The Guild Master's office was cool and quiet, lined with shelves of ancient tomes and polished weapons. Daichi sat behind a massive oak desk, his face creased in a calm, welcoming smile. Around him swirled an oily brown aura—thick and murky, the color of betrayal Nogare had learned to fear.
"Nogare Mirai," Daichi said, gesturing to a chair across from him. "I've been watching your work closely. Your success rate is… exceptional. Even for a seasoned adventurer, let alone someone so young."
Nogare sat, his hands clasped tight in his lap. "I need protection, Guild Master. Something secure. I'm being… hunted."
Daichi leaned back, steepling his fingers. The brown aura around him shifted, seeming to glow warmer. "Hunted? That's troubling. But you've come to the right place. The guild has resources—secure wings for our most valuable assets, places where no one can find you. We take care of our own."
He stood, moving around the desk to place a hand on Nogare's shoulder. His touch was cold. "You'll be safe there. Three meals a day, clean quarters, guards posted at all entrances. No one will bother you. In return… we just ask that you help us understand how you've been so successful. For the good of the guild, of course."
Relief washed over Nogare—sharp and brief. He nodded. "Thank you, Guild Master. Whatever you need."
"Excellent." Daichi's smile widened. "Follow me. I'll show you to your new quarters myself."
The secure wing was deep beneath the guild hall, down stone corridors lit by flickering torches. They stopped at a heavy iron door at the end of a passage. Daichi produced a key, turned the lock, and pushed the door open with a soft click.
"After you," he said.
Nogare stepped inside—and the door slammed shut behind him. The lock turned with a final, decisive snick.
He spun around, heart hammering. Through the small grille in the door, he saw Daichi's face—and the brown aura had exploded into triumphant black, swirling and thick as tar.
"You see it now, don't you?" Daichi called through the grille. "We've known about you for years. The potion your mother kept—we crafted it. It was meant to awaken the Negative Sight in those with your bloodline, and its unique magical signature let us track you wherever you went. Your 'luck,' your strange hunches… we've been waiting for you to realize you couldn't survive alone. Waiting for you to run to us."
Nogare threw himself against the door, but it didn't budge. Footsteps echoed in the corridor as guards rounded the corner—their auras a uniform, lifeless gray, the color of blind obedience.
"You're special, Nogare," Daichi continued, his voice growing colder. "Negative Sight is rare. We've been trying to replicate it for decades, but it only awakens naturally in your bloodline. With you here… we can study it. We can harness it. We can make the guild unstoppable."
The guards burst through a side door, their hands moving with practiced efficiency. Nogare fought back, but they were too many, too strong. As they dragged him toward another door at the back of the room, he saw Daichi's afterimage clearly—standing over a gleaming alchemical table, watching as Nogare was strapped down, his eyes wide with helpless horror.
A hood was pulled over his head, plunging him into darkness. The last thing he heard was Daichi's voice, soft and final:
"Your truth was never a curse you had to bear alone. It was a gift we were always meant to claim."