Amanda moved through the capital.
The streets buzzed with life. Vendors calling out deals, clattering wheels of merchant carts, laughter bouncing between sandstone buildings. The smell of fresh bread mixed with something less pleasant. A reminder that even the gleaming parts of the city had alleys and corners best avoided.
She didn't flinch at the noise or the jostling crowd. If anything, it parted for her.
Her boots struck the cobblestone with quiet certainty. She didn't check directions. Didn't even pause. Her eyes locked ahead on a modest, two-story building tucked between taller structures like a secret kept hidden in plain sight.
A faded flag fluttered above the door.
Lion's head. Crescent moon. Horned silhouette.
Unmistakable.
She pushed open the door and stepped inside.
The scent hit first, aged wood and parchment. Voices layered across the room, overlapping in an indistinct murmur. The scrape of a chair. Bursts of laughters. Someone muttered about bad quest payouts.
It was smaller than the guild center halls. No grand banners or high ceilings. Just a handful of tables, quest board to the right, and a front desk where a young clerk with tired eyes smiled politely at every word she wasn't really hearing.
Amanda slowed. Her fingers brushed the edge of a table as she passed. The feel of it scuffed, pulling her backward in time.
She saw herself sitting on the same side.
Used to laugh too loud. Plan too much.
A voice cracked through the noise.
"Amanda!"
She turned, barely had time to react before a blur of motion collided with her.
"—Elly?"
Elois threw her arms around her, burying her face against Amanda's chest. Her shoulders shook, soft sobs breaking through like rain behind glass.
Author's Note: Quick Pronunciation Guide: Elois — Pronounced Ee-Lo-Wis (The "E" sounds like the "E" in Elephant.)
Amanda's arms rose on instinct. She wrapped them around her friend, slowly. Steady.
"I'm sorry," Elois whispered between gasps. "I'm just… I didn't think I'd ever see you again."
Amanda didn't rush her. She just stood there, holding her, while chairs scraped nearby. Curious glances turned their way.
When Elois finally pulled back, her cheeks were damp, but her eyes still glinting.
Relief.
"I missed you," she said, voice cracking.
Amanda touched her arm gently. "I missed you, too."
Elois smiled through the streaks on her face. "Welcome back to Silver Mane."
The words hit harder than expected. Amanda's throat tightened.
It used to be more than a name. It was home. A collection of oddballs, dreamers, and fighters.
Amanda exhaled. "Elly, I'm so sorry for vanishing. After what happened,"
She trailed off.
Elois shook her head. "You don't have to say it."
"I didn't know how to face anyone. I thought... I thought I'd break something by coming back."
Elois squeezed her hand. "You didn't break anything. We waited. And now you're here."
Amanda hesitated, then said what she came here to say. "I'm not coming back. Not yet."
The silence between them was short, but heavy.
"That's okay," Elois said, her voice softer now. "Just promise me something?"
"Anything."
"Stay in touch this time. Don't disappear."
Amanda gave a small, tired smile. "I promise."
Elois looked intently, her eyes rounder. Maybe ask more. But she didn't. She just nodded and stepped back.
As Amanda glanced around the room, the memories didn't feel like ghosts anymore. Just echoes. Familiar, but no longer clinging.
The past was still hers.
But it wasn't her cage.
The Silver Mane guild had once stood tall among the elite. Its name carried weight. The crest known in every tavern and quest board from the capital to the outer villages. Extermination quests were their trademark. Organized. Efficient. Back then, they had numbers. Strength. A core team that trained rookies and held the line when things got ugly.
Amanda's party had been one of those pillars.
But time had chipped away at the foundation.
Some members aged out of the grind, choosing simpler lives. Others were drawn away by younger, richer guilds. Places promising system-tier quests and better loot splits. The final blow, though, was the incident. Amanda's party was shattered. What they lost that day wasn't just manpower.
It was momentum. It was heart.
In the aftermath, the guild scrambled to stay afloat. They tried adapting. Reaching out to system users, powerful individuals with abilities strong enough to swing entire battles. But system users came with costs. Literal ones. Most asked for salaries the guild couldn't sustain. Even those with more modest demands wanted growth and stability. A future.
Silver Mane couldn't offer that. Not anymore.
Not then.
Now? Maybe.
Maybe not.
Elois pulled Amanda toward the table. There were a few new faces. Quiet, observant, not yet familiar enough to relax around her. Amanda scanned them, then frowned.
Curved lips.
"Where's the guild master?"
"You two used to be glued together."
Elois dropped into her chair instead. Then, head lowered, shoulders trembling, she muttered something into her sleeves. The sound was muffled, but unmistakable.
She was crying.
Amanda moved instinctively, half-rising. "Elly?"
"He's not," Elois choked out the words, but they tangled halfway.
A voice cut in gently from across the table. "It's alright."
The man looked like a character plucked from the wrong class. Scrawny, scholarly, glasses a size too big for his face. There was something unassuming about him. Simple tunic, unbrushed hair, posture that didn't quite know what to do with itself.
"I'm Suga," he offered. "Level 45 magician. Also, the acting assistant to the current guild master."
He raised a hand lightly toward Elois.
Amanda blinked. "You mean her?"
Elois sniffed, swiping at her eyes. "That idiot just gave it to me. No warning whatsoever. Just left a note, and stepped down."
She let out a weak laugh. "I still don't know if I'm mad or just tired."
Despite her words, Amanda could see the change. Elois wore her usual gear, lightweight, tailored for speed, but her posture was different now. A little more upright. A little more burdened.
She'd grown into the role, whether she wanted to or not.
Suga adjusted his glasses—a nervous tick he didn't seem aware of. "Come on," he said, gesturing across the table. "Let me introduce you."
He turned to the woman seated beside him. "This is Talia. Level 83 Armored Titan. Our current vice master."
Talia stood, extending a hand with steady confidence. She was tall, broad-shouldered. Her armor was clearly high grade. Thick but flexible, functional without being flashy.
"Good to finally meet you, Amanda," she said.
"Heard a lot from the old man."
Amanda shook her hand, nodding.
Suga shifted again, then motioned across from him. "And that's Eldric. Level 85 Archbishop."
Eldric gave a small bow. His presence was quieter than the others, but no less noticeable. His robes were pristine, lined in gold and silver, and a faint glow clung to the head of the staff leaning against his chair.
"The guild hasn't been the same without you," he said gently.
"Welcome back."
Before Amanda could reply, a girl tugged on his sleeve. Younger. Her gear still looked freshly forged.
"The group's waiting outside, sir."
Eldric smiled down at her and nodded.
"Tell them I'm coming."
He stood, retrieved his staff, and gave the table a parting nod before following the girl out.
"We've been focusing on young adventurers lately," Suga explained, watching them leave. "Boosting them up safely. Eldric's been handling most of that."
Amanda understood. Boosting wasn't just about damage or power levels. It was strategy. Guiding rookies through early quests, keeping them alive, buffed, and learning.
A practical survival tactic in a guild trying to rebuild.
Elois leaned back, her mood lightening a little. "So?" she asked, eyes playful again. "You show up outta nowhere, what's the story? Don't tell me it's just because you missed my charming face."
Amanda's expression shifted. The quiet in her eyes returned.
"I came because someone beat the Orc Lord," she said.
That landed hard.
Suga sat up straighter. Elois didn't move.
They'd seen that quest. Knew what it meant.
"Wait…" Suga's brows furrowed. "The Orc Lord? That was a Dominion-level monster. Who did—?"
"It was Leo," Amanda said. "At first, I thought he just wanted to make me feel relieved."
That earned a shared glance between Elois and Suga.
Amanda continued, voice steady. "But then, Ranna took us to the Paradise, and after that it was undoubtedly him."
For a moment, none of them spoke.
Then Elois leaned forward again, brows pulling tight in thought.
She tilted her head, blinking.
"Wait," she said. "Who's Leo?"