CHAPTER 20: VIRTUES OF THE OLD

Vanessa leaned back into her couch with a frustrated sigh, the weight of another wasted day pressing down on her shoulders.

Her apartment in Northcrest City was quiet, too quiet, with only the hum of her refrigerator filling the silence.

She’d chosen this place because it was far from Aurelion, far from the noise of the other Guilds, far from the constant reminders that Grimmaw had become a relic.

Her thumb swiped idly across her phone screen.

Newsfeeds.

Rankings.

Interviews with smiling faces from the top guilds.

She scowled.

"The Guild is declining, Brother," she whispered under her breath. "I’ve tried... but Grimmaw is finished."

The words tasted bitter.

Grimmaw had once stood proud, one of the oldest Guilds, with history dripping from every banner and scar.

But now? They were circling the drain.

Any promising recruit would rather rot in another mid-tier guild than come to hers.

Who would choose Grimmaw, when the other Guilds had fame, gold, and millions of fans?

Her phone buzzed again.

A message.

She ignored it.

Probably another scam.

She’d been hit twice today already — cheap frauds pretending to be Lucius Hohenberg, dangling fake "offers" of cooperation.

And she had fallen for them.

Twice.

Her jaw clenched. It was humiliating.

Why would he ever contact her?

Why Grimmaw?

When he was so famous?

"Forget it," she muttered, setting the phone aside. "I should just focus on Emilia. If I can get her into the Academy, at least one of us won’t have to carry this corpse of a guild..."

The phone buzzed again.

Out of habit, she glanced at the screen.

Her heart nearly stopped.

[LuciusHohenbergOfficial🔹 has followed you]

[You have received a message from LuciusHohenbergOfficial🔹]

"...Scam," she said automatically.

Her laugh rang sharp in the empty room.

"Scammers are getting bold."

But her smile froze when she saw the blue tick.

He was verified.

Her throat tightened.

No way. It couldn’t be.

Vanessa opened the profile.

Millions of followers.

The verification was legit.

The first post was a photo of him — Lucius, the prodigy himself.

His eyes met the camera with calm confidence, his posture effortless but commanding.

Handsome didn’t even begin to cover it. He looked like someone carved from ambition itself.

She stared longer than she meant to.

Her face heated.

"Ugh. This is ridiculous..." she muttered, rubbing her cheek as though she could wipe the flush away.

Why would he message her?

What could Grimmaw possibly offer someone like him?

Lucius was the only Awakener alive with both Space and Wood affinities.

A walking miracle.

He had the entire world vying for his loyalty.

Her pride rose like a shield. "Does he think he can smooth-talk me like any fame chasing woman? Tch. I’m not some wide-eyed fangirl."

But her fingers betrayed her.

She opened the message.

[@LuciusHohenbergOfficial🔹]

[Good afternoon, Miss Vanessa.

I realize this message may come across strangely. I know what the rumors say about me.

I know you’ve probably seen my name attached to a dozen pages already, or probably the scammers have started using me for scams. But this is no trick, and it’s not a joke. I wanted to speak to you directly.

I want to join Grimmaw.

You’re probably asking yourself why.

Why Grimmaw, when I could choose any of the top guilds?

The answer is simple: the others have lost their way.

They smile for cameras, sell products, perform for audiences.

They wear the word "Awakener" like an accessory.

But to me, an Awakener is someone who stands against the monsters at the edge of the world, who bleeds so that others don’t have to.

That’s what I’ve always believed.

That’s why I’ve been watching Grimmaw. Because despite what people say, you haven’t compromised.

You haven’t played their game. You’ve kept the Guild as it was meant to be. I respect that. I respect you.

I don’t want easy glory. I don’t want glamour. I want a place that still remembers what we were meant to be.

And that place is Grimmaw.

If you’ll have me, I’ll give you everything I am. If not, then I’ll still hold my respect for you, as someone who never bent when the world demanded you do so.]

The words pressed into her chest like a hand closing around her heart.

Vanessa dropped the phone onto the couch and buried her face in her hands.

Her cheeks were hot, her pulse a thunder in her ears.

"...How the hell does this bastard know exactly what I like?"

It was uncanny.

He had spoken her beliefs as though he had dug them out of her own chest.

Her disdain for the shallow guilds.

Her refusal to play along.

Her quiet pride in Grimmaw’s forgotten principles.

For years she had been mocked for it, ridiculed, dismissed as stubborn and unfit to lead.

And yet here he was saying she was right.

Saying Grimmaw still mattered.

Saying she still mattered.

Her lips trembled, half from anger, half from something she refused to name.

Too perfect.

Too suspicious.

And yet...

"Damn it..." she whispered into the couch pillow she clutched to her chest. "Why does he sound so convincing?"