Episode 6: “A Duel at Midnight” | — under the cover of darkness, when the city sleeps and secrets are bold enough to speak aloud.

Vero is the first to hear them—whispers, faint and persistent, calling from somewhere just beyond the edge of understanding. Drawn by forces he doesn’t yet recognize, he attempts to slip away unnoticed in the dead of night, only to be caught by Solaris. Rather than stop him, she chooses to walk beside him. Together, they make their way toward the town square at midnight, unaware that they are not alone.

From the shadows emerges Draylen, revealing he’s been following them the entire time. His warning is sharp and urgent: if they’re discovered outside the church after curfew, they’ll be expelled without question. Still, the three press on—and what they find waiting for them is anything but ordinary. In a narrow alley, they come upon a warped wall of living, magical flesh, pulsing and shifting as if reality itself has been wounded.

Vero steps forward, compelled by something deeper than curiosity. Solaris and Draylen follow—and the trap closes. At the far end of the alley, a masked figure emerges, calm and deliberate. He addresses Vero not as a student, but as “young lord,” insisting Vero must return to his destined path or risk plunging the world into an endless night.

The warning is rejected. Steel and spell answer instead.

An arrow strikes the figure’s shoulder. Draylen unleashes his magic, only for each spell to shatter harmlessly against a summoned black mirror. The tide turns violently—Draylen falls, and the fight becomes desperate. Solaris backs Vero without hesitation, the two pressing a relentless onslaught that nearly ends the masked figure then and there.

Cornered and wounded, the figure offers a deal. The clash pauses just long enough for terms to be struck—uneasy, unresolved, and heavy with consequence. Moments later, the alley is empty once more. The trio slips back to the church unseen, shaken but alive, while the masked figure disappears into the night.

a quiet, dangerous truth: the duel is over, but the game is not. And though our heroes don’t yet realize it, the figure they faced beneath the moonlight is the same presence that barked orders from the shadows, proof that the threads pulling at their fate have been tightening all along.