This was the only body they had seen, and its arrangement was nothing short of peculiar. The way the man’s hand of the man was arranged on his chest was a sign of prayer to the old gods, and yet his palms were brought close to his belly, and those who were aware of what this meant knew that this was an old gesture to mock the gods.

"Anyone get a feeling that we are being fucked with?" a noble girl spoke, "This does not seem like actions from beasts."

"What I am concerned about is what killed him?" a boy asked.

No one could find a wound; there were no marks on his skin, no blood on his clothes, and no signs of struggle. It was as if the man had walked to this spot, arranged his hands on his body, and just... died.

"Check his Lumina pools," someone suggested.

The man looked to be of age, and that meant he had a Lumina Pool, since it was impossible for any mortal to live to this age. It was worth noting that there were moments of extreme weather every year that would kill most mortals if they were not extremely protected, and this was one of the least dangerous dangers a mortal can face, but most of the time, this danger was related to madness, as Lumina tends to twist and break the minds of mortals.

The noble girl knelt and placed her hand on the man’s chest. Her eyes widened in shock, and she drew back her hand as if she had been shocked. "They’re gone," she said.

"What do you mean?"

"It is as if his Lumina Pool has been ripped out of his body; there is only a hollow pit in his chest. I did not think this was even possible."

"Keep moving," their squad leader said. "We need to find the source and kill this fucking beasts."

Ⓗ

Elias walked alone, maintaining a healthy distance between him and the other candidates who had spread out, searching buildings, following leads, and chasing shadows.

It was not as if he was shy, but he saw no reason to mingle with these groups because they were distractions, and mostly because he did not need to search since he already knew where the source was.

He could feel it in his void pools, all around the hollow space where the Hollow Monarch’s scripture lived. It was as if the pit was calling to him, and he was answering.

If Elias closed his eyes and focused, he could feel countless dots of darkness rubbing against his consciousness like ten thousand ants walking around his body.

This was how he knew that these candidates who were slowly moving would not be able to find any of their targets until they got near the tannery, meaning that if he was quick, he should be able to reach the creatures before the others, and gain an advantage.

Elias also confirmed that the reason he was able to fill up his Void Legacy was that these creatures’ attributes seemed to also be of the void.

He did not know how this was possible, but he thought he might be able to find the answers ahead, and with that thought in mind, Elias began to move to his destination.

With his heavy armor, he could not be too silent, but it was admirable that there were almost no sounds as he moved with more than a thousand kilograms of weight on his body, his strength and his Art of Stone Legacy ensuring that he did not feel the weight of the armor.

The streets were empty, and Elias had already plotted a route in his head as he moved, his body constantly accumulating speed, and before long, he found himself in a part of the lower districts he did not recognize.

Elias frowned as the buildings around him were different from what he expected them to be, as they were older than the others, with boarded windows.

He had been noting that every house he had passed had opened windows and doors, and yet these strange houses around him were fully shut.

Elias began to slow down as he looked around, and at the edge of his vision, he saw a figure sitting on a crate that had not been there a moment before; he stopped and fully focused, and his eyes widened a bit when he saw that it was the merchant.

He remembered this man from the day he had first walked through Stormfall as a Siphon. It was the merchant with the stall who had offered him ridiculous items that seemed to be charged with power.

He had said all of his items came from across Trion, from the depths of the Maw to the peaks of the God-King’s throne.

This rat-faced merchant had made his skin crawl, and this sensation was so shocking to him that Elias had noted that this merchant was not an ordinary person, and he had become wary, and now he was seeing him again. A small part of him wondered if he was hallucinating.

"You," Elias said.

The merchant grinned, and Elias saw that his teeth were still filed to points. He was smaller than Elias remembered, or perhaps Elias had grown. His stall was gone, replaced by a crate and a blanket spread with a dozen objects that seemed to drink the light.

"Friend," the merchant said. "I was wondering when you would come."

Elias did not move as his hand slowly rested on his shield in readiness for any unexpected threats. "You were expecting me?"

"I am always expecting." The merchant gestured to the blanket. "I told you, friend. Everyone pays eventually. Especially in times like this, when the end is so near."

Elias looked at the objects on the blanket. A dagger whose blade seemed to bend the light around it, leaving a faint afterimage in the air. A necklace made of teeth that were neither animal nor human teeth. A book bound in leather that was still warm, as if it had been flayed from a living creature moments ago. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

And he spotted something new. A mirror, no larger than his palm, its surface black, its edges traced with silver. It reminded him of the Veil Fragment that he had found inside the first trial.

"What are you?" Elias asked.

The merchant’s grin widened. "I am a merchant. I sell things. But the question is not what I am, oh no, the question is what you are willing to buy."

Elias frowned. There were many things about this interaction that he did not like. "The last time we met, you said I would come back when I was ready to pay the price. I did not remember calling for you."

"And here you are, and here I am, and I do not go to where I am not called."

Elias looked at the mirror. The longer he stared at it, the more it seemed to stare back.

"What does it do?"

The merchant picked up the mirror, held it so that it caught the dim light. The surface rippled, like water disturbed by a stone. "I could tell you..." he said, then he grinned, "But then I have to kill you. My wares are only known by their buyers, and if I tell you what it does and you do not buy it, then I will have to kill you."