Years ago, in a quaint village, time seemed to slow down. Here, a story that started with love has still to be ended.

Casper, with his unruly red hair and freckled face, was the village troublemaker. His laughter echoed through the cobblestone streets as he raced barefoot with the other children. But there was one person who could always match his mischief—Lila, the girl with midnight-black hair and eyes like deep pools of mystery.

From the moment they met, Casper and Lila were inseparable. They explored hidden nooks in the nearby forest, built secret forts, and shared secrets that only childhood friends could understand.

One crisp autumn morning, as the leaves painted the ground in fiery hues, Lila appeared in the village square. She stood there, a vision of ethereal beauty, her black hair cascading around her shoulders. The villagers whispered, for they knew not whence she came. Lila was a young girl who had no memory of her parents or her past—only fragments of dreams that slipped through her fingers like smoke.

Casper found her sitting on the moss-covered steps of the village well. Her eyes held a longing he couldn't fathom. He approached cautiously.

"Are you lost?" Casper asked, his voice barely louder than the rustling leaves.

Lila turned to him, her eyes wide. "I don't know," she replied. "I woke up in the forest, and I don't know where I am."

And so, this was the day the two children met and the day Casper begged his parents to let Lila stay with them. Their story began. He taught her to fish in the nearby stream, and they laughed as they tangled their lines in the branches.

As the years passed, their friendship deepened into something more. Beneath the ancient oak, Casper confessed, "Lila, when we're older, I'll marry you. We'll have a house with a thatched roof, "

Lila blushed, her laughter like the tinkling of wind chimes. "We will be just like your mother and father," she said. "We'll be happy, won't we?"

But fate had other plans. One stormy night, a woman arrived to the small village. Her cloak was midnight blue, and her eyes held secrets. Her purpose was to seek out Lila.

"I am Seraphina, your mother," she said. "You come from a line of magicians—the last of the Whispering Blood. It's time you learn our ways."

Lila had always dreamed of meeting her mother, her family, to know her origin. But one thing occupied her mind, as her eyes filled with tears. "But Casper—"

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Seraphina's gaze softened. "He cannot follow where you must go."

Lila packed her belongings. As she heard a knock on the door, she knew it was him. She took a deep breath and opened it.

Casper stood there, his eyes red and swollen. He held a bouquet of wildflowers in his hand. He smiled sadly. "I brought these for you. They're your favorite, remember?"

Lila took the flowers and hugged him. She buried her face in his chest, inhaling his familiar scent. She felt his arms tighten around her. "I don't want you to go," he whispered.

"I have to, Casper. I need to find out who I am and who's my family"

"But you belong here, you have people who love you here."

Lila looked into his eyes. She felt a tear roll down her cheek. Without saying a word, she kissed Casper softly, then pulled away.

She grabbed her bag and walked towards the door. She turned to him one last time. "I'll be back, Casper. I promise. I'll come back next year. And every year after that, I will return to visit. Wait for me, okay?"

Casper nodded, unable to speak. He watched her walk away, until she disappeared into the night.

Thus, Casper waited for her, as he had promised. He waited for a year, and another, and another. He waited for her letters, her messages, her visits. He waited for her to come back, to fulfill her promise.

But she never did.

. . .

In the present, Rin sat beside Casper around the table, observing Casper's distant gaze fixed on Lila. Turning to capser, Rin whispered, "Casper, you're still looking at her. Is everything okay?"

"What!? Ah! Yeah, everything is fine," Casper jolted, refocusing on the conversation.

"Good. Remember, we'll need to eliminate all of them," Rin said stoically.

Casper, hearing Rin's words, felt a weight settling in his chest. His expression hardened as he once more directed his gaze towards Lila.

. . .

In Fray's house, the atmosphere grew tense among the warriors. Lisa, attempting to diffuse the situation, intervened, "Everyone, calm down. Remember why we're here. If we start fighting among ourselves, the traitor will have the upper hand." As Lisa spoke, the warriors gradually eased, and Alex sat down with a scoff. Turning to Fray and Elisa, Lisa continued, "But the others have already taken off their masks and shown trust. We all need to trust each other, and knowing each other's identities will be crucial for that."

"We know, but we didn't said we wanted to reveal our identities? You did this all by yourselves. Even if you reveal yourselves now, you can easily change your armors, but our armors are our weapons, and we can't change them," Elisa said, her voice soft but firm.

The group, now somewhat in agreement, found Elisa's words reasonable. Ferit admitted, "You're right. We can change our armors, and the Merciless Clan has a lot of eyes on them, it's risky for them to reveal their identities."

However, Alex, still angry, argued, "Are you serious? Everyone wants to hide their identities. Why are they special? And what proves to us that they're not the traitors? We can't even study their expressions under the masks."

Fray, previously quiet, changed his voice to avoid recognition from Mya and Lisa, speaking with a cold tone, "Because if we were the traitors, you wouldn't stand a chance anyways. Do you think the eight of you can defeat the two of us?"

Fray's words hung in the air, casting a hush over the room. The group silently processed his statement, recalling the fearsome reputation of the Merciless Clan. Even those who had witnessed their prowess firsthand acknowledged the truth in Fray's words, leaving them at a loss for a response.

"If we were the traitors, we wouldn't even need to hide it," Fray continued, his voice growing colder as he looked at Alex, whose expression began to weaken.

The silence lingered until Ferit, unfazed, chuckled and asked, "Haha, I'm sure you're right. Can you at least tell us what we should call you?"

"You can call me Ash," Fray responded, thinking of a name on the spot.

Elisa did the same, saying, "Please call me Nisrin."

"Nice to meet you, Ash. Nice to meet you, Nisrin," Lisa added in a polite voice.

Just then, another holographic window appeared.

[Congratulations, you have survived the initial Darkness.]

As soon as the holographic window appeared, the street lights flickered on. Lisa felt a surge of curiosity and horror as she walked to the window and looked outside. Her face twisted with sympathy and disgust at the sight of dozens of corpses lying on the ground. They were all mutilated and tortured scattered on the streets which were stained with blood.

[The first sub-quest has begun. Please head to the town hall to face the challenge. The overall score of the third challenge will depend on the number of experience points gathered.]