## Liam''s Perspective


    My entire body shook with rage as I reyed the video of Isabelle. The sight of tubes connected to her arms, her precious blood being drained away like she was nothing but a resource... it tore through me like nothing I''d ever felt before.


    "Knight! Calm down!" The Man with the Mustache backed away from me, genuine fear in his eyes.


    I couldn''t me him. The energy radiating from my body was chaotic, destructive. My vision had tinted red. The temple''s stone floor beneath my feet began to crack from the pressure of my aura.


    "They''re harvesting her," I snarled. "Like an animal."


    Sofia, despite her burned face, approached me cautiously. "Liam, we need a n. We can''t just—"


    My phone rang again. Unknown number. I answered immediately, hoping for more information about Isabelle.


    "Who is this?" I demanded.


    A broken sob came through the speaker. "Knight... it''s Harrison. Harrison Ashworth."


    Isabelle''s father. The man who had once looked at me with such disdain.


    "Mr. Ashworth," I said, my voice tight with barely controlled fury. "Did you send that video?"


    "No," he choked out. "But I... I received one too. My daughter... my baby girl..."


    His voice cracked, and for a moment, all I heard was his ragged breathing as he tried topose himself.


    "Where are you?" I asked.


    "At my private residence. Not the main Ashworth estate. I''ve been... pushed out."


    That caught my attention. "Exin."


    Harrison''s bitterugh held no humor. "Corbin haspletely taken over. He''s aligned with the Veridia City Martial Guild now. I''ve been stripped of all authority within the family. My own security detail reports to him."


    Something clicked in my mind. "You knew. You knew they would take Isabelle."


    The silence that followed confirmed my suspicion.


    "I tried to warn her," Harrison finally admitted. "But I was too weak. Too afraid to stand against my brother openly. And now..."


    I could hear the self-loathing in his voice. It did nothing to diminish my anger.


    "Where is she being held?"


    "The Veridia City Martial Guild headquarters. In their research division," Harrison whispered. "It''s supposed to be imprable."


    "Nothing is imprable," I said tly.


    Harrison began to weep openly now. It was jarring to hear such a proud man reduced to this state.


    "Knight, I was wrong about you. So wrong. I let family pride and old prejudices blind me. I thought... I thought no one from your background could possibly be worthy of my daughter."


    His words held no interest for me now. All that mattered was Isabelle.


    "I don''t need your apologies," I cut him off. "I need information. Security details. Floor ns. ess codes."


    "I don''t have any of that," Harrison admitted. "Corbin made sure I was kept in the dark. But Knight... please..."


    His voice broke again. When he continued, it was barely audible.


    "Save her. Save my daughter. I have nothing left. No power, no influence. I can''t protect her. But you... you''re her only hope now."


    The desperation in his voice was genuine. Harrison Ashworth, once one of the most powerful men in Veridia City, had been reduced to begging the man he''d despised.


    "I''m going to get her back," I said, my resolve hardening into something cold and unbreakable. "And then I''m burning the Martial Guild to the ground."


    "Do whatever you must," Harrison whispered. "Just bring my daughter home."


    I ended the call without another word.


    The Man with the Mustache watched me warily. "You''re really going to attack the Martial Guild? Directly? That''s suicide!"


    "I don''t care," I said simply.


    "Knight, listen to reason," Sofia urged. "We need to get Eamon help first. Then we can gather allies, make a proper n—"


    "There''s no time," I cut her off, looking at Eamon''s unconscious form. "But you''re right about one thing. He needs immediate medical attention."


    I reached into my pocket and removed my Celestial Apothecary Guild Elder Token. The jade piece gleamed in the dim light of the temple. I handed it to The Man with the Mustache.


    "Take this. It will grant you immediate ess to the Guild''s medical facilities. Get Sofia and Eamon there as fast as possible."


    He stared at the token in shock. "You''re giving me your Elder Token? Do you have any idea how valuable this is?"


    "I trust you''ll return it," I said, though in truth, I wasn''t certain I''d be alive to reim it.


    "What about you?" Sofia asked, though her eyes said she already knew my answer. C-h!ec.k My V#i&rtu@al! L%i*br@a#r^y Emp!ire# (*)- for the [emailprotected]</a> u*p!dat-es.@</abbr>


    "I''m going to Veridia City. Now."


    The Man with the Mustache stepped forward. "Knight, I have information about the Guild''s defenses. About their formation arrays. If you''d just listen—"


    I was already walking toward the exit. His words faded into background noise. Nothing mattered except getting to Isabelle.


    "Knight!" he called after me. "At least take this!"


    He tossed something small and metallic. I caught it reflexively. A small copper coin, ancient and worn, with strange markings.


    "It disrupts formation arrays," he exined quickly. "Might help you get inside."


    I pocketed it withoutment and continued walking.


    "We''lle as soon as Eamon is stable!" Sofia called after me.


    I didn''t look back. They would be toote. This was my battle alone.


    ---


    The journey to Veridia City passed in a blur. My mind reyed the video of Isabelle over and over, each viewing stoking my rage to new heights.


    By dawn, I stood before the massivepound of the Veridia City Martial Guild. Its walls towered above the surrounding buildings, a symbol of their untouchable power.


    Until today.


    Guards patrolled the main entrance. Two approached as I walked directly toward the gate.


    "Halt! State your business!" the first guardmanded.


    I didn''t slow my pace.


    "This is restricted ground, civilian!" the second guard added, hand moving to his weapon.


    I continued forward.


    "I''m warning you—" the first guard reached for my shoulder.


    My fist connected with his chest before he could touch me. The impact sent him flying backward twenty feet. He crashed into the stone wall and slid to the ground, unmoving.


    The second guard''s eyes widened in shock. His hand trembled as he drew his sword.


    "Y-you just attacked a Martial Guild officer! That''s punishable by—"


    "Death?" I finished for him. "Then we have something inmon."


    Fear shed across his face as he finally sensed the murderous intent radiating from me.


    "W-who are you?" he stammered.


    "My name is Liam Knight," I said, stepping past him toward the massive gates of the Martial Guild. "And I''vee for Isabelle Ashworth."


    I felt the oppressive weight of the Guild''s defenses as I crossed the threshold. The air itself seemed to resist my entry, heavy with the energy of ancient formations.


    But nothing would stop me now. Not guards, not formations, not the entire might of the Veridia City Martial Guild.


    I wasing for Isabelle. And heaven help anyone who stood in my way.