Inside the Great Market, stores and shops were scattered everywhere, large buildings standing alongside smaller businesses beneath countless hanging signs.
This was normally the most bustling part of Suncrest City, where merchants, hunters and civilians gathered throughout the day, filling the streets with noise and constant movement.
But under the terror of the mysterious figures and the beast tide that had already torn through the city, the Greet Market had gone unusually quiet.
Most stores were closed, several barricaded from the inside, their broken signs and abandoned goods scattered across the streets.
Overturned carts lay where they had been left, fresh vegetables rotting in the open air.
Some larger stores had deployed their own security, but even those guards stayed hidden behind fortified entrances, unwilling to expose themselves to whatever moved through the city.
Occasionally an emergency alarm sounded in the distance, followed by the rumble of military vehicles beyond the market but compared to the market’s usual noise, it was almost silent.
The kind of silence that pressed against the ears rather than soothed them.
In the distance, Thoren’s convoy entered the market street. The jeeps moved through the empty streets at a low, steady pace, soldiers alert as they watched the surrounding buildings.
Though the threat in Glimmer District had been dealt with, nobody believed the city was safe.
Windows stayed dark, curtains shifting slightly as frightened civilians watched the convoy pass.
Others had already recognized the vehicles and were whispering among themselves, voices low enough that they barely carried past the glass.
"Is that the Starfall convoy?"
"I think so."
"Why is he here?"
The convoy continued without stopping, its engines the only steady sound in streets that should have been full of life.
Thoren sat quietly in the middle jeep, his perception spreading through the area as his eyes drifted over the buildings.
He didn’t need to search physically.
He could already sense that most of the market had been abandoned, the residual traces of fear still clinging faintly to the empty structures.
But something else caught his attention.
The deeper the convoy went, the quieter the surroundings became, until even the hidden civilians made no sound at all.
It was as if the whole area was deliberately holding its breath, waiting for something none of them could name.
The convoy stopped at the center of the market and Thoren stepped down
Ahead, a single building stood apart from the others on the street. There were not any obvious distinctions on it, but through its sheer ordinariness.
A worn exterior, plain windows, an entrance that looked forgotten in the middle of the crisis. No armed guards, no visible security.
He walked toward the entrance and commanded the soldiers.
"Stay here."
"Yes, sir."
Inside the building, the lobby was as unremarkable as the exterior. Empty, scattered chairs and tables, and a few papers fallen from a desk.
The whole place looked abandoned, as though whoever had once worked here had left in a hurry and never returned.
He walked across the deserted lobby without concern. His footsteps echoed softly against the cold floor that had clearly not heard voices for some time.
He arrived at the other end of the lobby, standing in front of a wooden door. It was ordinary and unremarkable to the eyes. Yet, he pushed the door open.
Click!
And behold, behind it wasn’t another room, but a hidden security door.
Its metal surface fitted with a sophisticated coded lock that clashed sharply with the neglect of everything around it.
However, Thoren wasn’t surprised as he had expected. If they did not have such security, then something was wrong.
Without hesitation, he entered the code.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Nothing, for a moment and then.
Click!
The lock disengaged, and the door eased open. It released a current of cold air that smelled faintly of stone and metal.
Beyond it, a staircase descended into darkness that seemed to stretch far beyond what the building above should have allowed.
Casually, Thoren stepped on the stairs and the door sealed shut behind him with a heavy, final sound.
In the heavy darkness, he began his descent.
The staircase seemed endless, its reinforced walls lined here and there with faint light. His eyes narrowed slightly at the discovery. The guild had clearly invested heavily in staying hidden, more heavily than their look and security.
For most guilds, they would try to project a powerful surface appearance, neglecting the importance. But, they on the other hand knew when to prioritize what was important.
He kept descending and slowly five minutes passed and then another five. The air grew steadily cooler the deeper he went.
Finally, he arrived at the end of the stairs and the scene opened onto a long underground passage.
It was clean, well-lit, lined with metallic doors at regular intervals, nothing like the neglected building above.
He continued walking as his footsteps were now silent against polished floors. A minute later, the space suddenly opened up before him.
Slowly, he came into a stop.
The area ahead was enormous.
It was a sprawling underground complex far larger than the building above could have possibly contained, multiple structures linked by wide corridors.
People move through it with clear urgency.
Hunters carried weapons and rushed through the corridor without speaking. People dressed in long white overall coats worked behind transparent screens filled with scrolling data.
At the end of the complex were massive metallic doors that led off to an unknown location. Each of the gates was marked with symbols he didn’t immediately recognize.
This wasn’t an ordinary base.
It was a fully operational base, one that had clearly existed long before the abyss appearance.
For the first time since entering the building, genuine interest flickered across Thoren’s face.
Before he could proceed further, a middle-aged woman approached, dressed in a plain dark uniform that contrasted sharply with the wealth on display around them.
Although she radiated a powerful authority, her expression was calm and a bright smile fixed on her lips.
Just as the woman was looking at Thoren was also looking at her. Just from her aura, he could already tell, she held an important role in the base. Still, his expression did not change as he waited for her to approach him.
The woman stopped a few steps away from him, unbothered by the activity swirling her and she opened her mouth
"Thoren Starfall." Her voice was clear despite the noise of the base.
"Welcome to the Knight Order."
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