Chapter 25 – A DEAL WITH A GHOST

【Valerius PoV】

The man in the corner looked like a ghost haunting his own memories.

We pushed our way through the wall of noise and stale air. The Rusty Flagon was a symphony of chaos, composed of clanking tankards, shouted arguments, and the mournful slaughter of a tune by a bard in the corner. Clara, ever the professional, moved with a stiff grace that was completely out of place, her hand resting on the hilt of the sword strapped to her waist. Her expression was a carefully crafted mask of neutrality, but her tense shoulders gave away her disgust. This was not her scene. At all.

He sat alone at a scarred wooden table, a half-empty mug of ale untouched before him. His face was a roadmap of old battles and older regrets, framed by a mane of silver hair. He stared into the depths of his drink as if hoping to find an answer there. This was Jin, the fallen disciple. The secret NPC. The key to derailing my own funeral. According to the game lore, he was a legend. Right now, he just looked tired.

I took a breath and walked toward his table, Clara a silent, deadly shadow at my back.

“Jin?”

He looked up. His eyes were a startlingly pale blue, and for a second, they were filled with a weariness that went bone-deep. Then they focused on me, and the weariness was replaced by a flash of something hard and dangerous. A predator’s gaze. The temperature around our table seemed to drop ten degrees.

Clara shifted her weight, her hand tightening on her sword. I felt a sudden, sharp pressure in the air, an invisible force that made the hairs on my arms stand up. It was coming from him.

Her voice was a low, urgent whisper, meant only for me.

“My Lord, be careful. This man… his power is immense. Far greater than my own.”

Jin’s gaze flickered to Clara, then back to me. A flicker of something that might have been amusement crossed his face, but it vanished as quickly as it appeared.

“You have me at a disadvantage.”

His voice was a low rumble, like stones grinding together.

“You know my name. But I do not know yours. And I do not appreciate nobles slumming it in my favorite dive.”

The hostility was rolling off him in waves. This was the first hurdle. The initial agro. I had to handle this delicately.

“My name is Valerius. And I’m not here as a noble. I’m here as a messenger.”

“A messenger? I am retired from that life. I have no master and receive no messages. Leave.”

The word was a command, backed by that crushing pressure in the air. My instincts screamed at me to obey. To run back to my mansion and hide under the bed. But the mental image of my pre-scripted death was a better motivator than fear.

“My message isn’t from a master. It’s from a memory. A memory of a sword.”

His eyes narrowed. The pressure intensified. I felt a bead of sweat trickle down my temple.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I think you do. It’s called the Blade of Atonement. A farewell gift, I believe. From a man named Ise.”

The name hit him like a physical blow. The pressure in the air vanished, replaced by a sudden, suffocating silence. Jin’s face went pale. His knuckles were white where he gripped his mug. The look in his eyes was a raw, chaotic mix of pain and fury.

“Who are you?”

The question was no longer a dismissal. It was a threat.

“I’m the guy who found the sword your master gave you. The one you gave to my ancestor because you felt you weren’t worthy of it.”

I was taking a huge risk, laying all my cards on the table. But the game lore said Jin was a man ruled by his past. His guilt was his defining trait. I had to use it.

He surged to his feet, his chair scraping violently against the floorboards. The entire tavern seemed to go quiet for a second. His face was a thundercloud of rage.

“You know nothing.”

“I know enough. I know you followed Elizabeth’s path. The Ashen Guard. You believed in power. In control. You believed in it so much you betrayed the one person who trusted you.”

He lunged forward, his hand grabbing the front of my tunic. He lifted me slightly, his face inches from mine. His eyes were blazing with a cold fire.

“Do not speak his name.”

“I have to. Because his disciples are about to tear the world apart, and you’re the only one who can help me stop them.”

I held his furious gaze, my heart hammering against my chest. This was it. The breaking point.

He held me there for a long moment, the silent battle raging in his eyes. Then, with a snarl of disgust, he shoved me back. I stumbled, catching myself on the edge of the table.

He sank back into his chair, running a hand through his silver hair. He looked defeated. The anger was gone, replaced by that deep, familiar weariness.

“Why come to me? What do you want?”

“I want to make a deal.”

I sat down opposite him, gesturing for Clara to stand down. She did, but her posture was still coiled, ready to spring at the slightest provocation.

“In a few months, the Oakhaven Gauntlet will be held. It’s a tournament. A showcase of power. Elizabeth plans to enter a new protege. Some kid from the underworld who stumbled upon one of the Master’s blades.”

Jin’s head snapped up.

“One of his blades is in the underworld?”

“Apparently. And this kid is a prodigy with it. Elizabeth plans to use him to show the world the might of the Ashen Guard. To prove her philosophy of conquest is the correct one.”

Jin’s expression soured.

“That woman’s ambition is a plague.”

“Exactly. And Seda, leader of the Radiant Path, agrees. She wants to boycott the tournament, to deny Elizabeth the stage she craves. But a boycott alone is not enough. It’s a passive gesture. It won’t stop Elizabeth.”

“So what do you propose?”

“I propose we give Seda what she wants. A true boycott. We don’t just refuse to watch. We make sure there’s nothing to see. We need to ensure Elizabeth’s new champion is publicly and humiliatingly disqualified.”

A slow, dangerous smile spread across Jin’s face. It was the first hint of the legendary warrior I had read about.

“You want to sabotage the tournament.”

“I want to change the narrative. And I want to gain favor with Seda’s faction. She is the more reasonable of the two. An alliance with her is… preferable.”

“And what makes you think I would help you? I left that world behind.”

“Because of the sword. The Blade of Atonement. It wasn’t just a farewell gift, was it? It was a promise. A chance for you to find your way back. To atone. You gave it to my ancestor because you didn’t think you deserved that chance.”

He looked down at his hands, his voice dropping to a whisper.

“I do not deserve it.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. But the world doesn’t care what you think you deserve. Elizabeth is making a power play. If she succeeds, her influence will grow. Her path of conquest will seem like the only path. You know what that means. You’ve seen where that road leads.”

The anger flashed in his eyes again, hot and raw.

“I chose power. And I paid the price for it. I will not speak of this again.”

“Fine. Don’t speak of it. Let’s talk about the future instead. I need your help. Your knowledge of the disciples, your skills. You are the only one who can get close enough to this new boy to ensure he fails.”

“And what do you offer in return, Baron Valerius?”

“The sword. Your sword. And a chance to use it for what it was intended. Atonement. Help me, and you’ll be striking a blow against the very philosophy that led you astray. You’ll be honoring the man you betrayed.”

I let the words hang in the air. It was a solid pitch. It appealed to his guilt, his history, and his desire for redemption. It gave him a purpose.

He was silent for a long time, staring at me. He was weighing my words, searching for the catch. The trap. But there was none. We were two desperate men clinging to the same piece of driftwood.

Finally, he nodded slowly.

“You are either a fool or a genius, Baron.”

“I’ve been called both. Often in the same sentence.”

“This boy… Elizabeth’s champion. To sabotage him will be to declare war on her. She is not a forgiving woman.”

“I’m aware. But I’d rather face her anger than my own pre-written fate. We all have a destiny we’re trying to escape, Jin.”

He looked at me, a new understanding in his eyes. He saw a fellow ghost.

He extended his hand across the table.

“Very well, Baron. You have a deal.”

I reached out and took his hand. It was a mistake.

His grip was like iron. A crushing, overwhelming force that sent a jolt of pure agony up my arm. I felt the bones in my hand grind together. I bit back a scream, my eyes watering. This wasn’t just a handshake. It was a warning. A reminder of the monstrous power I was now in business with.

He held my gaze, his pale blue eyes unblinking.

“But know this. If you betray me, I will not be as merciful as he was.”

Then he released me. My hand throbbed, a useless, swollen mess. I cradled it to my chest, trying to breathe through the pain.

The deal was done.