The room was just as lavish from inside: rich tapestries lining the walls, shelves stocked with ancient tomes…and one very disturbing detail near Sóley’s desk, a life-sized statue of herself in full regal attire (and by that, I mean yes—still wearing that damned bikini armor).

  "Ignore that," Sóley said dryly upon noticing their stares at it while plopping down onto her chair again lazily as if nothing were amiss whatsoever.

  Alice coughed awkwardly while Due whispered under his breath: "Okay yeah I take back what I said earlier about 'not having issues' because this place is giving me serious villain lair vibes now."

  Shi'an shot him an exasperated look before turning toward Sóley expectantly:

  "So? What exactly do you want us for?”

  Sóley leaned back in the chair, regarding the group with veiled amusement. She waited until all three had taken in their surroundings in full before asking in a light tone:

  "Tell me, what do you know about Lust, exactly?”

  The group exchanged a glance. It was Alice who spoke up first:

  "Lust…isn't actually a person. It's a primordial Entity, one of the most dangerous in existence."

  At that, Sóley's lips curled into a slow smirk.

  "Correct. I do love it when people know their facts."

  She stood, crossing over to the desk and leaning back against it casually.

  "But there is one particular detail you might not know."

  Alice tilted her head, clearly curious despite the situation.

  "What detail is that?"

  Shi'an narrowed her eyes at Sóley. "Why do I feel like we're not going to like the answer to that question?"

  Sóley laughed, folding her arms casually while crossing one leg over the other.

  "Probably because you won't," she answered simply. "You see…"

  The others waited for Sóley to continue, the atmosphere heavy with anticipation. The room felt colder than before…

  Sóley's golden eyes gleamed beneath the candlelight, gleaming with a dark kind of amusement.

  "There's one very important piece of information you don't know about Lust…that makes it even more dangerous than you might think."

  Her smirk widened.

  "Because the fact is…" she purred. "This isn't the first time Lust has tried to possess somebody."

  The revelation hit them like a truck.

  Shi'an's eyes widened, Alice swore under her breath, and Due's jaw dropped almost comically.

  Sóley took in their stunned reactions with a look of smug satisfaction.

  "Oh, the looks on your faces…" she chuckled. "I love it."

  "When?" Shi’an managed to recover first, her voice hoarse from shock. "When has this happened before?"

  Sóley's smile deepened, clearly enjoying the effect she had on the group. She began pacing slowly around the desk, every elegant step measured and deliberate.

  "Many, many years ago, long before your lifetimes," she began, golden eyes gleaming. Her voice was low, almost like a storyteller spinning a tale around a campfire.

  "There were two people: a powerful sorcerer…and an even more powerful warrior."

  Sóley stopped pacing, folding her arms while leaning casually back against the far edge of the desk again.

  "They lived together in a place called the Old World."

  Alice's eyes widened in realization.

  "Wait, that’s where the Old World legends come from?!" she blurted out, immediately regretting her interruption as Shi’an shot her a sharp look.

  But Sóley just laughed, sharp and amused, as if this were all some grand joke to her.

  "Oh yes," she confirmed with a smirk that was far too knowing for comfort. "Because those 'legends' you’ve read about?"

  She leaned forward slightly, golden gaze glinting dangerously now under candlelight…

  "They weren’t stories."

  The room took on a sudden chill. The group stood frozen, the gravity of Sóley's words sinking in.

  Shi’an had gone very still, jaw locked tightly, gaze focused on Sóley as if daring her to continue. Alice, on the other hand, looked like she was bracing herself for some sort of bad news. Only Due seemed completely unfazed, watching Sóley with a sort of detached curiosity.

  "And you know what else?"

  Sóley broke the silence again, eyes gleaming.

  Alice swallowed hard, the only one brave enough to ask:

  "What else?"

  Sóley's smirk widened, eyes gleaming with a kind of sadistic amusement now.

  "The reason why the legends exist in the first place," she said slowly, her voice almost a purr. "Is because those very people were the ones who ultimately defeated Lust long ago. That is: the sorcerer and the warrior. And now, that brings us to the part where you all come in."

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  Shi'an's expression hardened visibly. Her shoulders tensed, jaw clenched.

  "Go on," she said, the warning clear in her voice.

  Sóley's smirk widened further at that. She pushed off from the desk, circling around it again as she spoke.

  "Like I said, the sorcerer and the warrior were the only people to defeat Lust back in the Old World. And they did it…by sealing it."

  Sóley stopped behind the chair, leaning forward with her hands gripping the backrest tightly.

  "And the way they sealed it...was by uniting all members of the Shadows Searching in the Night.”

  Alice blinked in shock. "Wait, what? So you're saying…the Shadows Searching in the Night are actually people?"

  Sóley didn't even flinch at her reaction, just gave a slow nod while keeping those piercing golden eyes locked on them.

  "Oh yes," she confirmed darkly. "And now that Lust has returned…it means one thing: we need to do it again."

  She straightened up suddenly from where she'd been leaning over the chair before continuing:

  "Which is why I'm here asking for your help, to gather us all again."

  "Wait, us?" Alice blurted out, "You're one of the members?”

  Sóley tilted her head, amused.

  "Correct.""

  She said simply, crossing back over to the desk while folding her arms. "That would be why I got possessed, after all."

  The group exchanged another look.

  "So," Shi'an spoke up again, "I take it this means you know who all the other members are."

  Sóley chuckled at that.

  "Of course I do," she replied smoothly. "I would have to in order to find them. And a good start would be asking if any of you have come across them."

  Shi'an nodded. "Yes, I know the leader. Dorian Valeo."

  Sóley’s smirk widened, sharp and knowing.

  "Ah, Dorian." She rolled her eyes dramatically. "That man may put on a mysterious front, but he has such a flair for the dramatic…and yes, he is indeed the leader of our little group."

  She leaned back against her desk again with effortless grace before continuing:

  "Though I should warn you now, that wasn't his original name back in those days…but not like it matters much anymore does it?"

  Alice blinked rapidly as if processing everything she was hearing while Due whispered under breath: "Okay what kind of cryptic nonsense is this woman speaking right now?"

  Shi’an however just crossed her arms tightly across her chest while glaring directly into Sóley golden gaze.

  Sóely chuckled darkly at Shi'an’s unspoken challenge before answering smoothly:

  "The Shadows Searching In The Night were never meant to be forgotten...just hidden away until needed once more.”

  And then she turned toward Alice, suddenly changing subject mid-sentence, completely unexpectedly to boot!

  “So tell me,” Sóley asked casually, far too casual given the context surrounding the entire conversation thus far:

  “You said you've studied multiple languages right?”

  Alice, still slightly off-balance from the abrupt subject change, nodded slowly.

  "Yeah…I have." She eyed Sóley warily, unsure where this was going but refusing to back down now either way.

  Sóley grinned wider at that response before leaning forward again with sudden intensity:

  "Good," she said smoothly while pulling out an old leather-bound book seemingly from nowhere, placing it on top of her desk in front of them all like some kind of magical trickster’s flourish done purely for dramatic effect alone.

  She flipped open its cover, revealing pages filled not only with strange symbols and runes. Pointing out one particular line, Sóley asked Alice:

  "Can you pronounce this properly?"

  Alice read the words, forming 'Srenges lamdemni daman kollesu'.

  Before Alice could answer, Due answered with an overconfident: "Sren-ges lam-dem-ni da, "

  Sóley cut Due off with a giggle that bounced off the walls. "No no no, that would be 'Ren-lami-da-ko'," she corrected.

  "No way," Due said, "You only pronounce half the words?! What kinda sorcery is this?!”

  Sóley chuckled at that while Alice facepalmed. "It's Euphoria’s national language, aptly named 'Euphorian'," she explained. "It's spoken by the native Euphorian people, and most of the words of the language are read like that," she motioned with a hand in a 'so-so' gesture. "It's complicated."

  Due just shook his head. "Complicated is an understatement. Insane sounds more like it."

  "You're telling me," Shi'an muttered in agreement, still somewhat reeling from the sudden subject change herself. "Let me guess: antiquated writing system?”

  Sóley chuckled at that, while Alice facepalmed. "It's Euphoria’s national language, aptly named 'Euphorian'," she explained. "It's spoken by the native Euphorian people, and most of the words of the language are read like that," she motioned with a hand in a 'so-so' gesture. "It's complicated."

  Due just shook his head. "Complicated is an understatement. Insane sounds more like it."

  "You're telling me," Alice muttered in agreement, still somewhat reeling from the sudden subject change herself. "Let me guess: antiquated writing system?"

  Sóley grinned, giving a nod. "Correct again. So you have done your research, good. You're right: the way that the words were said has changed over time, but the way they spelled those words stayed the same. The result? Archaic spellings.”

  Alice nodded, still trying to wrap her head around the linguistic complexity.

  "That makes sense…but it’s also kind of terrifying," she admitted with a small shiver. "I mean, if we’re going up against Lust again, and this is their language, "

  Sóley cut her off with a wave of her hand, golden eyes glinting in amusement.

  "Oh don’t worry about that part too much." She leaned forward slightly on the desk now as if sharing some grand secret between friends before adding: "Because I already translated everything important for you."

  Then she pulled out another book from seemingly nowhere, which made Due blurt out: "Hold up, where are you even pulling these books out from?! Your ass?!”

  Sóley snorted, amused by Due's incredulity. "Oh, don't be ridiculous," she said with a dismissive wave. "I have my ways."

  Alice rolled her eyes, and Shi'an tried to steer the conversation back on track by giving Sóley an impatient look as if telling her to get to the point. Sóley, catching the look, gave a sly shrug, but finally began flipping through the new book in hand.

  After a moment, she paused at a certain page filled with a single spell.

  "Here we are," she said, her golden eyes glimmering in the candlelight as she slid the open book toward the group.

  Alice leaned in while Shi'an moved to stand beside her, both peering at the intricate symbols and runes.

  Due just crossed his arms, still skeptical but also trying to get a look himself.

  Shi'an was the first to break the silence, giving Sóley a sideways glance. "This…is the spell for sealing Lust, is it?”

  Sóley nodded, a knowing gleam in her eyes. "It is, indeed," she confirmed, leaning back a bit on her desk.

  Alice's eyes flickered back to the page, scanning the complex spell before looking up at Sóley with a skeptical frown. "You really expect me to read this spell correctly on the first try?" she asked, voice tinged with mild disbelief.

  Sóley chuckled, seemingly unsurprised by her skepticism. "Oh Alice, you of little faith. You are capable of far more than you know.”

  Alice snorted at that, rolling her eyes yet again. "Wow," she drawled, not bothering to hide the sarcasm in her tone this time. "How motivational."

  Due couldn't help but snicker a bit at her attitude but quieted down when Shi'an shot him a warning glare as if telling him to "shut up."

  Sóley simply smiled at Alice's response, amusement twinkling within in golden eyes. "You don't believe me, huh?" She asked, still in that smooth, almost purring tone. "How about a bet, then?”

  Alice’s eyebrows shot up, her skepticism warring with curiosity. "A bet?" she repeated.

  Sóley grinned, slow and sharp, like a predator who already knew the outcome of this little game before it even started. "Yes. A bet." She leaned forward slightly from where she was perched on the desk edge now while gesturing toward that spellbook still laid open between them all.

  "I say you can read it perfectly first try. If I'm wrong? You walk away free & clear no strings attached whatsoever...but if I'm right?"

  Her golden eyes gleamed as she held Alice's gaze unflinchingly then finished off with one last smirk:

  "You agree help me find the rest of the Shadows Searching in the Night members, effective immediately.”

  Alice hesitated, eyes flickering from the spellbook up to Sóley's confident gaze. She'd only met the woman an hour ago and everything in her instincts screamed don't accept the deal.

  But there was one thing overriding those instincts, one very big thing called curiosity.

  She took a moment, weighing her options before finally speaking:

  "Fine," she said. "You have a bet."