A week had passed since the cult fell.
Hollow's Edge still bore the scars — shattered walls, charred earth, and exhausted eyes. But the people stood taller, voices louder, hearts lighter. They had not just survived.
They had won.
> [System Notice: Achievement Registered – "Defender of the Edge"]
Impact Radius: Continental
Recognition Level: Imperial
Influence Rating Increased
Uther stood on the southern hill overlooking the village. The sun broke through the mist, casting golden light over new defenses already rising. Garrick barked orders below, Mara drilled fresh recruits, and Thalen, though quiet, monitored residual magical energy from the battle.
He didn't need the System message to feel the shift.
The world was watching now.
---
The first sign came three days later.
A horn echoed from the valley — not alarm, but a formal call. Uther and his council approached the gate just as twenty mounted soldiers crested the ridge, clad in silver-trimmed blue armor.
At their front rode a tall man with a lion-crested cloak and a blade that shimmered with Imperial inscription.
"Elena," Uther said quietly. "Write this down. History is shifting."
The commander dismounted and removed his helm, revealing a face weathered by campaigns and cold diplomacy.
"Lord Uther of Hollow's Edge," he said with a respectful nod. "By decree of His Imperial Majesty, Kael the Unifier, Emperor of the Central Dominion, you are hereby summoned to the capital."
The villagers fell silent.
"On what grounds?" Uther asked, voice steady.
The commander unrolled a scroll bearing the imperial seal.
"Your actions have been verified across six provinces. The dismantling of a tier-three cult stronghold. The liberation of occupied frontier land. The rescue of civilians, and the establishment of a viable mana-secure settlement. In light of this, the Emperor offers you formal recognition… and reward."
Borin choked. "Is this real?"
The commander's mouth quirked. "Real enough to bring the Royal Guard halfway across the continent."
Uther stepped forward. "My village stands free. My people stand proud. If the Empire comes with respect — I'll answer."
---
That evening, Hollow's Edge held its largest gathering yet.
Banners were raised. A fire lit in the central square. Children who once cowered now danced with wooden swords. The soldiers watched with quiet curiosity — used to broken towns, not defiant survivors.
The commander approached Uther at the edge of the gathering. "You weren't what they expected."
"Let me guess," Uther said, sipping water. "They thought I'd be another greedy warlord. Or a fool with a shiny system."
"They thought you were weak. An outsider. A mistake in the System."
Uther didn't smile. "Let them keep thinking that. Makes it easier."
The commander handed him a second letter, this one sealed in black wax.
"This is for your eyes alone. It comes from the Imperial Council, not just the Crown."
Uther raised a brow but pocketed it for later.
---
The next morning, the System pulsed again.
> [System Path Notification: Regional Influence Transitioning → Geopolitical Tier]
Title Unlocked: "Warden of the Reclaimed"
Faction Affinity Gained: Central Dominion +35
Hidden Variable Detected: External Monarch Awareness
Alert: You are now being tracked by 3 major factions.
Uther sighed. "Can't win a war without painting a target."
---
Before departing, Uther gathered his inner circle.
"I'll go," he told them, "but not just for the medal. We need allies, trade, protection — and the truth behind these Core awakenings."
Mara crossed her arms. "You trust the Emperor?"
"I don't trust crowns. But I trust that fear of what we've done will force them to deal."
Elena smiled softly. "And when you return?"
Uther looked out at the horizon.
"We won't just be a village. We'll be something more."
Night settled over Hollow's Edge like a soft blanket of mist and memory.
The village square remained alive with voices and light — flickering lanterns, drifting song, the clash of mugs and hands on shoulders. Yet Uther stood apart from it all, seated atop the old watchtower, staring at the stars.
He held the sealed black letter in one hand.
The other rested on the hilt of his blade — not for defense, but habit. The weight reminded him of where he came from. What he'd become.
He cracked the seal.
> "To the One Bound by Forgotten Core,
The Emperor sees what others have ignored.
You've drawn attention from the Circle, the Crown, and the broken remnants of the old bloodlines.
There are fewer of us who still remember the First Collapse — fewer still who understand what a Corebound's awakening truly means.
When you arrive in the capital, you will not merely be honored.
You will be tested.
Bring your strength.
And decide, before you step inside the throne room — whether you kneel… or reshape what remains.
— From the Hand Beyond the Throne"
Uther let the paper fall to the wind.
> [System Alert: "Omen of Empire" Questline Updated]
Objective: Attend Imperial Summit
Reward: ???
Warning: World Phase Shift Imminent
---
Down below, Elena approached, her journal hugged close to her chest. "I knew you'd be up here."
"You always do," Uther murmured.
She hesitated. "They're calling you Warden now. Some of the villagers started chanting it like a title."
He shrugged. "It's not a throne. Just means more people to protect."
She nodded, then leaned against the wooden railing beside him. "But it's spreading. I had a merchant say he came here because he heard the 'Warden of the Reclaimed' broke the Hollow Curse."
Uther didn't reply right away. He looked over Hollow's Edge — stone fortifications, patrol torches moving in rhythm, watchtowers bearing his chosen banner: the silver tree on black.
"You've built something," she whispered. "And now they all want a piece of it."
He finally turned. "That's why I need to go. Not to bask in praise. To make sure no one claims what we bled for."
---
The next morning, preparation began.
Borin shouted at the top of his lungs as crates were packed and wagons loaded. Garrick stood over the southern gates, barking orders at new recruits — no longer farmers with pitchforks, but armored scouts trained in Uther's defense formations.
Thalen handed Uther a satchel laced with runes. "Protection glyphs. You're heading into the serpent's nest. You'll need more than steel."
Uther accepted it with a nod. "You're staying?"
"For now. Cult remnants still linger in the deeper woods. I'll keep their whispers away from our walls."
Mara approached last. She didn't speak — simply handed him a new cloak, dark and trimmed with silver thread, his sigil etched into the shoulder.
"For the throne room," she muttered.
He smiled. "You made this?"
"No," she said. "I beat the tailor until he did it right."
---
As the imperial escort prepared to depart, villagers gathered along the path. Some reached out to touch Uther's cloak. Others simply bowed their heads.
A young boy — maybe nine — ran forward and pressed something into Uther's hand.
A crudely carved wooden figure. A tree. His tree.
"You saved us," the boy whispered.
Uther crouched to meet his gaze. "Not alone. We all did."
Then he stood, turned to his people, and raised a hand.
"I leave only for a short while. Not as a servant, not to beg for scraps. But to make sure no one ever dares underestimate this place again. Hollow's Edge stands because we made it so. And we will not bend — not to gold, not to fear, not to crowns."
Cheers erupted. The banners waved.
And with that, Uther mounted his horse and rode out, the Imperial Guard at his side.
Behind him, Hollow's Edge shimmered in morning light — no longer just a village, but a symbol.
Ahead of him lay thrones, daggers, and destiny.