The Eclipsed Order

Chapter 43: Chapter 43: A Daughter’s Farewell, A New Path Begins

The narrow space between the two buildings was unusually quiet.

There were no merchants, guards, or passing citizens anywhere nearby. The surrounding streets had already emptied for the night, leaving only the faint sound of the wind moving through the narrow alley.

In the middle of that isolated space, a man lay on the ground with blood running from the corner of his mouth.

His clothes were torn, one eye was swollen shut, and his breathing had become painfully shallow.

Beside him, a young girl was desperately trying to shield him with her small body.

"Please..."

Her voice trembled as she pressed herself against her father’s chest.

"Please, stop..."

One of the two men standing over them laughed.

He was enormous, with broad shoulders and thick muscles that made his already intimidating figure look even more threatening. His companion was nearly as large, carrying a heavy club over one shoulder.

The larger man looked down at the injured father.

"Would you look at that."

He kicked the man’s side.

The father groaned in pain.

"If only you had worked harder to earn money for us, you wouldn’t have ended up in this situation."

"We’re sorry..."

The father struggled to raise his head.

"I’ll pay you back. Just... just give me a little more time."

"More time?"

The second man laughed.

"You’ve been saying that for weeks."

The father lowered his head.

"I know, but please..."

His voice became weaker.

"I have a daughter. She’s all I have left."

The two men exchanged glances.

Then the larger man looked toward the girl.

"Your daughter?"

The girl’s body immediately stiffened.

"She’s rather cute."

He crouched down.

"Let’s take the little girl and sell her. I’m sure she’ll fetch a good price."

The father immediately grabbed the man’s leg.

"No!"

His voice suddenly became desperate.

"Please! Take me instead!"

The man looked down at him with amusement.

"You?"

He laughed.

"Who would pay anything for a half-dead man like you?"

"Please..."

The father desperately clung to his leg.

"She’s innocent. She has nothing to do with this."

The girl’s eyes filled with tears.

"Father..."

The second man stepped closer.

"I’m sure she’ll fetch a good price. We could probably make more from her than we ever would from you."

The father shook his head violently.

"No..."

He tried to stand.

His legs immediately gave out, and he collapsed onto the ground again.

"Please..."

The two men ignored him.

The larger man reached toward the girl.

She immediately recoiled in fear.

"Don’t touch her!"

The father forced himself forward, but the second man’s kick sent him crashing back onto the ground.

"Father!"

The girl screamed.

The larger man reached for her again.

And then—

Six crimson slashes descended from above.

SHING!

The two men didn’t even have time to react.

Their bodies were divided vertically by the crimson blades.

Three pieces fell in one direction.

Three more fell in another.

THUD.

THUD.

The bodies struck the ground almost simultaneously.

Blood spread across the stone.

The girl stared at the scene in complete terror.

She couldn’t even scream.

Her father, barely conscious, slowly opened his remaining eye and stared at the corpses.

"What..."

A figure descended from the darkness above.

Her black and crimson hair moved gently as she landed without making a sound.

Valentine stood before them.

Behind her, three figures dressed in the black attire of the Eclipse Order silently appeared.

Valentine looked toward the girl.

"Is that her?"

One of the three elites lowered his head.

"Yes, Lady Valentine."

Valentine nodded.

She made a small gesture with her hand.

"Give them a potion."

One of the elites immediately stepped forward and produced two small bottles.

The girl hesitated.

Her eyes moved between the unfamiliar figures and her injured father.

Valentine noticed her hesitation.

"You don’t need to be afraid."

Her voice was calm.

"That potion will heal him."

The girl looked at the bottle for several seconds before finally accepting it.

She immediately turned toward her father.

"Father..."

The man could barely keep his eyes open.

"Drink this."

She carefully helped him swallow the potion.

The effect was almost immediate.

The bleeding stopped, the swelling began to disappear, and his breathing gradually became steadier. The injuries that had left him barely conscious began healing before their eyes.

The father slowly opened his eyes.

His daughter stared at him.

"Father..."

"I’m fine."

His voice was still weak, but he was alive.

The girl immediately hugged him.

Tears streamed down her face.

The father held her tightly.

"Thank you..."

After several moments, he finally looked toward Valentine and the three figures standing behind her.

"My name is Mark."

He lowered his head slightly.

"And this is my daughter, Tasha."

Valentine nodded.

"Mark."

She looked at him calmly.

"I won’t keep you here any longer than necessary, but I need you to listen carefully."

Mark straightened himself as much as his weakened body allowed.

"We are the Eclipse Order."

"The Eclipse...?"

"Yes."

Valentine’s expression remained calm.

"The reason we came here tonight is because we wanted to recruit your daughter."

Mark stared at her.

"Recruit?"

"Yes."

She paused briefly.

"Of course, this isn’t a recruitment without compensation."

Mark looked confused.

Valentine continued.

"If you agree, your family will be provided with a house and three hundred gold coins."

Mark’s eyes widened.

"Three hundred... gold coins?"

"Yes."

He stared at her in disbelief.

Valentine continued in a calm, professional tone.

"Your daughter would become a member of our organization and receive the necessary training and support. You would no longer need to worry about the kind of debt that brought you into this situation."

Mark looked toward Tasha.

She was still holding his arm.

"Don’t misunderstand."

Valentine’s voice softened slightly.

"We aren’t buying your daughter."

Her gaze shifted toward Tasha.

"She has been chosen because we believe she possesses qualities that could make her valuable to the Eclipse Order."

Mark remained silent.

"She will still be your daughter. You’ll still be able to meet her, speak with her, and remain a part of her life."

Valentine paused.

"But you won’t see her every day."

Mark lowered his gaze.

"I..."

He looked at Tasha.

"If you don’t want this, we won’t force you."

Valentine’s tone became more serious.

"The decision belongs to you and your daughter."

Mark remained silent for several seconds.

Then Valentine continued.

"There is, however, one condition you must understand before agreeing."

She looked directly into his eyes.

"Once you accept our protection and the benefits that come with this agreement, the contract becomes a matter of life and death."

Mark’s expression changed.

"You cannot tell anyone about the Eclipse Order."

Her voice remained calm.

"Not your neighbors, not your friends, not the authorities, and not anyone else."

She paused.

"If the existence of the organization or the details of this agreement are deliberately revealed, the consequence will be death."

Mark swallowed.

"Is... is that really true?"

Valentine turned her head slightly.

"Yes."

She looked toward one of the elites.

The woman immediately stepped forward and handed her a small pouch.

Valentine placed it in Mark’s hands.

"If you still don’t believe us, check it yourself."

Mark hesitated before opening the pouch.

His eyes widened.

Inside were several gold coins.

His hands began trembling.

"Three hundred..."

He stared at the contents in disbelief.

Tasha looked at him.

"Father."

Mark slowly looked toward his daughter.

She wiped the tears from her face.

"I’ll go."

Mark’s expression changed immediately.

"Tasha..."

"I want to."

She gently held his hand.

"If joining them means that you won’t have to worry about money anymore, then I want to do it."

Mark shook his head.

"You don’t have to do this for me."

"I know."

She smiled faintly.

"But I want to."

Her eyes moved toward Valentine and the three members standing behind her.

"They saved us."

She looked back at her father.

"And I’ll become stronger."

Mark’s eyes began to tremble.

"I’ll train hard, Father."

She smiled.

"So one day, I’ll be strong enough to protect you instead."

Mark’s lips trembled.

For a moment, he tried to hold himself together.

Then tears slowly escaped his eyes.

He pulled his daughter into his arms.

"You’ve grown up too quickly..."

Tasha hugged him tightly.

"I’ll come back."

Mark closed his eyes.

He held her even tighter.

"I know you will."

After several moments, he finally released her.

He wiped his eyes and looked toward Valentine.

"Please..."

He lowered his head.

"Take care of my daughter."

Valentine nodded.

"You have my word."

Mark took a deep breath.

"Then it’s settled."

Valentine reached into her clothing and produced a folded document.

She handed it to Mark.

"This contains the location of your new home."

Mark accepted it carefully.

"We’ll come for Tasha at night. Make sure everything is prepared before then."

Mark nodded.

"Understood."

Valentine turned toward Tasha.

"We’ll see you soon."

Tasha nodded.

"I’ll be ready."

Valentine glanced toward the three elites.

"Let’s go."

The three figures immediately followed her.

Before leaving, Valentine looked back once.

Mark was still standing beside his daughter, one hand resting gently on her head.

The two of them watched silently as the four members of the Eclipse Order disappeared into the darkness.

Mark lowered his gaze toward the document in his hands.

Three hundred gold coins.

A new house.

And a future he never could have imagined.

For the first time in years, he felt as though his daughter might actually have a chance to live a life better than his own.

The house was far larger than anything Mark had ever imagined owning.

Even after walking through it several times, he still couldn’t quite believe that it belonged to them now. The walls were clean, the furniture was already prepared, and there was even a small kitchen stocked with enough food to last them for several weeks.

Tasha stood near the window, staring outside.

"Father..."

Mark looked at her.

"What’s wrong?"

"Nothing."

She turned around with a small smile.

"I just still can’t believe we’re living here."

Mark gave a quiet laugh.

"Neither can I."

He looked around the room.

"Yesterday, I was worried about whether we could afford our next meal. Now we’re standing inside a house like this."

Tasha smiled.

"We should be grateful."

"Yeah."

Mark’s expression softened as he looked at his daughter.

A knock suddenly came from the front door.

Both of them froze.

Mark exchanged a glance with Tasha before walking toward the entrance.

When he opened the door, three young women stood outside.

He recognized them immediately.

They were the three members of the Eclipse Order who had saved them.

Mark stared at them for a moment.

They’re so young...

I had already noticed it, but seeing them standing in front of me now made their age much more obvious.

The three women looked only a little older than Tasha, perhaps by a year or two at most.

Yet they carried themselves with a calmness that made them seem far older.

One of them stepped forward.

"Mr. Mark."

Mark nodded.

"Please, come in."

The three entered quietly.

Mark forced a smile.

"So... this is the day."

His voice almost broke, but he quickly composed himself.

"It’s all right."

He looked toward Tasha.

"This is for her future."

One of the young women nodded.

"We’ll take good care of her."

Mark lowered his head.

"Please."

He looked at each of them.

"Take care of my daughter."

"You have our word."

Tasha stepped closer to her father.

"Father..."

Mark turned toward her.

"Are you ready?"

She nodded.

"I’m scared."

She admitted it quietly.

"But I’m going."

Mark smiled sadly.

"Then don’t forget to eat properly."

Tasha laughed softly through the tears gathering in her eyes.

"I won’t."

"And don’t work yourself too hard."

"I’ll try."

"That’s not very reassuring."

Tasha wiped her eyes.

"I’ll be fine, Father."

She reached out and hugged him.

Mark immediately wrapped his arms around her.

"I’ll miss you."

"I’ll miss you too."

He closed his eyes for a moment.

"You have to come back and visit me."

"I will."

"Promise?"

Tasha nodded against his chest.

"I promise."

Mark slowly released her and wiped the tears from his face before looking toward the three young women.

"Please... look after her."

The girl standing at the front gave him a serious nod.

"We will."

Tasha gave her father one last smile.

Her eyes trembled.

Then she turned toward the three members of the Eclipse Order.

"Let’s go."

The three women nodded.

They led Tasha outside.

Mark remained in the doorway, watching his daughter walk farther away.

Tasha turned around one final time.

"Goodbye, Father!"

Mark raised his hand.

"Goodbye, Tasha."

The figures gradually disappeared into the darkness.

Mark remained standing there for a long time.

Only after they were gone did he quietly close the door.

Inside the new house, everything was silent.

Mark looked around the room again.

It was still difficult to believe that this place belonged to him.

But for the first time in years, he wasn’t afraid of what tomorrow would bring.

His daughter had been given a chance.

And that was enough for him.

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