The landscape stretched wide and barren before Elaine, its cracked earth shimmering under the weight of a merciless sun. Where the world had once thrummed with the orderly energy of the Nexus, it now felt raw, untamed, and unpredictable.
Elaine adjusted the straps of her satchel, her fingers brushing against the faintly warm remnants of the artifact fragment tucked inside. Though the shard had crumbled in the Nexus's collapse, traces of its energy remained—a tether to a world that no longer existed.
"This is freedom," she murmured, her tone caught somewhere between awe and uncertainty.
Freedom, she quickly learned, was jagged and harsh. The wind carried dust and ash, remnants of long-forgotten battles and places the Nexus had abandoned. The ground beneath her feet shifted uneasily, as though the very earth was unsure of its place in the absence of the system's rigid control.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a distant sound—a faint, rhythmic drumming.
The Ruined Town
The source of the sound led Elaine to a cluster of dilapidated buildings nestled in the shadow of a jagged ridge. The structures were crude and weathered, their walls patched together with scavenged wood and rusted metal.
A makeshift sign creaked in the wind, its faded lettering barely legible: "Welcome to Ythral—Stay Away"
Elaine smirked at the ominous greeting but kept her hand near the hilt of her blade as she entered the town. The streets were eerily quiet, the few figures she saw moving quickly from one shadow to the next.
The drumming grew louder as she approached the town square, where a small crowd had gathered around a crude wooden platform.
At its center stood a figure cloaked in tattered gray robes, their face hidden by a deep hood. They struck a drum in a steady rhythm, their voice rising above the uneasy murmurs of the crowd.
"Order is shattered," the figure intoned. "Chaos rises to claim what is rightfully ours. The weak will perish, and the strong will rise. This is the new law!"
The crowd shifted uneasily, their faces lined with exhaustion and fear.
A Warning Delivered
Elaine lingered at the edge of the square, her eyes narrowing as she observed the scene. The hooded figure raised a hand, and the drumming ceased.
"Those who cling to the old ways will be swept aside," the figure continued. "The Nexus's fall has left a void, and only those who seize its power will survive the trials to come."
Elaine's chest tightened. She had seen the chaos left in the Nexus's wake, but this—this was something else entirely.
As the figure turned to leave the platform, their hood shifted slightly, revealing a faint, glowing mark etched across their temple—a sigil eerily similar to the Nexus's emblem.
Elaine's hand instinctively tightened on the hilt of her blade.
"Stay out of this," a voice murmured from behind her.
She turned sharply to see a wiry man with sunken eyes and a nervous expression standing just a few feet away.
"Who are you?" Elaine asked, her tone low.
"Someone who doesn't want trouble," the man said. "You're new here. Let me give you some advice—don't get involved. The Order of the Shattered Hand doesn't take kindly to strangers."
Elaine frowned. "The Shattered Hand?"
The man glanced nervously at the square. "They showed up a few weeks ago, preaching their nonsense about chaos and strength. People started disappearing soon after."
Elaine's jaw tightened. "And no one's tried to stop them?"
The man let out a bitter laugh. "You think we're in any shape to fight back? The Nexus kept this place alive. Without it, we're barely scraping by. If the Shattered Hand wants to take over, there's not much we can do."
Elaine's gaze returned to the platform, where the hooded figure had disappeared into the shadows.
"Maybe it's time someone did something," she said quietly.
The man's eyes widened. "You don't understand. If you go after them, you'll be signing your death warrant."
Elaine smirked, her grip on her blade steady. "Wouldn't be the first time."