Eldrin's veil:Arcanist Awakening

Chapter 21: A Relic's Whisper

The battlefield was eerily silent. The once-mighty Avatar of the Fallen God lay in ruins, its divine ichor pooling beneath its shattered form. But Aeron barely paid attention to the corpse.

His gaze was locked on the Shard of the Fallen God—a small, obsidian fragment pulsing faintly in his palm.

It was cold. Too cold.

And then—

—[System Alert!]—

Warning! You are holding a Forbidden Relic.

Item Grade: ???

Effects: ???

Curse Detected.

Aeron's breath caught. "Wait, what? Curse?"

Sylva, leaning against a rock, quirked an eyebrow. "What's wrong?"

Hobbles peeked over. "Ohhhh, did you get a god-tier drop? Come on, show me—"

As soon as he reached for it, the shard flared, and a wave of energy blasted him backward.

Hobbles yelped, tumbling across the ground. "Ow! What the hell, man? That thing hates me!"

Sylva's smirk vanished. "That's… not normal."

Aeron felt his fingers tightening around the shard, almost against his will. It was like the relic had a presence. A will. And it was watching him.

For the first time in the game, he felt a chill crawl up his spine.

—[System Alert!]—

Hidden Quest Activated: "Whispers of the Fallen"

You have obtained a fragment of something beyond mortal understanding.

Will you seek its truth? Or will you reject its call?

Aeron exhaled sharply. "Okay. This is officially above my pay grade."

Sylva crossed her arms. "You're a solo player. You don't have a pay grade."

"Exactly."

Hobbles groaned, sitting up. "Okay, so, uh… do we destroy it? Bury it? Sacrifice it to the loot gods?"

Aeron studied the shard again. Destroying it felt wrong. Like something—or someone—wanted him to try.

And he wasn't about to play into whatever twisted game this thing was running.

"Let's keep it quiet for now," he muttered.

Sylva frowned. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"No. But when has that stopped me before?"

Hobbles sighed. "Welp. If we all get cursed and turn into eldritch abominations, I just want it on record that I opposed this plan."

Aeron grinned. "Duly noted."

And then—

The ground shook.

A low, rumbling sound echoed from the far edge of the battlefield.

The three turned in unison—

And saw a massive warband of NPCs marching toward them.

Not just any NPCs.

Knights. Soldiers. An entire kingdom's army.

Leading them was a man in golden armor, mounted on a warhorse with glowing eyes.

His gaze locked onto Aeron.

Then—

He pointed.

And his voice boomed:

"Seize him."

Aeron blinked.

"Okay, now what the hell did I do?"