Far beyond the Rift Valley, in the storm-wracked mountains of the Western Reaches, a cloaked figure stood atop a jagged cliff, gazing eastward.
Rain poured around him, but none of it touched his form—his mana repelled the elements like an invisible dome. His silver eyes burned through the darkness, focused, alert.
He felt it.
> The fragment has awakened.
The man pulled back his hood, revealing long white hair tied into a braid, tribal markings etched into his cheek, and a sharp jawline scarred from countless battles.
> "So… the Godslayer is stirring," he whispered.
Behind him, a group of elite warriors in obsidian armor knelt.
> "Commander Rael," one of them spoke, voice laced with urgency. "Shall we move?"
Rael didn't look at them. His gaze remained fixed on the distant light pulsing faintly across the skies.
> "Yes. But not with force. Not yet."
> "Why not?" asked another. "Should we not strike while he's vulnerable?"
Rael finally turned, his voice calm but heavy with command.
> "Because this one… is different. If the legends are true, he carries the blood of the Old Ones. If we make him our enemy too early, we'll suffer a worse fate than death."
His hand rose, and a circular sigil of glowing runes hovered above his palm—a celestial compass aligned with the essence of the awakened fragment.
> "Track him. Observe. But do not engage until I say."
---
Meanwhile…
Kairo and Zevrin reached the surface at dawn. The light of day felt sharper, more intense after the shadowy dungeon trials.
Zevrin leaned on his spear, panting. "I still can't believe you faced your own reflection and came out alive."
Kairo didn't respond immediately. His mind was still reeling from the fragment's visions.
The name "Thalor" echoed in his memory.
> "Who is Thalor… and why does it terrify me?" he muttered.
Zevrin raised an eyebrow. "Say that again?"
Kairo shook his head. "Nothing."
They walked back to the village where an old healer treated their wounds and fed them warm broth. Word had already spread—Kairo had cleared the Warden's Trial, something that hadn't been done in a century.
The villagers looked at him differently now.
Not with pity.
But awe.
> "You think they'll forget I used to be F-rank?" Kairo asked Zevrin that night.
Zevrin chuckled. "Forget? No. But now they'll say 'he was F-rank... and still made it.' That's way better."
Kairo smiled faintly.
---
Later that night, as Kairo sat under the stars outside the village, he opened his system interface.
> [System Update: Fragment of Truth acquired]
[Hidden Trait Activated: Soul Resonance - Memory Pathway unlocked]
[New Quest: Seek the Remaining Shards]
Progress: 1/7
> Seven fragments… Seven trials… and somewhere out there, an ancient enemy waits.
Kairo felt a subtle shift in his body. His mana core had grown. His perception sharper. But the biggest change wasn't physical—it was the clarity in his soul.
He wasn't afraid of who he used to be anymore.
He was ready to become who he was meant to be.
Suddenly, the wind shifted.
He looked up.
A dark shape hovered in the trees—a bird-like construct made of black feathers and silver eyes.
A spy.
Before he could move, it exploded in a flash of shadow, vanishing into smoke.
> "Someone's watching me already," he whispered.
Zevrin rushed outside. "You okay?"
Kairo nodded slowly. "They know."
> "Who?"
> "Everyone who wants the fragments. The Gods… the Hunters… maybe even Thalor himself."
Kairo stood, eyes narrowed.
> "Then let them come."