The storm above the Dead Skies wasn't just thunder and wind—it was alive.
Lightning didn't strike, it watched.
Clouds didn't move, they circled.
The Ashen Creed stood at the edge of a broken plateau, gazing at the swirling abyss in the sky above. A singular structure—tall, dark, and humming with power—pierced the heavens at its center. It was an Obelisk Nexus, a remnant of the old Ascendants.
And it was active.
Kael narrowed his eyes. "This is the next trial."
Tarin exhaled sharply. "Feels more like a grave."
"Good," Kael said. "Graves teach the living how not to die."
They descended.
The approach to the Obelisk was worse than the Crucible. The ground itself whispered lies, twisting reality around them. Kael's System Interface flashed warnings nonstop:
[Reality Flux: 67% Instability.]
[Cognitive Interference Detected – Memories May Shift.]
Every step closer, Kael heard echoes—not voices around him, but within. His past self. His failures. His mother's voice, the one he'd forgotten, weeping through the wind.
"Don't stop," he told himself. "This isn't real."
But for the others… it was harder.
Myrin dropped to a knee, holding her head. "I can't… I don't know who I am…"
Tarin stood protectively over her. "Kael!"
Kael turned and activated his newest ability.
[Spectral Recall – Link Active: Myrin]
Suddenly, Kael was inside her mind. Not controlling, not seeing—but anchoring. Through the connection, he gave her clarity. A tether to truth.
Myrin gasped—and stood.
"I'm here," she whispered. "I remember."
One by one, Kael used Spectral Recall on each of them, fighting off the whispers, grounding their minds until the plateau became stable enough to move forward.
When they reached the Obelisk, its base opened with a groaning sigh—revealing stairs descending into pure darkness.
Kael stepped forward. "Light or no light, we descend."
The descent was eternal.
No walls. No end. Just steps and darkness.
But after what felt like hours, the stairs ended in a void chamber.
Floating above the center was a cube—black, veined in silver light, spinning slowly. Around it, dozens of broken corpses hovered mid-air, suspended in frozen agony. And behind the cube, shadows with eyes watched, waiting.
[Trial of the Broken Sky – Initiated.]
[Objective: Survive. Adapt. Inherit the Code.]
Then the shadows moved.
They were not Wraiths. Not Dominion. They were worse.
They were Ascendant Echos—echoes of failed wielders who'd taken the trial and lost themselves. Their faces were cracked masks. Their powers… remnants of the divine, warped.
Kael leapt into action, drawing on Astral Severance—but the pain from overuse returned instantly. His arms screamed, glowing fissures spreading.
"Kael!" Liora shouted. "Fall back!"
"No," he growled. "I'm done falling."
He activated a new protocol.
[System Command: Force Ascension Tier Check Override – Temporary Unlock Granted.]
[Warning: Overclock Engaged – Duration 60 seconds]
A clock appeared before his eyes.
[00:59]
And Kael exploded with power.
In those 60 seconds, he was something else.
Faster than thought. Stronger than pain.
He clashed with the Echoes, dodging divine beams, shattering pseudo-realities, breaking one Ascendant Echo's mask clean in half. Tarin and Myrin fought alongside him, using gravity pulses and storm steps to hold the rest off.
Liora supported with radiant barriers and chained curses—every spell laced with her own life force.
[00:38]
One of the Echoes turned its eyes on Kael, whispering: "You don't belong. You're still broken."
Kael smiled, blood dripping from his eyes. "Then I'll fight broken—and still win."
He used Astral Severance again—despite the warnings.
The Echo's head split into stardust.
[00:14]
But the cube at the center began reacting.
It pulsed—then cracked.
A tremor ran through the Obelisk chamber, and Kael's Overclock hit its limit.
[00:00]
He collapsed to a knee, gasping, blood pouring from his nose.
Liora ran to him, shielding with magic. "We can't win if you break."
Kael looked up. "We've already won. Look."
The cube cracked fully—and from it, light spilled out, swallowing the room.
They woke hours later.
The chamber was silent. The shadows were gone.
And in the place of the cube… floated a sigil.
[Ascendant Node Acquired: Echo Binding.]
[New Passive: Memory Chain – Strength increases per bonded ally.]
Kael touched it—and the mark burned onto his chest, above his heart.
The others gained similar marks.
Myrin looked down. "We're… linked now."
Kael stood slowly, wincing. "More than that. We're becoming what they feared."
Tarin chuckled. "About damn time."
Kael looked to the cracked walls of the Obelisk, then toward the ceiling.
"We've beaten one trial