"What is an end but just another beginning?"

Those words stuck in Severance's mind, lingering long after the teleport deposited him in the courtyard of the Veiled clan's House. They were meant to be a hint of what was to come, but they sounded awfully ominous.

What was that supposed to mean? Surely the Veiled man who'd given him that 'hint' couldn't have been talking about Severance when he mentioned 'an end', right?

They already killed me once, and that didn't work.

As a player in Eliona, Severance would respawn indefinitely. So outright murder was off the table, though by now, he was reasonably sure the Veiled wouldn't try to do that to him again. Still, that didn't mean that they weren't up to something.

Severance folded his arms, his lavender eyes narrowing. Before him stood three Veiled men, their eyes glittering in a way that reminded him of a predator anticipating its next meal.

All three were similar in appearance: black hair, olive-toned skin, and the black clothing. Severance had the thought that his nickname for them—the men-in-black murderers—was very fitting.

"So, what's going on?" He broke the silence, uncomfortable with how the three of them were watching him without doing or saying anything. That was creepy behaviour, even for the Veiled.

"Just a moment," the one in the middle held up a hand. "Let the others join us first."

It was this man who had left Severance with that annoying, cryptic message in the first place. Olen was the shortest of the trio, with a slender build and a scholarly vibe. A blue stud glimmered in each of his ears, faintly glowing of their own accord. Olen was apparently in charge of 'administration' for the clan, though Severance doubted it was as simple as that.

Join us? For what, exactly?

Severance wanted to glare at the man but didn't dare. Olen seemed to be the most mild-mannered of the trio—actually, of all the clan members he'd met so far—yet there had to be a good reason why he comfortably stood at the clan Leader's side.

Speaking of clan Leaders, Severance's gaze shifted to the right, where the clan Leader himself stood. Agadhi seemed like a perfectly ordinary guy, lean and immaculate with features that only hinted at the age lurking within his sharp eyes. The thing that set him apart was how he carried himself. There was an absolute confidence to him, like he'd expect the ground itself to break apart if he so much as ordered it.

As if sensing the attention upon him, Agadhi's gaze shifted just a fraction, meeting Severance's in an instant. Forcing back an involuntary shiver, Severance immediately looked away. The guy was just a game person for crying out loud, yet he gave Severance the chills with a mere glance.

"Ah, here they come." The third member of the group smiled easily. This was Maun, with the cobalt eyes. He was perhaps the one Severance knew best out of all three.

Severance still didn't know if he wanted to run from Maun, punch him the face, or thank him. Because it was he who started it all. The one who'd gotten Severance killed, stalked, kidnapped, and then finally conscripted into the Veiled.

Now, Maun looked off to the side, prompting Severance to follow his gaze.

True to the man's statement, the rest of the Clan was filing out of the Clan House. There were only a couple dozen of them, but as they gathered around Severance and the rest, they seemed to fill the entire courtyard.

There were familiar faces, from the two young children who frequently played outside, to Chaaya, the motherly woman who looked after everyone beneath the Veiled roof. There was Dhin, the young warrior who was only a few years older than Severance, and his father, Rasin, whose kindness reminded Severance of his late Uncle Fenn.

There were others he'd met once, while most remained unfamiliar. He hadn't been in the clan long enough to fully meet everyone, but that didn't matter. They all watched him curiously, while soft murmuring filled the courtyard.

It set off Severance's anxiety, and whatever small amount of confidence he had slipped through his grasp like ribbons. Why was everyone coming out now? What were Maun, Agadhi, and Olen waiting for?

All he'd done was defeat the Poseideous. After that, he'd met with the Registrator of Tomorrow's Edge and gotten registered as a Citizen. To Severance, it was just finishing up a quest. But to the Elionans, he was getting the idea that it was something much more.

"Looks like everyone's here," Maun declared. He gave Severance a smile that was probably meant to be reassuring, but it failed completely. Severance wasn't in the mood to be reassured. He just wanted to know what the heck was going on.

Agadhi quietly cleared his throat. And just like that, a total silence fell over the entire courtyard. Long shadows stretched across the intricate stonework laid upon the ground; each member of the clan had gone silent as they had still, and their black-clad forms seemed to blend into their own shadow. Behind them rose the dark granite walls protecting the House and yard.

Is this necessary?

In Severance's opinion, there was no need to go overboard just for some new title or whatever the Citizen thing was. Was Awesome Dude getting the same treatment from his clan? Now Severance was curious. He'd have to ask his friend the next time they met up.

"Today," Agadhi said, and somehow his voice carried across the courtyard even though he didn't raise it in the slightest, "we welcome Severance into our clan. Not as before, when he was an Outsider, but now as a Citizen."

The clan Leader paused, letting silence settle around them. No one said a word. No one moved a muscle. All attention remained glued on Severance like he was a deposit of Amaurite crystal that had just appeared in their midst.

His hands twitched at his sides, the urge to fidget rising before he squashed it down. Okay. How long do we have to do this? It's getting weird.

Agadhi's gaze zeroed in on Severance. "Severance. As is the custom of all clans, we would like to offer you a gift. Once you receive it, you will truly become one of ours."

Olen smiled gently. "I know you have questions. And once this last step is finished, I will be happy to answer them."

This time, Severance did fidget. The tip of one boot lightly scuffed the stonework beneath him as he shifted his weight. His hands clasped before him, an unconscious attempt to hold them steady. Oh yeah. He had questions. All kinds of questions. And if this strange event brought him closer to getting answers, then he'd put up with it.

Besides, this was just an ominously formal welcome, right? How bad could it be?

Agadhi shifted his attention towards the man standing on the other side of Olen. "Maun," he said.

"Right. My turn." Maun took a single step forward, an eerily seamless movement that produced no sound. This brought him within an arm's length of Severance, which was far too close for Severance's comfort.

Severance had to stop himself from moving away, forcing himself to remain in place even as he unwillingly met the man's cobalt gaze. Maun allowed a faint smile to touch his lips, which helped to soften the intensity of the moment.

"Do you trust me, Sev?"

That made Severance blink. Of all the things he was expecting to hear, this was at the very bottom of the list. Well, near the bottom, as he was sure "I'm going to stab you a thousand times and then light you on fire" would hold that position.

At least, he hoped that was at the bottom of the list.

"I guess?" He said and was surprised to feel the amount of honesty behind it.

Despite the questionable way they'd met, he couldn't deny that the guy had grown on him. Maun had been there when Severance had needed a shoulder to lean on, and as depressing as it was to admit that a mere game person had been more of a friend than most people in his real life, it was true.

"Good." A broad smile spread across Maun's face. "Because this probably won't be very fun for you."

"Why? What do you mean?" Alarms went off, and Severance stepped back. He'd seen that look before on Maun's face, and nothing good had ever happened when it appeared. Such as when they first met.

Anticipating this, Maun moved forward and at the same instant, reached out with a calloused hand. His fingers closed tightly around Severance's upper arm, his palm pressing firmly against the skin just below Severance's left shoulder.

Maun's hand burned, a flare of brilliant heat that seemed to melt the flesh from Severance's bone. For the first time in the game, he felt pain, a blistering sear that abruptly morphed into a spear of ice so cold that little crystals of ice seemed to crack in his ears.

His vision began to pulse an angry red around the edges, a warning that he was taking severe damage. It happened so fast that he had no time to react, nor time to even open his mouth to scream.

The world shattered into pieces and darkness rushed in to swallow him.