CHAPTER 35: THE FIRST CONTRACT

Selene’s closeness was an attack in itself. Her perfume mixed the sweet scent of night-blooming jasmine with a sharp note, like fresh blood—meant to unsettle. Her voice was low and tempting, a weapon designed to soothe and weaken

But Edward was not a callow youth. He was a survivor. A creature of instinct. And his every instinct screamed that the woman in front of him was a coiled viper. Beautiful. Hypnotic. Utterly lethal.

He didn’t pull away. He didn’t flinch. He simply stood his ground. A rock in the stream of her charm. His own presence a silent, cold counterpoint to her fiery one.

"I’m listening," he said. His voice was flat. Devoid of the intrigue she so clearly expected.

His stoic behavior seemed to amuse her. A genuine, sharp-toothed smile flashed across her lips. "Oh, I do like a man who gets straight to business," she murmured. She finally retracted her clawed finger. "No tedious posturing. No tiresome flattery. How refreshing."

She gestured with her head towards a dark, secluded alcove. A place where the shadows were deep and conversations could be had without prying ears. "Walk with me. We have business to discuss."

Edward followed her. His senses were on high alert. The tavern was a den of scum and villainy. Filled with grizzled mercenaries and shadowy rogues.

They all watched Selene pass with a mixture of fear and desire. But no one dared to meet her gaze. She was a queen in this dark, violent court.

They settled at a rickety, secluded table in the back. Selene produced a thin, rolled-up scroll. She slid it across the table towards him. A contract. Its parchment the color of old bone. The text was written in a sharp, elegant script that looked like dried blood.

"The Crimson Syndicate has a... problem," she began. Her playful tone shifted. Business-like. Precise. "A client of ours has been wronged by a particularly loathsome noble house.

This house, in its arrogance, believes it is untouchable. Our client wishes to disabuse them of this notion. Permanently."

Edward unrolled the scroll. An assassination contract. The target. The method. The payment. All laid out in cold, clear detail.

"You want me to be your killer for hire," he stated. Not a question. An observation. The words left a bitter, metallic taste. He had just refused to become the System’s executioner.

Had accepted a crippling punishment to uphold his moral code. And now, he was being presented with the same choice. Wrapped in the seductive packaging of revenge and profit.

"Don’t be so dramatic, darling," Selene purred. A dismissive wave of her hand. "Think of it not as murder, but as... a very aggressive form of conflict resolution.

A correction in the balance of power. Besides," she leaned forward, her golden eyes glinting, "this is not just any noble house. I believe you may have a personal interest in this particular contract."

She tapped a black-nailed finger on the top of the scroll. On the name of the target.

Edward’s eyes focused. The name of the house was "Duke." The name of the target was "Lord Alaric Duke." Head of the House. A powerful political figure. Elder brother of Chris.

This wasn’t just a job. It was personal.

This was the family. The architects of his public humiliation. The frame job that had turned him into a fugitive. The bitter, cold rage he had so carefully suppressed began to stir. A sleeping dragon awakened by the promise of vengeance.

He could feel the moral ground shifting beneath his feet. This wasn’t the same as assassinating Silas Thorne on the orders of a soulless system.

This was different. This was justice. A twisted, dark, and bloody form of justice. But justice nonetheless. These were the people who had ruined his life. Who had tried to have him killed. Who had made him a monster in the eyes of the world. They were not innocent. They were vipers. And he would be the mongoose.

Selene, a masterful reader of men, saw the flicker of cold fury in his eyes. She knew she had him. She decided to sweeten the deal.

"The target is not just a corrupt nobleman," she continued. Her voice was now a low, conspiratorial whisper. "He is a monster in his own right. The House of Duke has a very dirty, very profitable secret. They are one of the biggest players in the inter-dimensional slave trade."

Edward looked up from the scroll. His eyes narrowed.

"They use their political influence to gain access to newly discovered, stable dungeon portals," Selene explained. Her expression was now grim and serious. "But they don’t clear them. They use them for transport. They raid primitive, non-System worlds. Capturing entire villages of... exotic specimens. Beast-kin. Demi-humans. Fae-touched.

They bring them back, break their wills, and sell them as slaves to decadent nobles. Lord Alaric, your target, personally oversees the entire, disgusting operation from a hidden portal in the dungeons beneath his family estate."

The last of Edward’s hesitation crumbled into dust. This was no longer about revenge. This was about protecting the helpless. The very principle he had sacrificed everything for. The people who had branded him a monster were the real monsters all along. The irony was so thick he could taste it.

"The contract is not just about a single kill," Selene said. "It’s a message. The reward is substantial." She pointed to the bottom of the scroll. "A hundred thousand Soul Points. Enough to make you a significant power in this market overnight. And, perhaps more importantly, a permanent, warded, and completely untraceable safe house, right here in the Ashen Market, under the full protection of the Crimson Syndicate."

It was a tempting offer. Almost irresistible. Wealth. Security. A home. And the head of his enemy on a platter. Everything he needed to transition from a hunted fugitive to an established power.

He looked at Selene. His gaze was cold and appraising. "Why me?" he asked. "The Crimson Syndicate is a guild of assassins. You have your own people. Why outsource such a high-profile job to a complete unknown?"

Selene’s playful smirk returned. "Because, my dear, our own people are known. They have faces, histories, energy signatures that the Inquisition can track. You, on the other hand... you are a ghost. A systemic anomaly.

The perfect, untraceable weapon. Your... unique method of ’cleaning up’ after a kill leaves no bodies, no evidence, nothing but a pile of dust. For a job this sensitive, that kind of discretion is priceless."

She leaned back. Her arms crossed. The picture of confident satisfaction. "So, that is our offer. Justice, revenge, a small fortune, and a safe place to call home. All we ask in return is that you do what you do best."

Edward was silent for a long, heavy moment. He looked at the contract. He was being asked to become a killer. An assassin. But he would be hunting monsters. Both the literal and the metaphorical kind. Was there a difference? He was already a monster in the eyes of the world.

Perhaps it was time he started acting like one. He would embrace the role they had forced upon him. And turn it into a weapon against them.

He rolled the contract back up. The rough parchment crinkled in his hand.

He looked across the table at the beautiful, deadly woman offering him a deal with the devil. He knew this was more than a single job. This was an induction. An invitation into the bloody, cynical world of the underworld. Accepting this would be to accept a new identity. A new moral code—or lack thereof.

His HUD, which had been silent, suddenly flickered to life. As if the system itself were weighing in. It was not an order. A faction notification. A crossroads presented in cold, blue, mechanical text.

`[Faction Quest: The Crimson Syndicate’s Offer]`

`[Objective: Assassinate Lord Alaric Valerius.]`

`[Accept / Decline]`

A secondary line of text appeared below it. A stark clarification of the stakes.

`[Warning: Accepting this quest will formally align your fate with the Crimson Syndicate. Declining will permanently mark you as their enemy.]`

No middle ground. No room for negotiation. He was at a fork in the road. Both paths led deeper into the darkness. He could either walk it as an ally of the Syndicate, or as their target.

He looked at Selene. Her golden eyes watched him. Waiting. A silent, knowing challenge in their depths. He had made his choice long before the system had presented it.

He gave a single, curt nod. "I accept."