Chapter 67: First Light
The rented manor sat in the upper merchant district, a quiet street of pale stone and wrought-iron lamps, close enough to the noble quarter to matter but far enough to afford privacy. Marble floors. Enchanted chandeliers that adjusted their glow to the hour. A private courtyard with a fountain that never stopped running, its water enchanted to cycle in a perfect, silent loop.
Wobbly claimed a silk cushion in the main sitting room within thirty seconds of arrival, its glow cycling through shades of deep, satisfied purple. Lysandra touched the floating chandelier in the entry hall like it might bite her, then stood beneath it, staring up, her expression caught somewhere between wonder and recalibration.
Florence walked past her, glanced up, and shrugged. "It’s just light." She claimed the corner balcony room with a view of the city skyline and left the door open.
Theresa took the study without asking, already unpacking the grimoire and her notes before the innkeeper had finished the tour. The man, polished, professional, discreet, handed Dominic a set of enchanted keys and assured him that the staff would remain invisible unless summoned. His eyes lingered on the Kane black and gold for half a second. Respect, but not awe. Nobles stayed here often. The Kane name registered, but it didn’t command.
Not yet
Dominic sat on the edge of the bed in his room, the door closed, the city’s distant hum filtering through the warded glass. Wobbly had migrated from its cushion to his pillow, a warm blue lump of contentment.
He opened the interface.
```
[Current GT Tokens: 1,350]
[Pity Counter: 2/40]
[Banner: Capital’s First Light — Locked]
[Status: Enter the capital to unlock.]
```
The locked banner pulsed once, then opened. Text flared.
```
[Capital’s First Light — Limited Banner]
[SSS Rate: 15% | SS: 25% | S: 60%]
[Expires in 5 days]
[First pull in the capital — rates will not repeat.]
[The System recommends you take advantage of this opportunity.]
```
He stared at it. Fifteen percent SSS. Limited window. The temptation sat in his chest like a stone. He’d need more tokens to ensure a successful pull. But now wasn’t the time. He needed information more than he needed another heroine.
He closed the banner. A new quest had already appeared.
```
[New Quest: The City That Never Sleeps]
[Objective: Explore the capital’s districts at night. Learn its secrets.]
[Reward: 80 GT Tokens]
[Note: The capital hides as much as it shows. Walk. Watch. Listen.]
```
He closed the interface. Tonight, he’d earn those tokens.
The Royal Auction House sat in the noble quarter like a cathedral dedicated to commerce. Marble columns rose six stories, their surfaces inlaid with gold filigree that traced the history of the empire’s greatest sales. Magical projections floated above the entrance, rotating images of past lots, legendary artifacts, cores of impossible size.
Dominic walked through the entrance with Theresa on his left and Florence on his right. Lysandra had stayed behind at the manor. Wobbly sat on his shoulder, its glow dimmed to a polite pulse.
The registration desk was staffed by a woman in silver robes, her hair pinned back with enchanted combs that floated slightly above her scalp. She took Dominic’s name, the Caldmore guild seal, and the consignment papers Frank had prepared. Her expression remained professionally blank until she read the lot description. Then she looked up.
"The floor ten core. You’re the consignor."
"I am."
She processed the rest of the paperwork in silence, her fingers moving with practiced efficiency. When she handed him the auction catalog, a leather-bound tome enchanted to update in real time as lots were added or sold, her eyes lingered on Wobbly for a fraction of a second.
The preview gallery stretched beyond the registration hall, a long chamber lined with display cases and projection pedestals. Each lot hovered in the air above its pedestal, rotating slowly, accompanied by a floating plaque of specifications. Artifacts from dungeons across the empire. Spellbooks from fallen mage houses. A crown that had belonged to a dynasty now extinct.
And at the center of the gallery, on a raised dais surrounded by privacy wards, the SSS+ core. It pulsed with its own inner light, gold and deep, the same way it had in Frank’s appraisal room. A small crowd had gathered around it, nobles in silk, mages in robes, a few representatives of foreign houses whose crests Dominic didn’t recognize.
Florence let out a low whistle. "That’s ours."
"Ours until it sells," Dominic said.
Theresa studied the projection of the corrupted heart, which was listed as "Lot 23 — Mana Organ, Origin Unknown, Dark Affinity."
The cold came before the voice, a drop in temperature that had nothing to do with the gallery’s enchantments. Lady Vex approached from the far end of the hall, her silver hair flowing behind her like a frozen waterfall, her robes the deep blue of a winter sky. The crowd parted without seeming to notice they were doing it. Her presence was a force, controlled and absolute. Dominic recognized it immediately. One of the three they’d sensed at the gate.
She stopped before them. Her eyes, pale blue, nearly colorless, moved from Dominic to Florence to Theresa, and finally to Wobbly, where they paused for the briefest moment.
"The Caldmore delegation," she said. Her voice was cool, unhurried. "I am Lady Vex, head of the Royal Mages’ Collegium. The capital welcomes new talents."
Florence’s grin turned sharp, but she said nothing. Theresa inclined her head, acknowledgment, not deference.
"The auction should be... interesting," Vex continued. "A core from floor ten. A corrupted mana organ from the same source. And two women whose power I can feel but cannot place." Her gaze settled on Dominic. "You keep unusual company, Kane."
"I’ve been fortunate."
"Fortuna is fickle." She turned to go, then paused. "The Collegium will be bidding. I trust that won’t be a problem."
"Open auction," Dominic said. "May the best offer win."
Vex’s smile was a thin, cold thing. "Indeed." She walked away, and the temperature in the gallery slowly returned to normal.
Florence let out a breath. "She’s one of the three."
"The strongest one," Theresa said. "Or at least the most controlled. The Collegium is the empire’s magical authority. If she’s bidding on the core, she has a reason."
"Everyone has a reason," Dominic said.
The system pinged quietly.
```
[Quest Update: Attend the auction preview — Complete]
[+50 GT Tokens]
[Current GT Tokens: 1,400]
```
He closed it without comment.
The Registry Hall sat on the border between the administrative district and the noble quarter, a massive fortress of grey stone and iron bars. Petitioners lined the steps, their faces worn with the particular exhaustion of people who’d been fighting bureaucracy for years. Clerks in dark robes moved through the crowd like crows, selecting the next case with cold efficiency.
Dominic noted the location, the guard rotation, the number of windows. The building where his father had been processed, charged, and condemned. The building that held the records of what had actually happened.
Later. He would come back when he had leverage.
The capital at night was a different city.
The upper districts glowed with enchanted lamplight, warm and golden, the streets still busy with nobles returning from dinners and theaters. But Dominic walked downward, into the merchant quarter, where the lights were dimmer and the crowds were thinner.
The first thing he bought was a small silver pendant from a vendor whose stall was tucked between a closed bakery and a boarded-up shop. The enchantment on it was simple, detect poison within a hand’s breadth of the wearer’s lips, flash cold if anything was tampered with. Eighty tokens from the system shop would have bought something better. But the system shop was for emergencies.
He paid in coin, and slipped the charm around his neck.
The vendor, a thin man with stained fingers, watched him go without comment.
Deeper into the merchant quarter, the streets narrowed. The lamplight grew patchy. A beggar crouched in a doorway, wrapped in rags that might once have been a guild cloak. Dominic dropped a silver coin into his cup.
"Blessings, young lord," the beggar rasped. "You’re new to the capital. I can tell. They all have that look."
"What look?"
"Like they’re searching for something." The beggar’s eyes, sharp despite the dirt on his face, flicked to the Kane crest on Dominic’s collar. "Heard a man earlier, A Harwick steward, by his colors. Asking about a name. Kane."
Dominic’s expression didn’t change. "What else did he ask?"
"Where they’re staying. When they arrived. Who they’re with." The beggar shrugged. "Didn’t get answers. People in this district don’t talk to Harwick men for free."
"When did he arrive?"
"Yesterday. Staying at the Silver Boar near the east gate, if the rumors hold." The beggar held out his cup again. "That’s all I heard."
Dominic dropped another coin. He walked on.
The patrol of Royal Guards at the next junction barely glanced at him. The Kane crest was enough.
When he returned to the manor, the system pinged.
```
[Quest Complete: The City That Never Sleeps]
[Reward: 80 GT Tokens]
[Current GT Tokens: 1,480]
[Note: The capital has many eyes. Some of them are now watching you.]
```
***
He stood on the balcony outside his room, the city sprawled below like a net of captured stars. The auction catalog sat on the table behind him, still updating.
Footsteps. Bare feet on stone. He didn’t turn.
Florence leaned against the railing beside him, close enough that her shoulder pressed against his. She was wearing his shirt again, the sleeves rolled to her elbows. Her hair was loose, still damp from washing. She smelled like soap and the faint, familiar warmth of her skin.
"Are you thinking about the auction?"
"Among other things."
She turned, her hip against the railing, her face close enough that he could see the firelight reflected in her eyes. "It’s good that you aren’t forgetting the other things."
Her hand found his jaw, her thumb tracing the line of his cheekbone. The touch was deliberate, unhurried.
She kissed him. Slow at first, then deeper, her fingers sliding into his hair. The bond hummed between them, a low, resonant note that made everything feel sharper, closer, more present. Her other hand pressed flat against his chest, just feeling the heartbeat beneath.
When she pulled back, her eyes were bright. "You’re getting better at this."
"At what?"
"Not overthinking." She kissed him again, brief this time, almost teasing. Then she leaned back against the railing, her shoulder still touching his. "Theresa says dinner’s ready."
She walked inside, bare feet silent on the stone, and left him standing on the balcony with the city lights and the bond singing in his chest.
Later, alone in his room, Dominic opened the interface one last time.
```
[New Quest: The Gilded Cage]
[Objective: Attend and survive the Royal Auction. Protect your interests.]
[Reward: 300 GT Tokens]
[Bonus Objective: Identify all three SS-rank presences by name and affiliation before the auction ends.]
[Bonus Reward: 100 GT Tokens]
[Note: The capital’s eyes are on you now. Make sure they see what you want them to see.]
```
Lady Vex was already identified. The other two SS-ranks, one a void in his awareness, one radiating raw mana, were still unknown.
He closed the interface. Outside, the city hummed.
The auction was in three days. And Dominic Kane had a list of people who needed to learn his name.