The revelation of the new symbol plunged the base into a new tension, different from that generated by Kwan. Kwan was a known enemy, an ambitious vampire strategist. This new entity, symbolized by an eye surrounded by purple flames, was a complete mystery.
"In-depth analysis of the symbol," Min-ho ordered Ji-eun, while he himself once again checked the HQ's security systems. "Search all archives, mythologies, legends. This eye... it's not vampiric."
Soo-ah, for his part, activated his network of contacts. His coded messages circulated through the discreet community of Bloodline users, searching for information, rumors, any clues about this new threat.
Do-hyun, sitting in front of the central table, rotated the two fruits of the Tree between his fingers. Gold and silver shone softly, emitting a soothing sensation that contrasted sharply with the prevailing anguish.
[Analysis of the "Oeil-Violet" symbol...]
[COMPARATION WITH THE ARCHIVES OF THE SYSTEM...]
[RESULT: NO DIRECT correspondence.]
[NOTE: Approximate resemblance to some of the primary surveillance symbols in the Guardian's annals.]
[Hypothesis: Observer entity became interventionist.]
"An observer who decides to intervene," Do-hyun whispered, recalling Ligeia's words. "She had warned us. "Older forces are interested in you."
"Do you think it's Ligeia?" asked Ji-eun, looking up from his screens.
Do-hyun shook his head. "No. Ligeia collects stories. She's watching. This symbol... it looks more active. More involved. As if he wanted to lead, not just look."
The hours passed without a new breakthrough. Soo-ah's contacts were also perplexed. The symbol did not belong to any known faction, neither vampiric nor human. As if it had appeared out of nowhere.
It was then that the System issued a discreet alert, not to the external threat, but to Do-hyun itself.
[SYNCHRONIZATION WITH THE EQUILIBER TREE: 70%]
[New Unlocked Functionality: Sense of filament.]
[EFFECT: Perceiving the energetic links between beings and places.]
[Utility: Detection of mind control, manipulation, hidden networks.]
Do-hyun closed his eyes and activated the new ability. The world changed around him. Not in color or aura, but in a complex web of luminous filaments, thin as silk threads, that connected everything and everyone.
He saw the thick golden link that connected him to the Tree in the distance. Finer silver filaments linked him to Soo-ah, Min-ho, Ji-eun - bonds of trust, camaraderie, family. He even saw the tenuous but undeniable thread that connected him to the Guardian, a cold, bluish connection, as an energy contract.
And then he saw something else.
From the city, starting from the alleged headquarters of the Purple Dawn Clan, there were hundreds of filaments of a sickly purple. They didn't connect people to each other. They were plunging into the ground, into buildings, into the air itself, as if they were trying to hold on to reality in order to manipulate it, to twist it.
And at the origin of these filaments, a node of purple energy so intense that it was blinding, even in this vision of the links. The Eye.
"I can see him," Do-hyun announced, opening his eyes, slightly dizzy by the complexity of the network he had just perceived. "The entity... it spreads its filaments all over the city. She doesn't just control vampires. She weaves something. A net."
"A net for what?" asked Min-ho, pragmatically.
"To catch something," Do-hyun replied, a chilling intuition running through him. "To catch the Guardian's attention? To trap the tree? I don't know. But this is not a typical takeover. It's a... preparation."
The decision was quick. They had to investigate. But not in force. Subtly.
"I'll go," said Do-hyun. "With the sense of the filament, I'll be able to follow the connections without being spotted. I'll see what she really does."
"Too dangerous," Soo-ah immediately objected. "If this entity is able to take control of an entire vampire clan, it will detect you."
"Not if I use that," said Do-hyun, holding the silver fruit, the Fruit of Links. "The system says it can strengthen or bond. I think... I think I can use it to camouflage my own link to the Tree. To make me look like a simple purple filament among others."
It was a risky bet, based on intuition rather than certainty. But that was the only way to get information without triggering a confrontation that they may not have been ready to win.
The next night, Do-hyun prepared. He consumed a tiny fraction of the silver fruit, not to eat it entirely, but to absorb its essence. A strange sensation invades him, as if his own energy becomes malleable, able to adapt, able to mimic.
[Link FRUCT (SILVER) - ACTIVE EFFECT.]
[Duration: 4 hours.]
[CAPCITY: Energy Link MIMIST.]
[Risk: Overuse may cause temporary energy loss.]
With Soo-ah and Min-ho remotely covering, and Ji-eun monitoring energy flows from the base, Do-hyun infiltrated the district now controlled by the Violet Eye entity.
The change was palpable, even without special abilities. The vampires he met did not patrol with the usual arrogance. They moved with mechanical precision, their red eyes slightly glazed, as if under hypnosis. And above each of them, Do-hyun saw a purple filament that connected them to a central spring somewhere in Kwan's ancient lair.
Following quietly the thickest of these filaments, Do-hyun arrived in front of the warehouse that once served as Kwan's headquarters. The building was now wrapped in a purple haze barely visible to the naked eye, but which in its vision of the links resembled a cocoon of tight filaments.
He used his energetic mimicry, making his own link to the Tree look like one of those purple filaments. Then he infiltrated inside.
The interior had been transformed. More furniture, more decor. In the center of the vast room, the Eye floated.
It wasn't an organic eye. It was a geometric construction of purple light, spinning slowly, emitting regular pulsations. Around him, a dozen high-level vampires (level 4 and 5) stood motionless, their eyes closed, connected to the Eye by filaments as thick as ropes. Their auras, instead of being scarlet, had a sickly purplish hue.
And in front of the Eye, standing with an expression of ecstatic trance, was Gorath, the leader of the traditionalists. But he no longer looked like a brutal warrior. His face was tense with a smile too wide, his eyes wide open and injected with purple.
"The structure is weak here," murmured Gorath, his voice monotone, as if reciting something that was dictated to him. "The veil between observation and intervention is thin. We can break through. We need to break through. The Balancer is sleeping. The Guardian is distracted by the New Seed. The timing is... optimal."
The Eye was pulsating, and Gorath was speaking. He was a spokesman, an intermediary.
"The roots of the Tree are sinking deep. They affect foundations. If we cut the roots in the right place... the whole structure will waver. And in instability, we can... look the other way."
Do-hyun held his breath. The entity did not want to control Seoul. She didn't want to destroy the tree. She wanted to use the Tree, or rather, the vibrations caused by its destruction, to "drill" something. To "look the other way." On the other side of what? The veil of reality? The border that the Guardian was protecting?
"The bearer is bound," Gorath continued, and Do-hyun felt a shiver. "His thread is golden and strong. But he's young. Inexperienced. He doesn't know how to protect himself yet. We will first cut its external ties. The Bloodline user. The soldier. The sister. Isolate the tree, and cut it down becomes simple."
The threat was clear now. They wouldn't attack him directly. They would attack Soo-ah, Min-ho and Ji-eun to weaken him, distract him.
Do-hyun had heard enough. He began to retreat, slowly, keeping his mimicry active.
But as it passed by one of the connected vampires, the Eye suddenly stopped spinning. He settled, not on Do-hyun, but in his general direction.
"A filament... sounds differently," said Gorath's voice, which suddenly became sharper, more curious.
The vampire near whom Do-hyun was passing opened his eyes. They were completely purple, without pupils. He turned his head towards the shadow where Do-hyun was hiding.
Mimicry did not hold up to direct observation.
Do-hyun did not hesitate. He leaped backwards, his Blade of Light appearing in a golden flash that tore the purple mist. He sliced the filament that connected the vampire to the Eye.
The vampire screamed, a sound of sheer pain, and collapsed, his aura returning to a disoriented red.
Chaos ensued.
"Intrus!" roared Gorath, his voice finding a piece of his own will before being overwhelmed by purple again.
Do-hyun did not fight. He ran. He crossed the warehouse towards the exit, cutting through two other filaments to free vampires and confuse them.
Behind him, the Eye emitted a purple pulsation so intense that it penetrated through the walls. A wave of energy that did not seek to hit him, but to mark him.
Do-hyun felt the impact behind his back. Not a pain, but a feeling of intense cold, as if an invisible eye had been stuck between his shoulder blades.
[ALERT: DETECTED SURVEILLANCE MARK.]
[NATURE: HIGH FREQUENCE ENERGY TRACTOR.]
[Source: "Oeil-violet" entity.]
[EFFECT: YOUR POSITION MAY be followed remotely.]
[Countermeasure: PURIFICATION REQUIRED (FRUTH OF BALANCE - GOOD RECOMMENDED).]
He had the information. But he had been spotted. And now it was marked.
The race to the meeting point was a nightmarish chase through a city that was gradually becoming the enemy's territory. The vampires, guided by the mark on his back, converged on him with frightening coordination.
He had discovered the plan of the Eye. But the price had been to become his priority target.
The war had just entered a new phase. And this time, Do-hyun couldn't just protect the Tree.
He had to protect his team. Before the Eye cuts them, one by one.