Darkness.
Not silence—because Kael could still hear it.
That faint crackle.
The slow hiss.
Fire.
Not outside.
Inside.
It wasn't pain, not exactly. It was... change. A pulse inside his core like molten blood, coursing through his veins. Not just heat—but purpose.
[Sync Stabilization: 84%… 92%…]
[Status: Ashen Aura - Core Awakening Initiated]
[Trait Gained: Residual Echo – Adaptive Absorption of Aura Patterns]
Kael's eyes snapped open.
He was in a stone chamber, rough-hewn and lit by flickering crystals. Faint groaning echoed in the distance—injured hunters or collapsing ruins, he couldn't tell.
He sat up slowly. His ribs hurt like hell. His right shoulder wouldn't move.
But he was alive.
And the Eternal was gone.
For now.
His broken blade—"Charcoal Fang," the system called it—rested beside him, still radiating that unnatural warmth. The edges shimmered faintly with ashen light, like it remembered the battle.
And so did Kael.
Every movement, every heartbeat—he felt the aura now. Not like before, when it was a flicker. Now it was fused with him. Breathing with him.
Alive.
The stone doors opened.
Boots. Armor.
Three figures in Sunspire gold stormed into the chamber, weapons drawn. At the front was Veyl Solane, commander of the Vanguard unit and a name Kael knew only from whispers.
"Hold him!"
Kael blinked. "Wait, I—"
A flash of golden aura forced him back.
Chains of solar light wrapped around his wrists, burning against his skin. He gritted his teeth.
"I survived," he spat. "I saved nothing but ashes—"
"You emerged from a classified black-zone dungeon breach," Veyl said coldly. "Everyone else? Dead. You? Untouched."
"I'm not the enemy."
"No. You're worse. You're unknown."
Hours Later – Sunspire Detention Zone
Kael sat chained in a cold white cell, one of hundreds buried beneath the capital. Above him, runes hummed to suppress aura flow. He could still feel it, though—his Ashen flame whispering, pulsing, waiting.
A small panel on the wall flickered to life. A hologram.
Zera Vaelith.
Of course it was her.
That same distant smirk. Cloaked in a misty shimmer, her eyes unreadable.
"Well, well... The ghost rises from the ash," she said softly.
Kael narrowed his eyes. "You're the one who sent us to that rift."
"I didn't send you. I merely… nudged fate. Besides, look what it gave you."
Kael glanced at his hands. The burns were gone. Replaced by faint aura runes pulsing beneath the skin.
"What do you want?"
Zera tilted her head. "To offer you a choice."
[System Trigger: Aura Path Selection]
[Class Detected: Hybrid – Bladesoul / Revenant]
[Specialization Trait: "Ashborne"—Aura evolves in battle; gains power from fallen foes]
[Choose: Fight for Rank… or Burn the System.]
Kael didn't respond right away.
His thoughts were still full of screams. Of that Eternal's mocking voice.
Weak aura.
He clenched his fists.
"No more."
Zera smiled faintly.
"Good. Then it's time."
Meanwhile – Noctheron Marsh
Far across Aurenya, in the rotting depths of a cursed region where few dared tread, something ancient stirred.
A pillar of black light shot upward from a forgotten dungeon, rending the clouds.
The world trembled.
And one name echoed from the dark—
Kael Arclight.