The village wasn't on any map.
It slouched between two hills, built of river stones and mud walls, its roofs patched with moss and grief. No banners. No roads. Just survival—and even that was fading.
Kael stood beneath the shadow of a twisted tree, Loom Interface pulsing faintly as it read the nearby area.
[Thread Integrity: Low]
[Surveillance Anchors: Inactive]
[Weave Activity: Dormant]
He squinted. Threads coiled through the settlement like wilted veins. None were golden. Most were dull gray, thin, and brittle. Forgotten lives.
All except one.
A thread tugged sharply near the center of town, coiled around a crying child. And coiling tighter.
Kael followed it.
A crude cart sat in the dirt square. Nearby, three bandits lounged with spears and cracked leathers. They weren't soldiers. They weren't even good at pretending.
But their leader was different.
He smiled with too many teeth. His thread pulsed red-orange—opportunistic, sharp, hungry.
Kael's eyes flicked to the girl by the well. She clutched a cracked bowl to her chest, trembling.
The red-orange thread reached toward her like a claw.
And it was about to snap.
"Kael," Elira said quietly beside him. "You don't have to."
He didn't answer.
He stepped forward.
The leader turned.
"I don't remember calling for—"
Kael touched his arm.
Just once.
The man collapsed like a sack of grain.
No blood. No scream. No wound.
Just silence.
The other bandits dropped their weapons and ran.
The girl stood frozen, bowl still in her hands.
Kael exhaled.
His Loom Interface flared.
[Thread Severed – Target: Unnamed Opportunist]
[Fragment Gained: Cruel Opportunity]
"Strike not when you must—but when you can, without risk."
Effect: +2 Scheming
Corruption Load: 3%
His fingers twitched.
That had been too easy.
[Soul Weave Updated]
Scheming: +2
Current Corruption: 7%
Anchor Bond Stabilization Applied: -1% Corruption Gain
He didn't feel different.
But his next thought was this:
Could I have waited longer? Could I have cut all three? Would that have taught them a better lesson?
"Kael," Elira said again.
He looked at her.
No judgment in her eyes.
Just the same stillness as before. The same uncertainty.
"You saved her," she said. "But what did it cost?"
Kael looked down at his hand.
Still steady.
Still his.
But just slightly… heavier.
"I don't know," he said.
They left before the villagers dared ask who he was.
They didn't leave flowers. No one sang.
But a girl by the well stared at Kael's retreating back.
And a part of the Weave trembled.
Because a thread had vanished…
…and nothing rose to replace it.
[Fragment Ledger Updated]
• Cruel Opportunity
"Strike not when you must—but when you can, without risk."
Effect: +2 Scheming
Corruption Load: 3%