Liam barely slept.
The dreams that came were not his own—at least, they didn't feel like it. He saw a man dressed in black robes standing in front of a massive gate covered in swirling runes. Voices echoed around him, whispering names he didn't recognize. One name, however, came through clearly—"Valen."
When Liam awoke, his fingers instinctively gripped the ring. It was warm.
He sat up in the small cot Mira had offered him in the underground hideout. The faint scent of burning herbs filled the air, and above him, the runes carved into the ceiling pulsed gently with blue light.
Seraphina stood at the doorway, arms crossed. "You screamed in your sleep."
"I dreamed of… someone. The gate."
Seraphina walked in slowly. "The Vault of Echoes?"
Liam nodded. "And a name… Valen."
Her eyes darkened. "Valen was the Thirteenth. The only one to ever betray the Circle. He tried to break the oath, to open the Vault… He vanished before he could be punished."
"I think he's calling me," Liam said quietly.
Seraphina looked down. "Then we're running out of time."
Moments later, Mira entered the chamber, holding an aged envelope sealed with black wax. "This arrived last night. No courier. No sound. It was simply there, placed on the rune circle."
Liam took it cautiously. The seal bore the same symbol as the ring.
He broke the wax. Inside was a letter written in elegant, ancient ink:
> To the Keeper Reborn—
The time has come to choose a path. Flee, and they will find you.
Stay, and you must pass the Trial of Echoes before the next crescent moon.
Failure means silence. Eternal silence.
—The Watcher of Thirteen
Liam looked up, the words burning into his memory. "Trial of Echoes?"
Mira exhaled. "It's real. A test passed only once every few centuries. You'll face illusions, memories, fears… and one truth you've buried deep."
"What happens if I fail?"
"The Vault takes you. Mind, soul, and memory—gone."
Seraphina stepped forward. "We'll prepare you. There's no other way now."
They led Liam through a stone tunnel beneath the hideout. Mira pulled back a rusted gate, revealing a massive underground chamber filled with strange mechanisms—mirrors that didn't reflect, pools of glowing ink, scrolls suspended midair.
"This is the Echo Chamber," Mira said. "Your trial begins at dusk. Until then—train, remember, and brace yourself."
Liam stepped into the eerie chamber, and as the runes flared, he felt the weight of a thousand years settle onto his shoulders.
Outside, somewhere in the world, the Circle of Thirteen stirred.
And far away, in the darkness of a forgotten city, a figure cloaked in silver smiled beneath his hood.
"Soon," he whispered. "He'll come to me."
To be continued...