The dungeon beneath Halecrest was dying.
It groaned and wept through its broken corridors, its walls bleeding aura like cracked veins. Every step Kael took echoed like thunder, not from the sound—but from what followed him.
Ashen trails slithered behind his boots, warping the dungeon's pulse. Aura-sensitive stone flickered like it couldn't decide whether to acknowledge his presence or reject it entirely.
They were deep now. Too deep for natural light to follow.
"Kael," Lyra whispered, gripping her staff tighter. "We shouldn't be down here. Not without backup."
Drayke scoffed. "We are the backup."
Zera said nothing. She walked slightly ahead, fingers grazing the wall like she was reading the dungeon's memory.
Kael didn't stop moving. His eyes were distant again, like part of him wasn't even in his body.
Zera glanced back. "You're listening to the voices again, aren't you?"
"I don't hear them," Kael replied.
"Exactly," she said. "That's worse."
They reached a massive chamber, dome-like and eerily quiet. At its center, floating just above a cracked pedestal, was a crimson shard—a piece of the broken Origin Crown.
It pulsed like a heartbeat. Faint, but ancient.
Kael stepped forward.
Drayke grabbed his shoulder. "Wait. We don't know what it—"
Too late.
Kael touched it.
The world blinked.
Then it shattered.
Memory Realm – Revenant Pulse
Kael stood alone in an endless field of glass.
Above him, the sky was a mirror. Below, the ground shimmered with fragments of his past—moments of blood, fire, and faces. So many faces.
Some he remembered.
Most he didn't.
He took a breath.
"Haaah... what a strong aura."
But this time, he wasn't talking to an enemy.
He was talking to himself.
A figure stood across from him—identical in form, but cloaked in full Revenant armor. Ashen fire bled from the figure's eyes, and its blade shimmered with every aura Kael had ever absorbed.
It didn't speak.
It just charged.
Kael blocked the strike, sparks igniting from the clash. Every blow that followed cracked the mirrored ground, each slash unveiling old pain—father's death, Ember Brood's fall, Zera's warnings, Lyra's tears.
"This is what I've become?" Kael asked, parrying another strike. "A monster?"
The Revenant-Kael tilted its head, then vanished.
From behind, a whisper: "No. You're becoming what the world needs."
Kael turned, slicing through the voice—but no one was there.
Only a mirror.
And in that mirror, he saw something new.
Horns. Black wings. Glowing runes pulsing beneath his skin.
A God?
A Curse?
Or both?
Back in the real world, Kael's body dropped to one knee. His veins flickered with black-gold aura.
Zera rushed forward. "We have to sever the link!"
"Too late," Lyra said, eyes wide. "He's fusing with it."
Kael's eyes shot open.
But they weren't his eyes anymore.
Ashen Revenant Mode: [Phase I – Pulse of the Forgotten]
Abilities Unlocked:
Echo Rend – Slashes that duplicate aura echoes for delayed damage
Ash Rebirth – Revives once per day with enhanced stats, leaves a soul fragment behind
Mirrored Grief – Gains increased power against enemies carrying regret or suppressed emotions
Kael stood slowly, breathing deep.
The aura in the room bent toward him like gravity. The shard of the Origin Crown floated back to its pedestal, now dimmed.
Zera stared at him. "How much did you see?"
Kael didn't answer.
Instead, he turned toward the sealed gate at the end of the chamber—something that hadn't been there before.
A door made of bone and flame.
Carved above it, in ancient runes:
"This Gate leads to the Second Eternal."
Drayke cracked his knuckles. "Finally."
Lyra looked terrified.
Zera, unreadable.
Kael simply whispered, "Open it."
The Revenant walks.