The sky above Veilgrove shimmered with soft violet clouds, and the wind carried a strange whisper—like voices echoing through time. Kael and Riven stood at the edge of the guild board, eyes scanning the parchment quests nailed in place. Most were standard Tier 3: corrupted beasts, ruined sanctums, escort duties. But one quest was… different.
It was written on blackened paper, the ink pulsing faintly with a ghostly blue glow:
"WANTED: Investigation into the Hollow Tree in the Deepgrove. Reports of vanishing wildlife, strange howls, and shifting space. Bring caution. Not from our world."
Reward: Unknown
—Posted by: ????
Riven raised a brow. "No name. No reward. This is bait."
Kael smirked, flipping the paper. "Yeah. But it's our kind of bait."
The Deepgrove – Hours Later
They traveled into the thickest part of Veilgrove, where even the sun seemed hesitant to shine. The forest grew unnatural—twisted trees, floating spores, air that buzzed like it was alive.
Then… they found it.
A massive tree—black, hollow, pulsing with a faint heartbeat. The ground around it cracked like glass, and the sound of whispers danced in the wind.
Suddenly, the shadows moved. A beast unlike any they'd fought crawled from the roots—eyes glowing, its form constantly shifting like it couldn't hold itself together in this world.
[Twisted Echo – Lv. ???]
Health: ???
Threat: Unknown Origin
Kael drew both swords. "No level? No health bar? This thing isn't supposed to be here."
Riven launched an arrow—it phased through the creature, hitting the tree behind it. The creature laughed.
It spoke.
"You… shouldn't be here. But neither should I. The Veil is cracking."
Then it attacked.
The Fight – Reality Fractures
The battle was chaos. Every hit warped the battlefield. Shadows duplicated. Time slowed. Riven was nearly lost in a fold of space, and Kael's blade shattered one of the creature's false bodies—only to be countered by another from behind.
But the two fought like a storm, syncing their strikes until Kael's Legendary Dual Blade surged with light—a force not from this world.
With one final roar, the creature fell. Its body turned to mist… but something remained:
A stone disk, etched with strange runes. And a single whisper lingered in the air:
"Find the Gate. Before they do."
Back in Veilgrove – Guild Hall
They returned with the disk. The guild was silent. Even Volen, leader of Pathforge, seemed disturbed.
He examined the disk slowly.
"…This isn't from here," he finally said. "This material, this language… it's from your world, Kael. Yours too, Riven. The one you were taken from."
Riven's breath caught. "You know about it?"
Volen nodded. "Only the legends. The old ones speak of a gate that links this world and another—sealed long ago. If it's opening again…"
Kael clenched his fists. "Then that means the monsters—the twisted ones—they've started leaking through. And we're not done here yet."
[Quest Line Unlocked: "Return of the Bound Spark"]
Objective: Find the hidden temples around Veilgrove. Unlock the coordinates of the Otherworld Gate.
Bonus Objective: Prepare for the Level 30 Trial.
Progress: 1/5 Relics Discovered