The tension in the Phoenix Sect reached a breaking point. Aarik and Kaelen worked tirelessly to gather evidence against Ryen, whose movements grew more suspicious with each passing day. The Shadow Sect's spies were becoming bolder, slipping into the sect under the guise of visiting scholars and tradespeople.
One night, while patrolling the outer grounds, Aarik encountered a group of cloaked figures near the sect's boundary wall. As he approached, the sigil on his chest began to glow faintly—a warning.
The figures turned, their faces obscured by masks, and drew weapons that glimmered with dark energy.
"You should have stayed out of this," one of them hissed.
The fight was brutal. Aarik was outnumbered, but the Eternal Flame surged within him, granting him strength and agility far beyond his normal limits. Flames danced around his hands as he dodged and countered, his strikes precise and devastating.
When the dust settled, the cloaked figures lay defeated, but Aarik was shaken. These weren't ordinary fighters—they were elite assassins from the Shadow Sect. Their presence this deep into the Phoenix Sect's territory meant the sect's defenses had been compromised.