Extra's POV: My Obsessive Villainous Fiancee Is The Game's Final Boss

Ren and Lilith appeared in a soft whoosh of displaced air, the sound muffled against the stone as if the silence from earlier had followed them.

Thorn was crouched near a stack of crates in a dim corner of the alley, his arms crossed and his back to a crumbling wall.

The moment they appeared, his head snapped to them, rising quickly to his feet.

"Well?" He asked, voice low. "How'd it go?"

Ren exhaled and gave a dry smile. "Not as planned. We got the money, but we were ambushed in the vault. Some cloaked figure, probably a Rank 7 Knight. Fought like a ghost."

Thorn raised an eyebrow. "You win?"

Ren nodded. "They ran. But that's not the part you should be worried about."

Lilith stepped forward. "There was something else. A silence... like sound itself was being stolen. Our powers felt weak. Sluggish. It was like fighting underwater."

Thorn stiffened. "You think it was the Silent Choir?"

"We're not sure." Ren said. "But it matches everything I've heard."

They moved quickly, ducking into the narrow alleys of Carthage's upper layer, the shadows stretching long in the now dim streetlights that indicated night.

As they walked, their footsteps echoed faintly against the stone, a small comfort after the haunting quiet of the vault.

Lilith walked close to Ren. "Tell me more," she said. "About the Silent Choir."

Ren's face darkened. He glanced back at Thorn, who gave a nod for him to continue.

"The Silent Choir isn't just a group." Ren said. "It's a fanatical cult. Supposed to be based in Elnoria. They were meant to rise after the war with Albion, filling the vacuum left by the fall of the Creation Church."

Lilith frowned. "So why are they here?"

"That's the part that worries me." Ren admitted. "If they're showing up in Carthage, then something changed."

"Carthage is as far away from Elnoria as anywhere else. We've faced two Calamities and two pseudo-Calamities so far. They've always stuck to the places they were supposed to appear. But this one is different. Something's changed."

They passed through another alley, the stone walls narrowing around them.

"The Choir started small." Ren continued. "Their founders stumbled on a cursed relic called the Shard of Oblivion. It gave them power. Amplified their silence, and made them stronger. The silence isn't just for show. It suppresses everything. Resonance, magic, even the will to fight."

Thorn cursed under his breath. "And you guys fought one of the members tonight?"

"Maybe." Ren said grimly. "The silence in that vault felt too real to be just another power. If that wasn't their personal power, then it means the Shard of Oblivion is here in Carthage. And that... that's bad."

Lilith glanced at him. "What does the Shard do? Really?"

"It spreads silence. Not just the sound, but power, thought, life itself. If it spreads far enough, the weak don't just lose their voice, they fall into sleep. Forever."

Thorn looked unsettled. "Like death?"

"Worse. Eternal sleep. Like the world forgets you ever existed."

They turned onto a wider street, this one less trafficked, where the flicker of official streetlights bathed the road in a white hue.

"If the Choir is really here," Ren said, voice low, "then so is the Shard. And if the Shard is here... then so is whoever brought it. Which means the same hand behind the Calamities might already be inside Carthage."

Lilith reached for his hand instinctively. "Then we need to move faster."

"Agreed." Ren said. "We'll use part of the money to upgrade our badges. We need access to the lower layers. From there, we seed the coins, build the transport routes. The more ground we cover, the easier it'll be to find whoever is hiding the Shard."

Thorn nodded. "And if we find them first?"

"We take it." Ren said. "We find the Shard and destroy it before it infects the rest of the city."

They continued walking, silent now, not speaking until they reached their destination.

The district office was a squat stone building nestled between two bigger buildings made of basalt brick.

It was far less impressive than any of them had expected, with no ostentatious designs or decorations. Just a single iron door and a small bronze plaque above it that read, Carthage Citizen Registry – Fifth Layer Office.

As they approached, Thorn looked around. "Not a lot of guards."

Ren nodded. "They don't need them. No one stupid enough to mess with a district office survives very long."

A single bored-looking clerk sat behind a metal desk in the small front room. He looked up slowly as they entered, eyeing the three of them. His gaze stayed a bit too long on Lilith before shifting to Ren.

"We're here to upgrade our badges." Ren said politely. "Through monetary investment."

The clerk's previously sleepy eyes were alert at once. Without another word, he stood and gestured toward a side corridor. "This way."

They followed him into a narrow hallway that branched into a waiting room with a single low table and three chairs. It was quiet inside, and strangely warmer than the space outside.

"Someone will be with you shortly." The clerk said, bowing slightly before turning to leave.

They sat and waited. Minutes stretched. Lilith tapped her fingers on the table while Thorn muttered something under his breath about bureaucracies being the same no matter where you went.

Almost thirty minutes passed before a tall man in maroon attire stepped into the room, a silver badge hanging from a chain on his chest. His face was sharp and clean-shaven, his expression unreadable.

"I'm Officer Varlen." He said. "I understand you're seeking to elevate your badges via financial investment. I'll need to see the extent of your assets."

Ren nodded. "Of course."

With a wave of his hand, he opened his spatial pouch and began unloading the chests they'd taken from the vault. One by one, they thudded onto the stone floor.

Chests of silver and gold coins, each one packed full of wealth. But he didn't unload everything they had. Just the necessary amount they needed.

Varlen's eyes widened ever so slightly at the growing pile.

"Please wait here." He said.

He stepped out, then returned a moment later with another clerk, this one younger, with quick fingers and wide eyes. Together, they began sorting and tallying the contents, murmuring in low tones.

After ten tense minutes, Varlen turned back to them, nodding. "This meets the requirement. The city will take ten percent as a stability tax. The remainder will be used to validate your elevation and recorded as your investment base."

Without waiting for a response, he extended a hand toward each of them. "Your badges, please."

Ren, Thorn, and Lilith handed over the simple metal discs that marked them as basic citizens.

Varlen tucked them into his pockets. "It will take some time to issue the new ones. Remain here until they are ready."

Then, he turned and left the room, the sound of the door clicking softly shut behind him.