The night was quiet—too quiet. Even in the shelter of the Nexus Cache, Ethan found sleep elusive. The weight of the day pressed down on him, but his thoughts refused to slow.
Finally, exhaustion took him.
And the dream came.
He stood in a grand hall, marble columns soaring into shadows. Mirrors lined the walls, each reflecting a different version of him. Some regal, some monstrous, some broken.
A voice echoed across the chamber.
"Kaelen Varros. Heir to nothing. Condemned by blood, bound by choice."
He turned—and saw a figure standing on a dais. Tall, armored in sleek black steel laced with crimson veins. A crown of bone-like material hovered above his brow, rotating slowly.
"You are not me," the figure said. "But you carry my curse."
[System Echo Detected: Residual Memory Trace – Accessing Lost Data…]
Ethan gasped as a flood of sensation hit him. Memories—Kaelen's memories—unlocked.
A duel in a storm. A betrayal in a court of glass. Blood on a blade that wasn't his. Shame. Rage. A fall from grace.
He awoke with a gasp, drenched in sweat.
[New Trait Unlocked: Echo-Bonded – Access partial memories and instincts of previous host.]
[Bonus XP: +25 – System Integration Deepened]
[Skill Gained: Blade Instinct (Rank F)]
Aelira was already up, sitting by the fire. "Rough night?" she asked without looking at him.
"I saw... him. The man I used to be."
She raised an eyebrow. "Kaelen?"
He nodded. "He wasn't weak. But he was angry. Broken."
Aelira stood and tossed him a training blade. "Then let's make sure you don't end up the same."
Outside the cache, beneath a fading moon, she began his training. Footwork, balance and reaction. Every movement felt unnatural—until it didn't. Slowly, instinct began to take over.
And the System watched.
[Combat Drill 1/3 Complete]
[XP Gained: +10]
As dawn broke, Ethan wiped the sweat from his brow. His muscles screamed, but something else stirred in his chest.
Resolve.
He didn't know what role Kaelen had played before. But now, he would decide who Kaelen Varros would become.