The Spire had gone silent.
The only sound was the wind scraping dust across ancient stone, whispering like it carried secrets too heavy to speak aloud.
Kieran stood at the edge of the shattered battlefield, staring at the place his doppelgänger had vanished. The ashes of wraiths still clung to the air like smoke that refused to fade.
He flexed his hand—the mark from Veilwalker's skill still glowing faintly. It didn't feel like victory. It felt like a warning.
> [Graveheart Core: Stabilized]
[Veilwalker's Mark: 7 Charges Remaining]
Marked souls linger nearby.
Marked souls?
Before he could ask, Aika's voice cut through the tension.
"Kieran… that thing—what was it?"
He turned to her slowly. The torn fabric on her shoulder was soaked with blood. Milo limped behind her, half-pulled by Thorne, whose armor looked like it had taken a beating from a small war.
"It was me," Kieran said. "Or a version of me."
Aika blinked. "Like… a clone?"
He shook his head. "No. Worse."
They were interrupted by a low rumble. Deep below their feet.
The Spire pulsed—once—like a heartbeat.
> [New Location Unlocked: Veins of the Spire]
[Warning: Hostile presence detected. Echo Core is not gone.]
Thorne raised his weapon again. "You said it vanished."
"I said it vanished," Kieran replied. "Not that it died."
Suddenly, the air shifted. Cold. Heavy. A presence, pressing against their minds like a hand gripping their skulls.
> [Marked Soul Awakened: ???]
It knows your name. It remembers your fear.
Kieran gasped.
The mark on his palm ignited—bright and burning.
And then—
He was no longer in his body.
---
He stood in a void.
The floor was glass. Below it, shifting memories bled through: battles, screams, someone reaching out to him—a woman in white, weeping as she vanished into dust.
He turned.
The doppelgänger stood behind him. But it wasn't smiling anymore.
It looked... tired.
"You've barely scratched the surface, Kieran."
"How do you know my name?"
"You told it to me. Before you forgot."
Kieran's hands curled into fists. "What do you want?"
The figure didn't answer. It stepped back, into the dark.
And from that darkness came something else.
A throne.
And upon it sat a corpse in silver armor, unmoving… until its head twitched and slowly, horribly, turned to look at him.
> [System Lock: Awakening Memory Core...]
[Do you remember the First Grave?]
The corpse opened its mouth.
And screamed his name.
---
Kieran jolted back into his body, gasping.
Blood trickled from his nose. Aika caught him before he collapsed.
"You alright?! What happened?"
He looked past her.
To the Spire.
To the hollow door that had just opened at its base.
Inside, black steps spiraled downward.
Into the Veins of the Spire.
And something down there was breathing.