Stone Dragon City didn't welcome newcomers.
It judged them.
The first thing ART noticed was the pressure.
Not Synth pressure.
People pressure.
Guards at the gates actually looked like they could fight.
NPCs didn't act like background decorations.
Players moved in squads, rarely alone.
And guild banners were everywhere.
Some were massive, famous names that controlled whole districts.
Some were small, new, aggressive—Phase Two guilds forming like storms.
ART, NEO, and KODA walked through the gate and immediately felt eyes on them.
Not because they were famous.
Because they were three underleveled outsiders walking like they had purpose.
NEO kept her hood up.
KODA didn't look left or right, just forward.
ART tried to act casual and failed.
"This place…" he muttered, "…feels like a real country."
"It is," KODA said.
NEO glanced at a quest board packed with new postings.
Cultivation wells.
Synth refinement trials.
Legacy resonance zones.
Guild recruitment calls.
Phase Two had turned the city into a pressure cooker.
ART opened his friend list.
Nyx.
Online.
His heart kicked again.
He sent a location ping like he was afraid she might vanish.
ART:
I'm inside.
Nyx:
Stay where you are. Don't move.
ART blinked. "What?"
NEO tilted her head. "She's coming to you."
KODA murmured, "Smart."
They waited near a stone fountain in a busy square.
Minutes passed.
Then the crowd shifted.
Not because someone shouted.
Because people made space instinctively.
A figure in a dark cloak moved through the plaza like a blade through cloth.
Pink hair.
Calm steps.
Sword at her waist.
Nyx.
ART's face lit up before he could control it.
"Nyx!"
She stopped in front of him and stared.
Her gaze moved over his gear, his posture, his level.
Then she flicked her eyes to the two behind him.
NEO and KODA didn't bow. They didn't posture. They just met her gaze evenly.
Nyx's expression didn't soften much—she wasn't built like that.
But her eyes did.
"You came fast," she said.
ART grinned. "I had to."
Nyx's lips twitched slightly. "You're reckless."
ART shrugged. "Family trait."
For a second, she looked like she wanted to scold him.
Then she reached out and flicked his forehead lightly.
ART yelped like it hurt more than it did. "Ow!"
NEO blinked, surprised.
KODA's eyes widened just a fraction.
Nyx… being normal?
Nyx looked at them again. "Who are they?"
ART pointed. "NEO. Mage. Insanely disciplined."
Then he pointed. "KODA. Runesmith. Says 'efficiency' like it's his religion."
KODA didn't deny it.
NEO nodded politely. "Nyx."
Nyx's gaze sharpened. "You leveled together."
ART nodded. "Forest."
Nyx looked satisfied with that answer, like it proved something she respected.
Then she leaned closer to ART, voice lower.
"Don't say Aurora out loud in the open."
ART blinked. "Why?"
Nyx's eyes flicked toward a guild banner across the plaza.
"Because people are listening," she said. "And the moment they know you're connected to us, you become a target."
NEO's expression hardened slightly. "So it's true. Guild pressure."
Nyx glanced at her. "It's worse than you think."
KODA quietly asked, "Where is Aurora based?"
Nyx didn't answer immediately.
She looked at ART again, like she was deciding whether he was ready to step into her world.
Then she said, "Come."
And she turned, leading them into the city.
ART followed without hesitation.
NEO and KODA fell in behind.
Because whatever Aurora was…
it wasn't a beginner dream.
It was a storm.