Roughly an hour earlier…
Inside Aeredale City's central area…
A beautiful lady sat in a restaurant booth, casually sipping an unknown beverage with what seed to be a distant gaze, focused on whatever currently troubled her. Leaning forward, she cradled the cup in her hand, gently blowing away the steam that rose.
'An opportunity to be undermined exists at every turn. I've already dedicated so many of my accolades to the guild… yet they continue to assu I'm weak or sothing, utilizing a hidden proxy.'
The beautiful woman with jet black hair the color of polished black onyx was naturally Ezra, who was admittedly missing in action for quite so ti.
Following her chat with Kieran after the Gladiator's Coliseum, her presence within Zenith Online was sparse. In fact, there was a reason for that—the board mbers of her guild's controllers.
Much of Eclipse's recent activity was led by another Vice Guild Master, which wasn't Lux, who currently sat across from Ezra with a similarly tense expression.
"What are our plans? You've been excluded from Eclipse's decision-making because you refused to sever ties with Aatrox," Lux said, addressing the white elephant in the room.
"Our plans?" Ezra muttered, her eyes flashing with brief astonishnt. "Lux, you do know this doesn't involve you, right? You're too valuable to Eclipse for them to target you."
Evident by his current expression, which darkened further, Lux's swift rebuttal was honest. "The sa could be said about you. Your value as the Guild Master was pretty much unmatched."
"I'm not sure if you're blindly believing your words… or you've forgotten how originally I ascended to the position of Guild Master," Ezra answered, finally placing down her cup with a heavy sigh.
Her burdens seed to overflow, attempting to consu her.
Taken aback and perplexed at first, Lux gradually ca to understand the aning of Ezra's words. "Wait… is that what was discussed after the board dismissed everyone from the eting? The forr Guild Master is returning?"
"Correct. It appears that man is making a return, and he agrees with the board's suggestions," Ezra admitted, massaging the bridge of her nose while sowhat embittered.
Eclipse's board mbers had decided that, although the potential gains of allying with Kieran were significant, the burdens attached to such an alliance were more of a liability than they were profitable.
At this mont, at least four of the Behemoths had their eyes on Kieran, setting plans in motion to monitor his progress and current actions. This act alone required vast resources, resources one would only expend when preparing to take future action.
Following a rueful sigh, Lux mustered the courage to ask the question weighing on his mind. "What did they tell you exactly?"
"Golden Brigade, Apocalypse, Calamity, Apotheosis, Dark Fantasy…" Ezra paused.
The sigh she released this ti sounded empathetic. Every na she listed was known to employ dastardly thods to eliminate problematic issues.
Though, from the way Ezra tensed and struggled to release the vice grip her teeth placed on her lip, it seed she wasn't done speaking. "And Slayer Asylum…"
"Slayer Asylum?! Aren't they owners of Psyche Ward?"
"Correct. I don't know who or what triggered those bunch of madn, but soone has quite literally poked the hornet's nest."
Appalled by the information he had just discovered, Lux was compelled to dig deeper. "Which side of the Slayer Asylum has been called upon?"
"The Psyche Ward portion… naturally. They understand that Aatrox is too big of an opponent in the ga. He's essentially unmatched. That's why they're set on eliminating him altogether."
"Don't you think this is sothing Aatrox should know about? I don't think his connections are that great. He's probably lacking a whole heap of vital information."
Ezra agreed with Lux's opinion; most of this information could greatly assist in helping Kieran prepare to weather the storm. However… the problem with letting him know was not simple.
After all, it would make her stance clear.
In the eyes of the board mbers, she would be seen as siding with an imnse threat. And because of the implications of this threat, she would be stripped of all her roles.
In other words, Eclipse would sever all ties with Ezra if word of information, which was only ant to circulate throughout the channels available to high-level guilds, was revealed to have reached Kieran's possession.
This would only be possible if soone in that circle disseminated the information to Kieran.
Considering this, Ezra was troubled.
Although she knew Kieran had ties to Advent, their current information system was riddled with leaks and issues, so the odds of that guild shouldering the bla essentially didn't exist.
Ultimately, it was a decision Ezra had to make.
However, Ezra groaned rather than answer Lux's question, spilling her grievances seconds later. "I exhausted so much of the accumulated funds to begin Eclipse's production force. Money that I earned through my efforts. And I'm not reaping any of those benefits!"
"Hey," Lux suddenly said, drawing Ezra's curious gaze filled with complaints. "You win so, and you lose so. Suffer a loss now. Didn't you say it before? Though minute in number, Aatrox's training honed areas of your swordsmanship that you didn't even think to correct. The decision is right in front of you, but you're scared. Trust … I understand that, Ezra."
Lux's words struck a chord in Ezra's heart and mind. She knew what she wanted to do, but Eclipse was sothing she poured her essence into.
All in all, this entire situation didn't sit well with her.
However, before she could respond to Lux's comnt, the notification of Sanguis Requiem's creation flashed before Ezra's face, stunning her.I think you should take a look at
In her silence, Ezra gasped and swallowed.
anwhile, Lux's expression was the definition of clarity. There was even a hint of correlated expectations in his eyes. It wasn't sothing that he had voiced before, but if there was anyone he expected to launch the first guild, it was Kieran, who he only knew by Aatrox.
"If I rember correctly… your argunt was that abandoning sothing you put your all into didn't seem right? As I see it, there's an opportunity sitting right in front of you: Sanguis Requiem. Let one bond die to supply another—one with possibly limitless potential."
Ezra's attention and focus fell into her cup after all.
Silence ensued for several minutes, each one giving birth to a new string of thoughts, concerns, and variables in Ezra's mind. Lux understood the heaviness of her decision, so he sat wordlessly, allowing Ezra to ruminate over it all.
By the ti she ca to a decision, a second notification had caused a massive wave throughout the entire city.
The uproar of players could be heard outside the store, with the booming voices causing a thundering rumble reminiscent of an earthquake!
As for the ssage, it was quite simple.
┌───────────────────
«Global Player Announcent»-
The first player-owned business, the Godhand Bazaar, owned by the Godhand Consortium, is now comncing its very own grand opening! Located in the heart of Aeredale City, visit the establishnt and browse its variety of items.
The coordinates of its location are posted below.
(Click here.)
└───────────────────
"Godhand Consortium. Godhand Bazaar. If mory serves right, isn't that the Union under Aatrox's ownership? In other words… the man has simultaneously established a guild and launched an in-ga business?!" Lux exclaid.
The mont Lux made this comnt, Ezra shot to her feet.
Based on the look in her eyes, it was evident that Ezra had made her decision. The assurance in her gaze stunned Lux, but her next question didn't.
"What are you going to do? I ntioned your position isn't in jeopardy… but here you are… with ."
"My loyalty is not with Eclipse; it is with you. Our friendship stretches back too far for to allow a guild to co in between that. Besides… I'm not the only one." Lux laughed in response.
…
A crowd of players flooded the streets in front of the Godhand Bazaar, but surprisingly, they parted after sensing the arrival of a new party. So did so unwillingly after sensing the presence of the incoming individual.
Upon recalling the rumors of the incident before, they would prefer not to be tossed aside like rag dolls.
Kieran, walking in tow with his guild mbers, approached the Godhand Bazaar's doors. After placing his hand on the door, he glanced over his shoulders.
"There are rules to visiting the bazaar. If you're caught disobeying those rules, you'll have to deal with personally. I hope that's enough for you all to make a reasonable decision."
Seeing as this crowd was not made up of rowdy and lawless children, Kieran didn't feel the need to go into great detail regarding etiquette and decorum while browsing soone else's establishnt.
With his permission, the Godhand Bazaar's grand opening comnced. But surprisingly enough, the crowd didn't just involve players.
The large crowd in the city's heart generated a lot of interest, leading so straggling NPCs to inspect the event.
The mont players entered the shop's first floor, they were amazed by the scenery and overall display.
Milana coached the other boys and girls to gracefully tend to the potential custors that stepped inside the store.
Aside from the service, what really caught their eye were the special enchantnts for sale.
"Am I reading this correctly? Can these enchantnts directly increase our attributes and weapon attributes alike?!"
"Wait, really? No way! I need to have a look."
"HUH?! Look at the damned price tag. You can't tell this isn't robbery! 10 Gold?! That's so damned expensive."
"You're quite dumb. They're not all priced the sa. I think the price differs based on supply and the effect of the enchantnt."
Within minutes, the bazaar's first floor was bustling, but attention was soon drawn to the staircase that led upstairs.
In the anti, Kieran retrieved an item from his inventory and stared at it.
'They've been briefed… so it's about ti I start handling all these matters.'
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