How many echoes can a soul carry before it forgets which voice was its own?
Kael stared at his reflection in a shallow pool of aura-tinted water.
The Ashbreaker Helm was slung across his back, pulsating faintly with dull ember light. His own aura felt heavier now—not just dense, but watchful, like a second presence coiled beneath his skin.
Zera crouched beside him, inspecting a corrupted hunter's relic with delicate fingers.
"That relic," she said softly, "it shouldn't have fused. Not without purification. The Ashen shouldn't accept impure cores."
Kael didn't answer. He already knew the truth.
The Ashen didn't care about purity.
It cared about strength.
[System Notice – Echo Retention Exceeds Safe Threshold]
Recommending: Sync-Rite Ceremony
Status: Suppressed Memory Fragments Detected
Potential Unlock: Bound Origin – Subject: Kael Arclight
Drayke Norr, arms crossed, leaned against a shard of broken obsidian near the pool.
"So…" he said slowly, "what the hell did you see in there?"
Kael didn't look up. "A version of me that didn't stop burning."
Drayke whistled low. "Sounds like a great drinking buddy."
Lyra shot him a glare, then knelt beside Kael.
"You're not that thing," she said quietly. "Whatever voice spoke in that domain—it's just residue. An echo. You're still you."
Kael wanted to believe her.
But every time he closed his eyes, he saw the other version of himself—armor of blackened bone, eyes hollow with flame, a smile carved in grief.
Not rage. Not hatred.
But purpose.
Later that night, Kael wandered from the camp.
The skies above were choked with swirling streaks of corrupted aura—signs that another Eternal-Spawn gate was opening somewhere across Aurenya.
But his focus was drawn downward.
To a symbol etched in stone.
An old one.
He didn't remember carving it, but his hands reacted instinctively. He knelt and traced the runes.
The Crest of the Bound.
The symbol of those chosen by the Echo long before the System had names, relics, or dungeons.
He felt the world tilt.
And then—darkness.
[Memory Fragment Unlocked – Bound Origin]
Subject: Kael Arclight
Cycle: 7,928 (Pre-System Genesis)
He stood in a world before the dungeons.
Before Aura Towers.
A battlefield of titanic corpses, where the sky wept ash.
He saw a version of himself locked in battle against a being of light and chains.
His blade wasn't forged of steel—it was memory, shaped by will.
Every swing didn't cut flesh—it cut fate.
He watched himself die.
Again. And again.
Every time, he rose.
Burning brighter.
Falling harder.
Until the chains bound his arms, sealing his power beneath a mark—the very sigil now branded on his soul.
Kael gasped awake.
The mark on his hand burned with raw energy.
He felt it now—not just a scar, but a key.
Zera approached from the shadows, cloak whispering.
"You've seen it," she said.
Kael nodded slowly.
"I fought the Lightbearer."
Zera's expression darkened.
"So… you were one of them. A Wrought-Bound."
Kael looked up.
"You knew?"
"I suspected. The way your aura reacts to corruption. It doesn't resist—it consumes, integrates. Only the Wrought ever had that trait."
She handed him a vial—filled with liquid aura, dark like oil, glittering with tiny embers.
"This will keep the Echo suppressed. For now."
He stared at it.
And didn't drink.
[System Notification: Suppression Rejected – User Declines External Stabilization]
Passive Trait Evolved: Ashen Resilience – Echo Drift Slowed, Willpower Reinforced
"I'm not afraid of it," Kael muttered. "If this thing is part of me, I want to understand it."
Zera's eyes sharpened. "Understanding is what got the first Bound slaughtered."
Kael met her gaze.
"I'm not the first."
"No," she said quietly. "But you might be the last."
[Dungeon Gate Alert – Tier: Abyssal]
Location: Zenith's Reach – Unclassified Relic Activity Detected
Estimated Threat: Eternal-Spawn Signature Confirmed
A rift tore through the sky—visible even from the distant mountain ridge.
Lyra gripped her staff tighter. "That's not a normal gate."
Drayke squinted toward the crimson fissure pulsing above the skyline.
"That's… not good."
Kael didn't wait.
He started walking.
[Three Hours Later – Zenith's Reach]
The wind here howled differently.
Not just through rock—but through memories.
The very stones seemed to whisper.
They reached the outer perimeter of the gate, and were met by Veyl Solane—leader of the Sunspire Vanguard.
She stood proud and golden, her aura like a radiant blade—light condensed into presence.
"Arclight," she said coldly. "You weren't summoned."
"I'm not here to answer to you," Kael replied.
Veyl's eyes narrowed. "That aura… it's infected."
Drayke stepped between them, voice dripping mockery. "Relax, goldenrod. He's only half-monster. The useful half."
Veyl raised her hand—but Zera cut in.
"We don't have time for power plays. That rift isn't spawning regulars."
She handed a scroll to Veyl.
The Vanguard leader read it once.
Her eyes went pale.
"You're certain?"
Zera nodded grimly.
"An Eternal-Spawner. Not just a spawn. A Seeder. One that corrupts entire regions."
Lyra gasped.
Drayke grinned. "Now we're talking."
Kael stepped forward.
"Open the gate."
[System Notification – Relic Sync Available]
Ashbreaker Helm + Soulbrand Signature detected. Begin Fusion Y/N?
Warning: Fusion may trigger permanent aura trait evolution.
Fusion Type: Domain Fusion – Ashcore Protocol – Risk: High]
Kael selected: YES.
The helm blazed to life—lifting from his back and fusing to his aura core. Flames licked at his skin, but he didn't flinch.
The others stared in silence.
He wasn't glowing.
He was burning.
A dark halo of ash swirled above him.
"What did you do?" Lyra whispered.
Kael's voice echoed with a second tone beneath it.
Not demonic.
Not corrupted.
Just... ancient.
> "I gave the Echo what it wanted. A chance to burn again."
[New Trait Unlocked – Ashcore Form (Stage I)]
Aura regenerates 4x faster inside corrupted domains.
All Ashen-type skills deal 50% more damage vs Eternal-Spawns.
Gains passive immunity to low-tier mind effects.
Drawback: Human affinity reduced. Civilian and non-combatants may instinctively fear the user.
Kael turned to the rift.
Without waiting for orders, he walked into the abyss.
And it whispered his name back.