The journey to Dawn's Respite was a study in silent tension. They traveled not in a royal carriage, but on horseback, disguised as a modest merchant guard escorting a noble's daughter—a role Yoru adopted with terrifying ease, her natural aura of otherworldly grace easily mistaken for high-born arrogance. Captain Lyra, her silver armor exchanged for worn leathers, was their stern captain-of-the-guard. Shuya, in simple traveler's clothes, was just another hired sword.
The landscape changed as they crossed into the neutral territories. The vibrant, mana-rich fields around Valorhold gave way to flatter, dustier plains. The very light seemed thinner, grayer, as if the sun itself was hesitant to shine too brightly here. After two days of hard riding, they saw it: Dawn's Respite.
It was a city of white stone and silver, its spires reaching for a sky that seemed perpetually tinged with twilight. No banners of kings or queens flew here. Instead, from every tower and gate, hung the symbol of the Eternal Eclipse: a black circle imposed upon a silver sun. The effect was not one of reverence, but of quiet suffocation.
"Remember the plan," Lyra murmured as their horses clopped across the grand, echoing bridge into the main gate. "We register. We observe. We do not provoke. The Church's law is absolute here. Draw your weapon without their blessing, and you will be erased."
The city within was eerily clean and orderly. The citizens moved with a placid, measured pace, their voices hushed. There was no laughter spilling from taverns, no heated bartering in the markets. Only the solemn chanting of hymns from open church doors and the occasional, synchronized march of patrols in Eclipse-themed armor.
They found the Grand Collegium, a massive, circular structure where the tournament registration was taking place. The hall was vast, its dome ceiling depicting a magnificent mural of a black moon bringing order to a chaotic, burning sun. The air hummed with suppressed power and the quiet anxiety of hundreds of competitors.
Adventurers of every conceivable class and origin were here. Hulking brutes from the northern clans, their muscles coiled with tension. Sleek elven scouts who moved like whispers. Robed mages from the arcane colleges, their staves pulsing with contained energy. They all stood in slowly shifting lines, waiting to approach the central dais where Church officiants presided.
Shuya felt their eyes. Whispers trailed in their wake, not because of his disguised identity, but because of Yoru. Even toned down, her presence was a ripple in the stagnant pond of the city. She walked through the crowd as if it was an inconvenient garden, her gaze cool and assessing.
"They are all so… earnest," she commented idly, her voice barely audible. "So desperate to prove their worth to a god that demands their obscurity. It would be pathetic if it weren't so useful."
Lyra shot her a warning look. "Keep your observations to yourself."
They joined a line. Shuya used the time to center himself, to pull his aura in tight until it was a contained star at his core, invisible to the naked eye but a roaring inferno within. He practiced what Yoru had taught him—not pushing his power out, but simply being its center.
Suddenly, the line jostled as a group of competitors was forcefully shoved aside. Five figures marched past, not bothering to queue. They wore polished, black-enameled armor adorned with the Eclipse symbol, and their faces were hidden behind full helms shaped like the beaks of ravens.
"The Eclipse Vanguard," Lyra whispered, her body rigid. "The Church's personal champions. They don't usually compete. Their presence is a statement."
The lead Vanguard, a broad-shouldered man with a greatsword strapped to his back, stopped directly in front of the registration dais. He removed his helm, revealing a face that was all sharp angles and cold, gray eyes. A jagged scar ran from his temple to his chin.
"We are here to reaffirm the Vanguard's commitment to the Eclipse's will," he announced, his voice echoing in the hall. He placed his hand on the large, onyx crystal that sat on the dais—the Soul Stone.
The stone flared to life, not with light, but by draining it. A vortex of darkness swirled within it, and tendrils of shadow reached out to caress the Vanguard's arm. After a moment, it displayed glowing, violet script in the air above it.
Name: Kaelen
Rank: A
Affinity: Void
Designation: Champion
A murmur of awe and fear went through the crowd. An A-Rank. And Void affinity—the power of negation, the antithesis of creation. It was the perfect weapon for the Church.
Kaelen's cold eyes scanned the crowd, as if looking for something. For a heartbeat, his gaze swept over Shuya's group, lingered on Yoru for a fraction of a second too long, and then moved on. He replaced his helm and strode away, his retinue following.
"That was a warning," Yoru said softly, her own eyes narrowed. "They are showing their best hound."
Finally, it was their turn. The Church officiant, a pale man with tired eyes, didn't look up from his scroll. "Names. City of origin. Place your dominant hand on the Soul Stone for the Weighing."
Lyra went first, giving a false name. She placed her hand on the stone. It glowed a steady, unwavering silver.
Name: Lyra
Rank: B
Affinity: Order
Designation: Guardian
The officiant nodded, scribbling. A solid, unremarkable result. Exactly as planned.
Then it was Shuya's turn. He could feel the weight of countless eyes, both visible and unseen. He could feel the oppressive, nullifying energy of the Soul Stone waiting to dissect him. He took a slow, calm breath, becoming the center.
He placed his hand on the stone.
For a moment, nothing happened. The stone remained dark, inert. The officiant frowned, tapping it. "Anomaly. Try again."
Then, the Stone reacted.
It didn't flare with darkness like it had for Kaelen. It didn't glow with a steady light like for Lyra. It recoiled.
A sound like shattering glass echoed through the hall as a web of hairline fractures spread across the Stone's surface from the point of Shuya's touch. A pulse of pure, warm, golden light erupted from it, so bright that the Eclipse murals on the ceiling were bleached pale. The tendrils of shadow that had reached for him hissed and evaporated like mist under a true sun.
The glowing script that appeared above the stone flickered wildly, as if the magic itself was confused and terrified.
Name: Shuya Matsumoto
Rank: ???
Affinity: Sun
Designation: Anomaly
The hall was utterly, deathly silent.
The officiant stared, his mouth agape, his pen frozen. All the other Church members on the dais were on their feet. The crowd of competitors was a sea of stunned faces.
From the shadows of a pillar, Kaelen and his Vanguard watched, their postures now alert and predatory.
Shuya slowly removed his hand. The light faded, but the cracked Soul Stone continued to emit a faint, warm glow. He had contained his power, but his mere nature had been enough to break the Church's instrument.
The lead officiant, his face a mask of shock and burgeoning fury, pointed a trembling finger at Shuya.
"Seize the abomination!"