The aftermath of the battle left Ravenfall's outer dock in ruins, the ground cracked and smoldering from the intense dimensional energy. Ethan and Aelira stood amidst the wreckage, their breaths heavy in the aftermath of the fight. The air still hummed with the residual energy, but the immediate threat had passed... for now.
Ethan wiped the blood from his brow, glancing at his arm. A gash from one of the Echo Spawn was still seeping, but it would heal soon enough. He didn't have time to linger on injuries, though. His mind was racing.
The figure that appeared was the one who called me Inheritor. Why did he say the Echo had been awakened?
His thoughts were interrupted by the familiar hum of LYRA's voice in his ear.
"Ethan, your vitals are stable, but you need medical attention soon. I've detected an emergency frequency signal from a hidden base near your current location. You should investigate."
Aelira's sharp eyes scanned the area, watching for any lingering threats. "What now? You think this is over? They'll come for us again."
"We don't have much of a choice." Ethan's voice was low, tense. "But first, we need answers. This signal might lead us to them."
Aelira hesitated, but the fire in her eyes showed her resolve. "Fine. But we're not sticking around to be someone's target practice. Let's go."
The hidden base was tucked beneath Ravenfall's sprawling underbelly, a place few dared to venture. But Aelira and Ethan had no choice. As they descended into the labyrinth of tunnels, the air grew thicker, a sense of ancient weight pressing in on them from all sides.
"You know what's down here?" Ethan asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
Aelira shook her head. "I've heard rumors. Old factions. Black markets. People who operate outside the law of Ravenfall. But nothing like this."
They finally reached a nondescript door, its surface scratched and worn. The frequency signal was stronger now, and as Ethan entered the code on the panel, the door slid open with a soft hiss.
Inside, they were greeted by the sight of an underground war room. Holographic maps of Ravenfall flickered above a central table, and various figures moved in and out of the shadows. A tall, wiry man with a scar running down his face looked up from one of the terminals as they entered.
"Inheritors, I presume," he said with a cold smile. "You're late. But better late than never."
Aelira stepped forward, her blade still visible on her back. "Who are you?"
"Names don't matter here." The man's grin spread wider. "What matters is what you can do for us."
Ethan's gaze was cautious. "And what would that be?"
The man leaned forward, his fingers tapping the table rhythmically. "We know about the Echo, and we know that it's tied to something much bigger than what Ravenfall's guilds can comprehend. There are forces at play that even they don't control."
Ethan's heart skipped a beat. "What are you offering?"
The man's eyes gleamed. "Information. Access to ancient technology hidden beneath Ravenfall's surface. But you'll have to work with us if you want it."
Ethan and Aelira spent hours with the underground faction, going over maps, hidden data caches, and fragments of old documents. The pieces began to fall into place slowly, like a puzzle too large to solve in one sitting.
"Ethan, there's something strange about the readings from the artifact in the core of the city. It's linked to the Echo in ways I didn't expect. Whatever this is, it's beyond the System's knowledge."
As they pieced together what they knew, Ethan realized that the Echo was more than just an anomaly. It was tied to an ancient prophecy, one that had been hidden for centuries by the Technarchs—Ravenfall's forgotten creators. The Inheritors, those who could resonate with the Echo, were the key to awakening something far older, something that could reshape entire worlds.
Aelira's eyes flicked to the terminal. "The Technarchs didn't just build Ravenfall. They left behind everything—and someone wants it all. We need to find this artifact, Ethan. We need to make sure no one else gets their hands on it."
Beyond the battle site lies a sealed chamber: an archive known as the Memory Vault. Using the Echo-Core Fragment as a key, they breach its barrier.
Inside, dozens of suspended memory prisms hum in silence. LYRA interfaces with the vault, flickering as she sifts through the fragmented data.
"There. A Technarch beacon chain—encoded locations from before the Collapse. This one leads to the Helix Rift... and something called the Starfall Protocol."
Aelira eyes Ethan. "That doesn't sound ominous at all."
Ethan reaches for the prism containing the coordinates, and the System pulses:
[System Update Available: Starfall Protocol Access — Questline Branch Unlocked]Side Quest Added: "The Fractured Map" — Locate remaining Technarch Vaults to assemble the Starfall schematic.
Suddenly, the vault shudders. A projection flares—an image of a man clad in pre-Collapse armor. His voice crackles through static.
"To any Inheritor who finds this: the Echo is not just awakening. It's remembering. And it will rewrite us all if we don't act. The Starfall Protocol is our only chance."
The feed cuts.
Aelira exhales sharply. "Looks like our quiet trip just got cosmic."
Ethan smirks, tucking the prism into his pack. "When has it ever been quiet?"
LYRA's voice cuts in, brisk.
"Adventure probability: 98%. Stealth probability: …well, let's not talk about it."