Nell didn't walk. She swaggered. Like she knew the rules of the world and didn't care to follow them.
She pointed at the bench I'd just left. "That your meditation spot?"
"Was," I said. "Not sure it helped."
"Oh, it helped." She smirked. "Meditation's like duct tape here—won't fix your broken self, but it'll hold the pieces together while you fake being okay."
I snorted. Couldn't help it.
She grinned wider. "See? That's progress. You smiled. Wraithbound don't smile until Day Three, usually."
"Guess I'm an overachiever."
"Or just sarcastic. Which is basically the same thing in Sanctuary."
We started walking toward the town center, which wasn't far—Dustend wasn't exactly big. The place looked like it had been built with five textures and a lot of depression. Half-collapsed buildings, flickering lamps, and a strange, low fog that rolled in even though the sky was clear.
I glanced at Nell. "You've been here long?"
"Long enough to regret it," she said. "I took the deal six months ago."
"In real time?"
"Yeah. Out there, I'm in a pod hooked up to a drip bag and the world's worst playlist."
I wanted to ask what she'd done to get here, but the words caught in my throat. I figured she could ask first, if she wanted.
She didn't.
Instead, she pointed to a building with an open archway. "That's the chapel. You'll want to go in."
"Why?"
"Confession. It's how you unlock your first ability."
"Let me guess," I muttered, "I walk in, cry a little, spill my tragic backstory, and boom—magic power?"
"Pretty much. Except the crying is optional. The pain isn't."
Great.
I stepped inside the chapel. It was empty. Dusty. A single altar sat at the far end, covered in melted candles and soot. No priest. No music.
A glowing circle pulsed on the floor.
Begin Confession? Y/N
I looked over my shoulder. Nell was leaning against the doorway, arms crossed, watching me like I was a test subject.
"Do I have to speak out loud?"
She shrugged. "Some do. Some don't. The system reads intention."
I stepped into the circle.
The light dimmed. The room went quiet—like the sound itself had been taken away. I felt pressure behind my eyes. Like something was asking me to try. Not confess everything. Just something.
So I thought of the accident. The screaming. The part of me that still flinched when I heard tires skid in a dream.
"I didn't mean to kill him," I said quietly. "I panicked. I made the wrong call."
Silence.
Then:
Confession accepted. Soul Integrity +1Emotional Resonance unlocked.Ability Unlocked: Echo Pulse ITier: Emotion-tier (Guilt)
I blinked. "Echo Pulse?"
The room returned to normal. Nell walked in, hands in her coat pockets.
"First guilt-based ability," she said. "You're doing great. Didn't even scream."
"Was I supposed to?"
"Some people get visions. Depends on how messed up your brain is, I guess."
"I'm doing fine, thanks."
"You're emotionally repressed and stuck in a punishment game. You're thriving."
I chuckled. Despite everything, her sarcasm was comforting.
"Come on," she said. "Let's see what that Echo Pulse does."
Outside, she found a barrel and pointed. "Target practice."
I focused on the ability.
Echo Pulse I – Channel your internal guilt into a burst of unstable energy. Damage scales with emotional charge. Limited range. Causes mild fatigue.
I aimed and activated it.
A ripple of blue-gray light shot from my hand and cracked the barrel in half. I staggered slightly—like the ability had yanked something out of me.
"Okay," I muttered. "That felt… weird."
"Get used to it," Nell said. "Emotion-tier abilities draw from your actual feelings. No mana bar, just misery."
"Sounds healthy."
"Oh, totally. Nothing says personal growth like weaponized trauma."
We sat on the steps of a building while I caught my breath. I rubbed my hands, still feeling a buzz under the skin.
"Why me?" I asked quietly. "Why Wraithbound? They didn't give me a choice."
"They never do," she said. "Wraiths get assigned. You're either flagged by the system as high-risk or 'morally unstable'—whatever that means."
"Doesn't seem fair."
"It's not. But the system doesn't care about fair. It cares about results."
I leaned back, staring up at the cloudy sky. "And what kind of results are we supposed to get?"
"Redemption. Whatever that means to you."
I didn't say anything for a while.
Then she stood. "Come on. I want you to meet someone."
"Someone?"
"A weird old NPC who knows more about the Wraithbound than anyone else. Calls himself the Archivist. He's glitchy as hell, but he talks about 'the code beneath the code.'"
That got my attention.
"He lives under the chapel," she said. "Behind a locked gate. You can only get in after your first confession."
We went back inside the chapel. Nell led me around a side door that opened with a heavy creak. A stone staircase led downward, lit by flickering blue runes on the walls.
At the bottom was a gate. As I approached, it groaned and opened on its own.
Inside was a small circular chamber. Books. Scrolls. Crystals. Screens. All glowing in strange, pulsing patterns. In the center sat a man in a robe, his face hidden under a hood.
He turned toward me without moving his body.
"You carry Echo," he said. His voice was layered—like it had been run through a dozen filters. "You are broken. But you are not lost."
"Thanks?" I said. "I think."
Nell stepped back, letting me approach.
"I'm Marcus Vale," I said.
The Archivist tilted his head. "You are Wraithbound. Do you seek understanding of the code that binds you?"
"Yeah. I do."
He stood slowly. The runes flared.
"Then listen. Sanctuary is not a game. It is a mirror. It shows what you are. What you could be. But only if you survive the Echo."
I swallowed. "And what happens if I don't?"
"Then you become part of the system. A ghost without memory. An NPC with eyes that do not blink."
I stepped back. "So… no pressure."
The Archivist nodded once. "Return when your soul burns brighter. I will show you the fracture lines."
The gate began to close.
Nell whistled low. "He likes you. He didn't even glitch this time."
"That was him not glitching?"
"You should see him when he starts quoting code and bleeding static."
I exhaled. "Okay. So what now?"
"Now?" she said. "Now we get you a quest. A real one."