The city of Gulmund was quieter now, almost deceptively so. Smoke no longer trailed in the skies. The celebration fires had turned to ash, and the vibrant sounds that once echoed from the streets were now replaced by murmurs and tension.
Toji stood on the balcony of the inn, arms crossed, eyes fixed on the distant skyline where the governor's palace pierced the clouds like a fang made of polished marble and gold. There was something unsettling about that structure, about the whole place. Beneath the beauty, there was a rot—he could feel it. It lingered in the air like a secret begging to be uncovered.
Footsteps behind him signaled someone's approach. He didn't look back.
Felaad's familiar voice rang out, accompanied by the soft clinking of armor. "You've been out here for a while."
Toji said nothing.
Felaad joined him at the railing. "The city respects you. They don't understand you, sure. Some even fear you. But after what you did to that mountain…"
"It wasn't about respect," Toji muttered. "It was necessary."
"I know," Felaad nodded. "And that's why I'm here. The governor wants to meet you. Officially."
Toji turned his gaze toward Felaad, face unreadable. "He wants to shake my hand, give me a title, make me one of them?"
"He wants to talk. That's all I know," Felaad said, though he didn't sound confident.
"Something's wrong with this place," Toji said. "Even the way the wind moves feels manufactured. The people walk like they're watched. And that palace… it feels like a mask."
Felaad nodded again, slower this time. "You're not wrong. I don't trust the governor either. He's been here longer than any ruler I know, and yet, he looks like a man in his prime. Never seems to age. Never leaves the city. And every year during the Feast of Light, someone goes missing."
That got Toji's attention. "Missing?"
"Dozens. Sometimes more. Always explained away. 'Bandits.' 'Rebellions.' 'Disappearance into the wilds.' The kind of excuses that don't hold up."
Toji's eyes narrowed. "And the people still worship him?"
"Some do. Others pretend to." Felaad's voice dropped. "Fear is a god of its own."
Toji turned back to the horizon. "Why are you really telling me this?"
"Because I trust you more than I trust him. Because Serene is gone, summoned by the king. And because if you're staying here…" He paused. "You should know what you're walking into."
A silence stretched between them.
Toji eventually asked, "What's his name?"
"Governor Helmund Azel."
A name like a blade.
"He sent an envoy. They're waiting downstairs. If you go now, you'll arrive before the palace gates close."
Toji said nothing for a long moment. Then he turned and stepped past Felaad. "I'll go."
"Why?" Felaad asked.
"To see his eyes," Toji said without looking back. "Eyes never lie."
The envoy waited in the inn's lower hall—a young woman in ceremonial armor with a scroll clasped in one gloved hand. She bowed deeply when Toji approached.
"Lord Helmund Azel, Governor of Gulmund, formally invites you to an audience within the palace. He expresses his gratitude for your bravery and wishes to offer the blessings of the kingdom."
Toji took the scroll but didn't open it. "Lead the way."
The walk through the city was quiet. People peeked from behind curtains and rooftops as Toji passed, their eyes wide with reverence or suspicion. Children stopped their games. Even the animals seemed to pause in his presence. Whispers followed in his wake, hushed and reverent.
"That's him," someone said. "The one who destroyed the mountain."
"Is he a god?" whispered another.
Toji ignored them. Praise meant little to him. He wasn't here to be admired.
When they reached the palace gates, Toji looked up. The structure was pristine. Too pristine. Not a crack in the marble. Not a leaf out of place in the surrounding garden. The air shimmered faintly, like the whole place existed a breath removed from reality.
Guards in golden armor stepped aside, eyes averted.
The envoy led him through winding halls filled with statues of figures whose names had long faded from history. The silence inside was so complete it roared in Toji's ears. Everything was calculated, curated. The scent of incense—too strong. The light—too controlled. Even the temperature felt artificial.
They passed by structures depicting heroic battles, beautiful landscapes, and great banquets. But beneath each image, Toji could sense a lie. As though each thread in the fabric was trying to rewrite history.
Finally, they arrived.
The doors to the governor's throne room opened with a slow, grinding hiss.
Toji stepped inside.
The room was vast, circular, and lined with arched windows. Sunlight streamed in through colored glass, casting ethereal patterns on the polished black floor. At the far end, seated atop a silver throne, was Helmund Azel.
He was… beautiful. Almost unnaturally so. Pale skin, silver hair that shimmered like starlight, eyes the color of molten gold. He stood slowly as Toji approached, his movements graceful, fluid.
"Toji," he said, his voice smooth and cold. "The man who silenced a mountain."
Toji stopped a few paces from the throne. "You sent for me."
"I did," the governor replied, descending the steps. "Because I believe greatness should be acknowledged. And because your arrival was foreseen."
Toji's brows furrowed. "Foreseen?"
"By the stars. By the wind. By the quiet murmur of fate," Helmund said, spreading his arms. "You've changed the flow of this land. The demons tremble. The people sing. You stand at the threshold of legend."
"I didn't come for flattery," Toji said.
"No," Helmund nodded. "You came for truth. As do I."
There was a pause.
"I have questions," Toji said. "About the dungeon. About the markings. About the people missing during your festivals."
Helmund smiled. "And you shall have answers. But not all truths are spoken in daylight. Some must be earned. Others… must be discovered."
Toji felt it then. A flicker. A pulse. Something just beneath the surface. The man before him wore a perfect mask—but beneath that skin, beneath that calm… something watched.
He forced himself to remain still. To not act yet.
"Then I'll find them," Toji said coldly. "With or without your help."
Helmund inclined his head. "Of that, I have no doubt."
As Toji turned to leave, the governor's final words followed him like a whisper on the wind:
"Welcome to Gulmund, Lightbringer."