The Eyes of Light squad left the walls of Niram under the dim light of the solar core. Sohan was at the front of the group, his eyes scanning the gray, unknown horizon. For the first time in seven years, he would step out into the world that had stripped him of his family… the world that had withered.
The mission was simple on paper: explore the ruins of Greyweed City—a city that had fallen in the first waves of the Withering. Nothing has been heard of it since then, except that it may contain remnants of Light Crystals or ancient records that could be useful to Niram.
The road was rough, covered in a layer of frozen ash, and the air was suffocating. Everything seemed to breathe death itself.
Along the way, the squad began to notice strange signs:
Graphics etched into the rocks, similar to those on Sohan's sword.
Ash moving against the wind.
Muffled whispering sounds with no source.
"Stay alert… This place is not normal," said Valo, the squad leader.
As they approached the ruins of Greyweed, the city's features began to appear. Ruined towers, shattered windows, and human skeletons petrified from the ash. But what was truly terrifying… was the silence. No birds, no air, not even the sound of their own footsteps.
"What is this?" Sohan muttered as he looked at a wall engraved with a huge hand drawing the sun toward the earth.
"This city… isn't just deserted, it's stolen from time," said a girl on the team named Rin, a researcher of pre-catastrophe antiquities.
As they explored one of the buildings, they found a massive door half-open. The team entered, finding a dark hall with a black mirror in the middle that reflected nothing.
Sohan approached, and suddenly… a faint light shone from the sword on his back, as if the mirror responded to him.
Images began to form on its surface: fire, blood, and four shadows.
"Is this a vision?" – Valo wondered.
But Sohan whispered to himself, "This… our past."
Before they left, the first attack occurred.
Out of the rubble emerged the first group of Withered… but they were unlike any other.
Their bodies were twisted, their eyes filled with intelligence and hatred. One of them spoke:
"The Heir of Light has returned at last… We will return you to ashes, Sohan."
The battle was fierce, and Sohan wielded his sword for the first time since leaving the hut. The sword glowed with a silvery-grey light, each strike melting the Withers like pure sunlight.
By the end of the fight, one team member was wounded, but everyone survived.
"You are different," Valo said, looking at Sohan. "You don't just carry a sword… you carry a secret."
Sohan replied calmly, "And I will discover it… until the last withered .."