Morning light had barely risen over Korvath when the great hall doors closed behind the last of the summoned. The city outside breathed in routine calm—vendors preparing morning stalls, smiths stoking forge fires—but inside the council chamber, the air was carved sharp and still.
Four scout teams stood assembled, each bearing the weight of what they had seen.
Kenji Katsuragi's bow remained slung at his back. His eyes, usually steady, were raw with something like fury held behind iron control. Beside him, Kuroba's posture was low, like a blade waiting to flick free. Hana and Ryuji stood just behind, silent, exhausted.
Across from them, Yami Kurikage stood motionless—too motionless. His team returned without shadows cast on the floor. The torches beside them flickered normally. The room simply refused to claim their silhouettes. No one commented. No one dared.
Mikage Reiken and his companions carried a colder kind of tension—the look of soldiers who had seen organization instead of chaos. Order where there should have been ruin.
Kaito and Anzuyi sat like statues carved of fatigue and frost. Their clothing still held flecks of ice that refused to melt.
At the head of the table, Iroko Ryusei read the final page of the compiled reports. He did not sigh. He did not blink. He only folded the parchment and placed it before him.
Guildmaster Kouki Nozomi broke the silence first.
"We are now surrounded," he said, voice like drawn steel. "And every direction is a different death."
Kenji spoke with curt precision. "Giggleburg is not lost—it has switched sides. Dargath banners fly where Bustleburg's once did. And General Varric Drayen stands among them. Alive. Leading."
A ripple of breath crossed the room—but no words.
Kouki nodded once and turned to Mikage.
Mikage's expression barely moved. "Bustleburg is now a military fortress. Unified Valerian command. Kobold King and Ogre King are subordinate in that structure. Their target is clear. They are marching for the Amarath Plains."
Kenji's jaw tightened.
Kouki shifted next to Yami—though he did not look Yami in the eyes. The darkness around that team seemed to listen.
"Eldoria," Yami murmured. His voice had always been quiet, but now it felt hollow. "The city… is paused. Breathless. Time holds its inhabitants like insects in amber. And in the center… a light that watches back."
A flicker of unease moved down spines.
No one asked why Yami's team cast no shadows. No one wanted to.
Kouki turned to the last.
Kaito's answer was plain. Brutal. Honest.
"We found corpses of people standing where they once lived. Frozen mid-step. Mid-speech. Mid-breath." He paused. "The weapon is called Winter's Kiss. The deployment was a test shot. The refined version is intended for Korvath."
Silence. Heavy. Absolute.
At last, Iroko stood.
No hesitation. No uncertainty.
"Total lockdown," he said. "Effective immediately."
The order fell like an axe.
"No one enters or leaves Korvath without my direct authorization."
Several officers exchanged startled glances, but none spoke.
"The explanation to the public will be plague containment," Iroko continued. "Panic is our enemy. Rumor is a poison."
He turned to the scout teams.
"All who have returned will be quarantined in the guildhall's secure wing. To prevent outside interception—and to observe for… anomalies."
His eyes brushed briefly across Yami's shadowless boots.
Then to Yaguro:
"Assign rooms. One team per hall. Double guard at every stair."
Yaguro bowed once. He would not question.
To Tamaki Yume:
"Gather every alchemist capable of stable reagent refinement. You will be given a project immediately."
Tamaki nodded and left with urgency.
To Kouki:
"Guard the walls. Issue gathering quests only for the southern and eastern territories. North and west are restricted. Do not allow movement there."
Kouki's expression hardened. "Understood."
Finally:
"Kouki. We meet the Reflynne council at midday. Their cooperation is now mandatory."
He scanned the room—waiting for dissent.
None came.
Chairs slid. Boots moved. Orders began to ripple outward into the city.
One by one, the room emptied—until it held only silence and the faint sound of frost melting from Kaito's cloak.
Korvath continued waking outside, unaware that its gates had already closed.
War had begun.