From the hallway, a commotion broke the relative quiet.
Older woman: "Make way! Make way!"
Virno stepped into the corridor to see Rel and another man carrying an injured fighter on a stretcher. The unfortunate opponent groaned softly, his wounds far less dire than the last one Virno had seen hauled in. Following close behind was the doctor, his mask unmistakable, with Faya trailing alongside him, radiating her usual confidence.
The Leopard: "Make sure you have the pain-numbing herbs ready. This shouldn't take long today. Standard fee, no extras... Cabdan can pay me next time, I don't plan on waiting around for him today."
Virno locked eyes with the doctor, who immediately gestured for him to come over.
The Leopard: "Ah, there you are! Excellent. That saves me the trouble of finding you. Come with me..."
Virno nodded, exchanging a quick wave with Rel, who smiled faintly despite the weight of the stretcher. He fell into step beside the doctor and Faya.
Virno: "So... I'm guessing you won this one, too."
Faya grinned and puffed out her chest theatrically.
Faya: "Keen sighted as usual...! Indeed I did."
Virno: "So, when can we talk about... you know?"
Faya's laugh echoed through the corridor, but there was a sharpness in her eyes as she glanced at him.
Faya: "Ahaha! Virno, you're going to make me blush saying things like that!"
The Leopard's head tilted awkwardly, clearly pretending not to hear.
Faya (hushed): "I told you -- not here!"
Virno (hushed): "Then where?"
Faya (hushed): "After you're done with the doc. Meet me in the garden."
Virno nodded, and Faya strode ahead with an exaggerated spring in her step.
The group reached an empty room, and one of the older nurses waved them in.
Older woman: "Alright, everyone out except the doctor!"
As Rel and the stretcher-bearer departed, the Leopard pointed to Virno.
The Leopard: "He stays. He'll be the one helping me today."
The woman hesitated but ultimately nodded, shooing the others out and following after.
The Leopard: "Shut the door behind you, Virno."
Virno closed the door and turned back, watching as the doctor's hands began glowing in an ominous grey tonality.
The Leopard: "Good. Let's get this started."
The Leopard's hands danced with magical glyphs, as herbs floated from a nearby table into a bowl, where they were ground to a paste with several flicks of his wrist. After adding a special liquid ingredient to the mixture, he had the the injured man drink the concoction. It wasn't long before the man passed out, his face softening in relief.
The Leopard: "Now that that's out of the way... one final precaution."
He clasps both hands together. As they come into contact with one another, the glyphs surrounding them change, as if signifying the invocation of a new spell. As he separates his palms, a soundproof bubble of energy encloses them.
The Leopard: "There. Now we may speak freely."
The Leopard gestured to a chair, taking the one opposite it. Virno sat cautiously.
The Leopard: "I'll get straight to the point -- whatever you do, do not follow its call."
Virno's brow furrowed.
Virno: "'Its'... call?"
The Leopard leaned forward, his tone grave.
The Leopard: "The voice you've heard... the one beckoning you to seek it. You know what I mean, don't you?"
Virno's stomach tightened as memories of his haunting dream resurfaced -- the lake, the disembodied voice, the shifting reflections. So... it really wasn't just some bad dream. Compounding this anxiety was the fact that, somehow, the doctor was aware of it all. He found himself speechless for a moment, unable to reply.
The Leopard: "What I am about to do is forbidden. My identity is hidden from all but the highest ranks of my organization. No outsider has ever seen my face. But you need to know I am not just a faceless pawn asking for your cooperation -- I am a man, like you."
Virno stiffened in his seat. He had expected cryptic warnings or lofty threats, but this felt... intimate. Dangerous.
The glowing glyphs spiraled around the Leopard's fingers, and with a slow, deliberate motion, he removed the mask.
The mask itself dissolved into strands of energy that coiled like smoke around his shoulders. Beneath it was a man of striking, yet weary, features. His skin was dark and his hair had started to grey, though he was clearly not yet an old man. There was something sharp and calculating in his black eyes, but they carried the weight of experience -- and perhaps guilt.
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The Leopard: "My name is Sadduccee, one of the members of Eclipse. Within that organization, I am known as the Leopard."
He placed the now-dimmed mask gently on the table between them, as though laying down a weapon.
Virno stared at him, stunned. The simplicity of the gesture carried a weight he couldn't immediately process. For a man who seemed steeped in secrecy and subterfuge, to remove his mask like this was no small thing.
Virno: "... W-why? Why would you risk this? If it's forbidden, why reveal yourself to me...?"
Sadduccee (The Leopard): "Because you are crucial to what comes next. I will not ask you to risk everything without showing you that I, too, am vulnerable."
Virno's gaze hardened.
Virno: "Hah... v-vulnerable? You? You can rearrange someone's guts from the outside with a twitch of your fingers...!"
Sadduccee allowed a faint smile, though it didn't reach his eyes.
Sadduccee: "I understand the power I command may seem great to you... but let me make this very clear -- there are forces out there that even I cannot best."
He leaned forward, folding his hands together.
Sadduccee: "I show you my face because I know what it feels like to live with doubt -- to feel trapped between forces larger than yourself. If you cannot trust me, you cannot trust what I offer."
Virno leaned back, arms crossed.
Virno: "I'm not sure I follow you... what 'forces' are you on about? And what exactly are you offering me?"
Sadduccee met his gaze, unflinching.
Sadduccee: "I offer you a chance to rise above your predicament -- to turn it into something greater than yourself. But first, you need to understand the stakes."
He retrieved the mask from the table and reactivated it with a pulse of energy. The light swirled over his face, once again obscuring his features.
Virno: "Stakes...? What stakes, doc? Can you start explaining things, please?!"
Sadduccee leaned back, his posture calm but his tone sharp, cutting through Virno's frustration.
Sadduccee: "The stakes, as dramatic as I might sound... are the fate of this world. And whether you like it or not, the dreams you've had have tethered you to that fate. What you've been experiencing-- the dreams, the call -- they are symptoms of something far older and more dangerous than you can imagine. Something your father awakened."
Virno's eyes narrowed, his fingers tightening against his crossed arms.
Virno: "My father? What the hell could you know about my father...?"
Sadduccee tilted his head, as though assessing how much Virno could handle.
Sadduccee: "Listen closely, Virno. Long before you were born, your father uncovered a chamber wherein a certain artifact of old had been entombed. An artifact dangerous enough to curse not just your father, but his entire bloodline. With his death, its mark has found a path to you, the new inheritor. This artifact -- a sword of unimaginable power -- now sees you as its way out of imprisonment. What you hear in your dreams is its call."
Virno's entire body stiffened, his fingers gripping the edge of his chair.
Virno: "A curse? You're saying this thing -- this sword -- marked me because of something my father did?"
The story his father used to tell him flashed in his mind, as did the words he left in his final letter:
"... do not forget the tale I told you so many times—it is more real than you know..."
Could this mean...?
Virno: "Why would he not mention this?! My father... he told me stories, sure, but they were just-- just fairy tales!"
He stood, pacing the small room like a caged animal. In contrast, Sadduccee's voice remained calm and resolute.
Sadduccee: "Fairy tales often hold more truth than we'd like to believe. Tell me, Virno, the stories your father told you -- what did they say?"
Virno stopped pacing, his hands balled into fists.
Virno: "The story I heard the most was about a sword. One that could cut through forests and crack mountains... he told me it buried at the bottom of a lake. So... i-it's all real?"
Sadduccee's silence was deafening, heavy with implication.
Sadduccee: "Your father told you that story to prepare you, even if he didn't have the courage to face the consequences of his own actions. He failed to claim the sword, Virno, and that failure marked him -- and you."
Virno's knees felt weak, and he slumped back into his chair. His mind reeled with fragmented memories of his father's voice, weaving the tale by the fireside. It had always seemed like fiction, yet now the pieces began to connect in a way that made him feel sick.
Virno: "The lake, the sword... so *he* tried to claim it?"
Sadduccee nodded.
Sadduccee: "He did. The sword promises unimaginable power -- but only if they can pass its trials. Most fail, as your father did. Those who fail are cursed, their lives consumed by the greed that drove them to seek the blade in the first place."
Virno's voice was thick with disgust.
Virno: "Greed, huh. Money... figures."
Sadduccee leaned forward, his tone laced with urgency.
Sadduccee: "Greed isn't always what it seems, Virno. The sword doesn't just call to those who desire wealth. It calls to those who desire anything with such intensity that it blinds them -- be it money, power, freedom, or even protection for their family. Whatever his reasons, your father wanted something enough to risk everything for it -- and now, it's your turn."
Virno shot up again, anger flaring in his chest.
Virno: "No! No, it's not my turn. I didn't ask for this! I didn't do anything! This is his mess, not mine!"
Sadduccee let the outburst pass, his expression calm but unyielding.
Sadduccee: "Like it or not, the mark is on you now... and as long as the sword remains in its resting place, it will haunt you. It will grow stronger, louder, until it consumes your thoughts, your will, your sanity."
Virno's hands trembled, his voice unsteady.
Virno: "Then what do I do...? How do I stop it?"
Sadduccee paused, his words measured.
Sadduccee: "There are two paths before you. The first is to resist the call -- to fight it, day by day, until it eventually breaks you. It will be a slow, painful descent into corruption. Your father managed to hold out for a long time... but not everyone lasts that long."
Virno's voice cracked.
Virno: "A-and the second path?"
Sadduccee's expression darkened.
Sadduccee: "You claim the sword."
The words hung in the air like a death sentence. Virno shook his head violently.
Virno: "No... no way. I'm not going near that thing! You said it warps people, twists them into monsters. Why the hell would I take that risk?"
Sadduccee stood now, towering over Virno with an imposing presence.
Sadduccee: "Because you're already at risk, Virno. The sword will not leave you alone. You can either take *control* of your curse or let it control *you*. Those are your choices."
Virno took a shaky step back, his voice rising.
Virno: "Those aren't choices! You're just dressing up a nightmare to make it sound noble. I'm not sacrificing my life for some cursed blade -- especially not for some shadowy group I know nothing about!"
Sadduccee's voice remained calm, but there was an edge to it now.
Sadduccee: "You misunderstand! I'm not asking you to die for Eclipse. I'm offering you a way to survive. We can prepare you -- train you to face the trials, to wield the sword without losing yourself. But only if you trust us."
Virno's heart pounded in his chest. The room felt stifling, the weight of the doctor's words pressing down on him like a vice.
Virno: "I-I don't know. I... need time to think."
Sadduccee nodded slowly, though his posture was tense.
Sadduccee: "Of course. But remember this -- every day you hesitate, the call will grow louder. The choice is yours, Virno, but time... time is not your ally."
Virno nodded stiffly, his jaw clenched as though holding back a flood of emotion.
Virno: "Right. Well... I'll be going now."
He turned toward the door, his thoughts churning with anger, fear, and doubt. Just as his hand brushed the handle, Sadduccee's voice followed him, softer now, almost gentle.
Sadduccee: "And Virno... I know how difficult life has been for you and your mother. If you allow it, Eclipse could help. A new home, security, enough money to ensure you'll never have to struggle again. It doesn't have to be this hard."
Virno froze. For a moment, it seemed he might not answer, the offer weighing heavily in the air. Then, he turned slowly, his face a mask of simmering anger.
Virno: "You think this is about money...? About comfort? You think you can bribe me into whatever game you're playing?!"
Sadduccee raised his hands in a gesture of calm, but Virno wasn't done.
Virno: "We don't need your help. We've been through worse than this... and we'll get through it without you."
He shoved the door open with more force than necessary, as the doctor's soundproof bubble pops. Virno steps out into the hallway.
Sadduccee: "I did not mean --"
The words carried after him, but Virno didn't stop. The door slammed shut behind him, the sound reverberating through the empty corridor. As he stormed off, Sadduccee sat back in his chair, his expression unreadable.