24 Years (Level 5)
Dajit was standing in front of Varyn, the mysterious dark elf and one of the Society of Shadows' five vice heads. Varyn gave Dajit a crucial assignment, and there was no mistaking the intensity in his voice.
Varyn said, "You have been selected for a special task. Your task is to protect and gather information for Aurora Luminara, who is the daughter of Arya, the patriarch of the Luminara family's commoner wife. Since this duty will continue for one month and the contest to become the next patriarch is now ongoing, you must provide her all she needs."
Dajit's face flickered with uneasiness as his gaze narrowed. "How much will I be paid for this dangerous task?"
Varyn's lips curled into a knowing smile. "5,000 gold—enough for you to retire in comfort. Moreover, Aurora is a rune master. She might be able to assist you with that wooden box you've been holding onto for all these years."
The attraction of both significant cash and the possibility of unlocking a long-standing enigma was too much to resist. Dajit took the job, bracing himself for the journey that lay ahead—a journey that would permanently alter his course in life.
He journeyed to Lucidia, a state ruled by the Luminara dynasty, and eventually arrived to Meadowshire, a settlement tucked away on the state's periphery.
The hamlet was a modest settlement, full of farmers and lacking any impressive building, bathed in the soft, waning light of evening. Only rural houses dotted the countryside, providing an unusual background for the impending horrors.
When Dajit met Aurora, he discovered that his role went beyond providing cover. She needed him to find out, to protect her from poison, to detect assassins and intruders. She would have to be taken out of the state as soon as possible after completing this mission, which would take a week.
"Then why is she waiting in the state, why doesn't she get out," Dajit asked himself. Dajit accepted her request—but only if she could assist him in deciphering the meaning behind the antiquated wooden box he had carried around for so long.
Motivated by willpower and despair, Aurora labored diligently for three exhausting days in order to unlock the box. As the box got closer to unlocking, Dajit, who was totally concentrated on the work at hand, heard a noise. It was a faint, menacing sound that he attempted to ignore. As Aurora forced the lid off and exposed its contents, tension rose in the room. Her eyes widened in shock as she retrieved a necklace from within, her hands shaking.
"It's the other half of the necklace my mother gave me," her voice almost audible above a whisper.
She looked up at Dajit, her expression halfway between wonder and urgency. "Where did you find this box?"
"I've had it since my parents found me," he was sounding as if the stress of the situation and the increasingly loud sounds were overloading his head.
Aurora's face became pale as she realised. She fixed her eyes to Dajit's, understanding beginning to light there. "Dajit, you is probably my sibling. I thought you died with our mother 24 years ago," she muttered lightly.
Before Dajit could take in what she had spoken, the mood changed dramatically. With their swords shining menacingly in the darkened hallway, eleven knights materialized out of the shadows.
Dajit and the guards tried their best, but the sheer quantity of assailants proved too much for them. Following a vicious battle, Aurora collapsed in front of Dajit, her final breath blending with the mayhem all around her.
As Dajit struggled on, his strength diminishing and death approaching, a wonderful thing occurred: his second star was unlocked. He saw a peculiar light on his status pane called Cosmic Abyss. A fresh message appeared in front of him:
[Sub-Star Activated! [System: "Do you want to make things right?" ]]
Dajit agreed without hesitation. In the face of impending death, his determination hardened. As he lost consciousness, his final thoughts were driven by the need to undo the destruction he had seen that were caused by his presence alone.
Our protagonist is currently facing another challenge, and if he doesn't confront it head-on, the result might be even more horrific than death itself.