Three days passed.
Kaelridge did not burn.
The rain washed the blood away, but the scars remained—in the wood, in the people, in Aiden himself.
Every villager carried a haunted look. Grief hung like fog. But so did something else.
Resolve.
They had survived something the world said they never would.
And they knew it.
---
Shrine Grounds – Morning
Aiden stood with Veyda as the leyline surged once more. Its pulse was steadier now, like a deep, sleeping heartbeat beneath the land.
"You've changed the thread," she said, her eyes closed. "The storm has moved."
> [System Notification]
Timeline Divergence Confirmed
Major Fate Event Prevented: Kaelridge Destruction
Sync Spike Registered
+3 Legacy Sync
> Total Sync: 19%
Milestone Approaching: 25% – Class Revelation Pending
---
"I'm close," Aiden murmured. "To something big."
Veyda opened her eyes. "So is the Weave. It doesn't like imbalance. You've become... a crease."
He glanced at his hand. Mana swirled at his fingertips without effort now. Like the Emberheart responded faster. Sharper.
The core was growing with him.
And something else stirred beneath it.
A presence.
A shadow of a self he hadn't met yet—but might.
---
Torran's Home
The boy moved like a ghost through his own space.
He sharpened his blade without thinking. Polished his boots. Cleaned the old bow Aiden had modified with stabilizing runes.
"You saved them," he said to Aiden quietly. "They'll never say it like that, but you did."
"I didn't do it for thanks."
"I know. That's what makes it real."
Torran paused.
"When this is over… will you leave?"
Aiden nodded. "I have to. There are other threads to cut. Other fires to stop."
"Then I'm coming with you."
Aiden raised an eyebrow. "You sure?"
"I'd rather die walking behind you than wait to burn on my own."
---
Elder's House – Evening
Elya handed Aiden a map. Ink marked old leyline routes, buried Vault entrances, and the name of a city carved into a cursed coast:
Vel'Serin.
"You'll find another Fragment there," she said. "Maybe more."
Aiden traced the line on the map.
His next step.
His next fracture.
And maybe... the next version of himself waiting in the dark.
---
> [Quest Chain Unlocked: Legacy Thread – The Vel'Serin Descent]
Objective: Reach Vel'Serin | Investigate Sunken Archive
Estimated Sync Opportunity: +6–10%
Optional Thread: "The Mirror That Remembers You" – Status: Dormant
---
He left the next morning.
No celebration. No fanfare.
Just the quiet parting of a village that would never again be what it once was.