at Rinascita."
Sophia stepped back, her face flushing. "I did not laugh!"
"Laughing is fine, Sophia. Lucas is just being an idiot," Sylvia said, walking around her desk to meet Lucas's eyes. They stood inches apart, a familiar, roasting tension crackling between them.
"I've handled bigger ego-maniacs than you before breakfast. If you want my help for something, you'd better start showing some respect."
"Respect is earned, Sylvia," Lucas grinned, not backing down. "And so far, all I've seen is a fancy office and a very grumpy guild master."
I watched them, my focus alternating between their bickering and the way Sophia kept stealing glances at Kaiser.
My blood felt like it was turning to acid. I hated the way they all spoke to him—with history, with shared jokes, with a familiarity that I hadn't been a part of.
He was mine. He belonged to my future, not their petty academy memories.
Sylvia's eyes finally drifted away from Lucas, landing on me. Her smirk deepened, a knowing, predatory glint entering her silver gaze. She stepped toward me, her posture confident and aristocratic.
"And who is this lovely girl?" Sylvia asked, her voice dropping into a smooth, melodic mockery. "You've been awfully quiet, dear. Does the little bird not have a voice?"
I felt my pulse hammer against my throat, my blood still simmering from the way they looked at Kai.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," Sylvia said, her voice softening into a mask of perfect, noble empathy. "I'm just curious about new faces. What is your name, dear?"
I forced my expression to flatten into something harmless. "I'm... Jenny. Just a traveler."
"Jenny," Sylvia repeated, her smile widening into something dangerous. She turned toward Lucas, her tone shifting into a playful, mocking lilt.
"You really brought Kaiser and 'Celia' to Sylvaris, huh? Are you planning to destroy my town today, Lucas? Because I'd appreciate a head-start on the evacuation."
My breath hitched.
"Celia?" Sophia asked suddenly, her voice high and confused. She took a step toward me, squinting. "Wait... Lucas, is she—?"
"U-uh... what—?" I mumbled, my heart skipping beats. I stared at the floor, trying to find the right level of stuttering confusion. "W-who is Celia? I'm... I'm Jenny."
Sylvia raised her hands in a mocking gesture of surrender.
"Oh, please. The way you were staring at us when we spoke to Kaiser? And you know, I did see you in the Trial myself. You look the exact same, just with different hair and eyes."
"You might be able to fool Sophia, but you can't fool me."
"HEY!" Sophia yelled, stomping her foot. "I'm not that easy to fool! I just... I was focused on the fact that Kaiser isn't a corpse! Give me a break!"
Sylvia ignored her, her silver eyes locked onto mine. "So, what brings you here, Celia?"
I didn't answer. I couldn't. My mind was racing—calculating how many seconds it would take to reach her throat if I stopped pretending to be 'Jenny'.
"She's Celia?" Sophia whispered, her voice full of a shock that felt a little too genuine. "But... she looks so different. And why are you with him? I thought... I mean, at Rinascita, you two were..."
"Rinascita is over, Sophia," Kaiser interrupted.
He stepped forward, placing himself slightly in front of me, cutting off Sylvia's line of sight. "The past stays where it belongs. We aren't here for a reunion or to discuss identities."
Sylvia's smirk didn't fade, but she tilted her head, acknowledging his authority. "Then why are you in my office, Kaiser?"
"Besides making my receptionist fall in love with you?"
"We wish to become an official party," Kaiser said, his blue eyes meeting her silver ones with a chilling lack of emotion.
"And we need your help to bypass the bureaucratic nonsense, Sylvia. Are you going to help us, or am I going to have to find another way?"
Sylvia twirled a strand of silver hair around her finger, her expression unreadable for a heartbeat before she began to giggle. The sound grew, escalating into a full, resonant laugh that echoed off the basalt walls of the office.
"Aha—hahaha! Oh, this is wild!"
Lucas raised an eyebrow, looking genuinely confused, while Sophia blinked in surprise. My own blood, which had been boiling with territorial static, suddenly cooled. There was something so jarringly random about her laughter that it broke the tension.
Sylvia slammed her palm onto the mahogany desk with a sharp crack, still breathless.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! It's just—look at you three!"
She pointed a finger at Lucas first, her silver eyes shimmering with mockery. "We have the legendary 'Lone Wolf' of the Academy. The boy who wouldn't share a pencil, let alone a strategy, unless it served his own narcissistic climb. Now he's out here playing team leader?"
"Hey, I was a 'solitary genius,'" Lucas defended, though he looked slightly affronted.
Sylvia ignored him, turning her gaze to Kaiser. "And then we have the 'Average Guy' who barely puts in the effort to tie his own shoes, yet somehow strolls through life winning every engagement like a total con-artist. You were always faking it, Kaiser, even back then."
Finally, her eyes landed on me, sharp and knowing. "And lastly, we have Miss 'Jenny' over here, who clearly thinks a different hair color and a nervous stutter is enough to hide the fact that she's the most dangerous person in the room."
She wiped a stray tear from her eye, leaning back and exhaling. "What a party! It's like a circus act disguised as a mercenary group."
"What's so funny?" Lucas asked, crossing his arms. "We're here for business, Sylvia."
"The business of guilds is logistics, Lucas," Sylvia said, her voice dropping into a more professional, grounded tone.
"To form an official party in Sylvaris, you have to be registered members of a guild. You do quests, the guild takes a cut for 'administration,' and in exchange, you get legal protection, access to restricted zones, and the right to call yourselves a team. If you aren't under a guild's wing, you're just three people wandering around looking for trouble. And the Kingdom hates freelancers."
I looked down at my hands, feeling the weight of the Ring of Empty Chaos against my skin. She isn't wrong, I thought bitterly.
A lone wolf, a con-artist, and me... The Queen of Curses who just wants to keep her world from breaking. We really are a mess.
"I'm not joining your guild," Kaiser said. His voice was final, a cold blade that cut through Sylvia's lingering amusement.
"I don't work for organizations, and I don't give 'cuts' to bureaucracies."
Sylvia pouted, her silver eyes narrowing slightly. "Oh, come on, Kaiserrr! Join Requiem! We're the best in Celestine. I'll even give you the 'friends and family' discount on the mana-tax."
"Nah. I'd pass," Kaiser said, a faint, sharp smirk playing on his lips.
"Ugh, fine. You always were stubborn," Sylvia sighed, hopping up to sit on the edge of her desk, her legs swinging casually.
"Then you three will have to do it the hard way. To be an independent party—irrespective of any guild—you have to prove your experience through a specific set of high-tier quests. You have to show the city that you're capable of handling yourselves without a handler."
"To be recognized as an independent party of three," Sylvia said, a mischievous glint in her silver eyes, "you'll need to complete a minimum of 30 verified high-tier quests."
The room went silent. I felt my jaw tighten. Even Lucas stopped his casual leaning, and Kaiser's eyes narrowed into cold slivers of ice.
"30?" Kaiser asked, his voice dropping into that dangerous, low register.
"Sylvia, are you gaslighting us for profit? Or is the Requiem Guild just that desperate for cheap labor?"
Sylvia put a hand to her chest, pouting in a way that felt entirely manufactured. "Oh, Kai! You're being such a meanie! I would never dream of exploiting an old friend. If I were actually trying to scam you, I would have said 60. 30 is practically a discount."
I watched her closely. She was a drama queen, shifting from mocking leader to playful girl in seconds. But strangely, seeing her perform like this made my blood stop boiling.
She didn't have 'that' gaze of someone who truly wanted him; she had the gaze of someone who wanted to own a winning piece. It was a political greed, not a personal one. I could handle that.
"Why 30, specifically?" I asked, my voice steady.
Kaiser didn't wait for her to answer.
"It's about the badges, Celia. To reach restricted territories or move across Celestine without being harassed by the military, a party needs Tier 1 to 3 badges. Tier 3 is the gold standard—it grants access to every district, every library, and every strategic zone. Sylvia is offering us the path to Tier 1, but we need Tier 3 to move freely."
"Tier 3?" Sophia squeaked, her emerald eyes widening in shock.
"But... but why would you even want that? Only B and S-rank parties carry those! Most people who go into those zones don't come back with all their limbs."
"It's suicide for anyone else."
"We're a gang," Lucas chuckled, looking far too pleased with himself.
"We are not a 'gang'," Kaiser corrected him sharply.
"We are simply explorers who wish to see the world without being bothered by borders."
Sylvia giggled, but then her expression chilled. Her silver eyes locked onto Kaiser's, searching for the lie.
"How can I believe a single word that comes out of your mouth, Kaiser? 'Explorers'? You?"
"I can assure you," Kaiser said, his tone perfectly neutral, "I just want to live my life in peace. As I have always said."
The two of them stared at each other for a long moment, a silent battle of wills playing out in the space between them. Finally, Sylvia threw her head back and laughed it off.
"Alright, then. For Tier 3, you'd need a direct acknowledgement from the Celestial Kingdom itself. And getting that is... well, it's tough."
She tapped a finger against her lips, looking up at the ceiling as if a thought were descending. "Oooo, I have an ideaaa!"
"What is it?" Lucas asked.
"If you three manage to complete over 50 quests for this guild and help in the upcoming Avalon Island Raid—and successfully make your presence visible to the observers—then I can personally pull the strings to help you get that recognition."
"Avalon?" Lucas muttered, his brow furrowing. "Sounds familiar. I think I read about it back in the academy days..."
"It's a dead end," Kaiser cut him off, his voice flat.
"An isolated, deserted island that was once completely lifeless. Nothing grows there because of the constant, localized torrential rain. If there's a raid being organized for a place like that, it means the Kingdom has found something they can't handle."
"A Priority Zero request."
Sylvia nodded enthusiastically. "Exactly! It's a Priority Zero. If you three make yourselves known there, the Kingdom won't be able to ignore you. I can use that leverage to get you exactly what you want!"
Avalon...A high-priority raid means chaos. And chaos means bodies. If this raid is as important as she says, it's the perfect opportunity for me to gather more demons for my demonic army. I can capitalize on the kingdom's desperation to make myself stronger.
These chances don't come often. I have to take it.
"Although," Sylvia giggled, glancing sideways at Sophia with a wicked smirk.
"If Kaiser joined, the raid would be too easy, wouldn't it, Sophia?"
"Eh?" Sophia blinked, looking caught off guard. "What do you mean?"
Sylvia's smile turned razor-sharp. "After all, you know his combat style the best out of everyone here."
"You were his ex-girlfriend, weren't you?"
The air in the room didn't just turn cold; it vanished.
Ex-girlfriend? I stared at Sophia.
The magical darkness in my black eyes began to bleed away, replaced by a slow, rising tide of murderous, glowing red. The girl who had been 'clumsy' and 'stubborn' was suddenly something else entirely. She was a bitch.
A woman who had touched what was mine before I could claim it.
I'll kill her.