"Not all seeds give life. Some… devour it."
The moment the Seeder's final scream faded into dust, the Zenith Rift began to unravel.
Blackened sky peeled away like torn fabric.
The crimson roots retracted, shriveling into ash.
But Kael didn't see any of it.
He was on his knees.
Clutching his chest.
The seed pulsed—embedded where his core beat. Not physically. Deeper.
In his soul.
"Kael!" Lyra was the first to reach him. "Don't move—just breathe, dammit!"
But it wasn't his lungs that refused to obey. It was something older.
Something beneath breath.
[System Notice – Ashcore Synchronization Failure]
Warning: Soul Burn Detected
Foreign Entity Attached: Seeder Echo Fragment – Suppressed (Temporary)
"The seed's not killing him," Zera said, analyzing the glyphs forming along Kael's veins. "It's binding to his Ashcore. Leeching off it."
Drayke's fists clenched. "Then rip it out."
"We can't. Not unless we want to take the core with it."
"Then take me too," Kael rasped. "If I go down… this world follows."
His vision blurred—colors fading into muted gray.
Voices echoed around him, but none made sense.
His body fell backward—slipping into unconsciousness.
And the dreams began.
In the dream…
He stood in an endless field of embers.
Each ash particle whispered names he'd never heard. Souls. Fragments of aura long devoured by the Seeder. Now part of him.
"You are the flame-born," said a voice behind him. "But even fire must choose what it consumes."
He turned.
A mirror stood before him.
But the reflection wasn't his current form.
It was him—eyes sunken, mouth split by shadow, ash leaking from his pores.
"You'll burn too bright, Kael," it said. "You'll forget who you are."
Kael stepped closer.
"Then I'll burn with purpose."
He clenched his fist.
The reflection shattered.
[System Update – Echo Integration: Phase 1 Complete]
New Passive Skill Gained: "Blightroot Heart" – Seed of N'xirath stored within Ashcore. Provides access to corrupted aura traits, but increases risk of Soul Burn at high usage.
Kael gasped awake.
Not in the Rift.
Not in the infirmary.
But in an ancient stone chamber, veins of light etched into every wall like circuitry.
The Vanguard's Hidden Vault.
"You've been out for three days," Veyl said, seated across from him.
Her gaze was unreadable. Something between respect and fear.
"And when you woke up… the relics started humming."
Kael sat up.
His body felt wrong. Heavier, yes. But stronger too.
As if he wasn't just wielding aura anymore—he was housing something far older.
"Where are the others?" Kael asked.
"Recovering. Zera left to report to the Neutral Accord. Drayke's training. Lyra…" Veyl paused. "She's been quiet. Spends her time in the garden. Alone."
Kael's brows drew together.
"What happened?"
"She saw what you did. What you became." Veyl's voice dropped. "And what you're becoming."
Kael stood, wobbling slightly. He looked at his palm—black lines trailing down his wrist like root scars.
He clenched it into a fist.
"She deserves answers."
He found Lyra surrounded by lightflowers—plants that only bloomed to celestial aura.
She wasn't healing them.
She was watching them die.
"They wither when I touch them now," she said without turning. "Because of the Rift. Because of what I had to do to survive it."
Kael stayed silent.
"You absorbed the Seeder," she continued. "You let it in."
"I didn't have a choice."
"Didn't you?" She turned, eyes glimmering. "Or did the Ashcore want it all along?"
Kael stepped forward.
"It's still me, Lyra."
"That's what I'm afraid of."
A beat passed.
"If you lose yourself," she whispered, "I will be the one to stop you."
Kael nodded, the ghost of a grin on his lips.
"Then you better train harder."
Later that night, he stood alone before the Ashforge.
The place where relics were reforged by awakened wielders.
Drayke joined him, uninvited.
"Gonna turn that black tumor in your chest into a weapon?"
"Might as well," Kael said. "Everything else in my life already has."
The forge flared as he held out his broken blade.
Ash swirled.
The black root in his chest pulsed.
And the sword… changed.
[Relic Evolution Initiated – New Relic: "Ashen Bloom"]
Type: Adaptive Blade – Grows stronger with enemy aura absorbed. Can shift form during combat. Stores one Aura Echo per kill.]
"Looks good on you," Drayke said. "Like a curse you chose."
"Maybe I did," Kael said.
"You still planning to go after the other Eternals?"
Kael's eyes glowed faintly.
"The Seeder was just a prelude."
"What's next?"
Kael turned toward the northern stars.
"The Hollow Fang of Noctheron."
"That thing eats aura users," Drayke said, raising a brow. "You sure?"
Kael just smiled.
"Let's see if it likes the taste of ash."