Stellar Echo: Heart of the Myst

"SOFÍA!! Do you think you can walk around so freely after what you did to my dad?!!!"

In the midst of a bustling market street, a sturdy young man of about 20 years old, with brown hair and bloodshot eyes, shouted as he ran toward a simply dressed young woman. He was surrounded by five other youths carrying all sorts of sticks, knives, and other bladed weapons in their hands. This caused the young woman to turn and look at him with a smile.

"It seems you're looking for my sister..."

Clara, who was holding a basket filled with various fruits and vegetables, turned and commented with a small smile, before pulling a beautiful medallion with an intricate carved emblem from her pocket and discreetly showing it. She then added in a cheerful and friendly tone,

"But are you sure you want to cause trouble...?"

The group of youths froze upon seeing the medallion in the young woman's hands. After all, there was probably no one in the entire galaxy who didn't recognize that emblem, which represented a book accompanied by a sword and a spear, unique to the terrifying Arcane Order. And certainly, no one was unaware of the consequences of attacking someone who carried it.

"It must be fake... there's no way a beggar like you could be part of the Order..."

The young man who had shouted, visibly pale and trembling, muttered under his breath as he carefully studied the medallion in 'Sofia's' hands. He quickly realized that it seemed to be made of incredible materials and definitely didn't look like a fake, which only worsened his fear. At that moment, Clara commented with a casual smile.

"It might be fake, but... do you want to take that risk?"

The calm and casual tone of the young woman sent powerful chills down the spines of the youths. After all, if it were real, the Arcane Order wouldn't even need to lift a finger—their own King would capture them to hand them over to the Order and, in the process, execute their families to curry favor with them. To this day, no one who had hidden 'criminals' from the Order had ended well. Those people were utterly ruthless when someone didn't obey their rules, and not even the other three major factions were spared from their retribution.

For example, even though several years had passed, the galaxy still echoed with the tale of how the Arcane Order had wiped out the Blackthorn family, a prominent family in the Meridian Federation led by a Master-level figure. Though the exact reason was unclear and there were all sorts of theories, somehow they had angered the Arcane Order and received a fierce reprisal.