The party left the Tomb of the Forgotten in silence.
Behind them, the doors sealed shut with a low groan, taking with it the final memory of the Nameless Spark.
The wind howled across the barren valley. It was colder now, or maybe the truth had simply made the world feel colder.
Veyra walked beside Alex, watching him carefully. He hadn't spoken much since Kael's departure.
"Still thinking about what he said?" she asked.
He nodded. "I keep wondering if everything I'm doing is really mine, or if I'm just repeating someone else's story."
She smiled gently. "Even if your soul remembers another path, you have the power to change direction."
Alex sighed. "But what if changing it leads us somewhere worse?"
"Then we face it together."
A New Objective
As they passed over a jagged ridge, the blue crystal in Alex's pouch pulsed again.
System Notification:
Memory Core Synch Complete.
Next Objective: Sourcewell Nexus – Ruins of Tier'Solin.
Eira raised an eyebrow. "Tier'Solin… that place is more legend than fact."
Kairo scoffed. "It's the oldest known Sourcewell. But no one's ever found it."
"Then we'll be the first," Alex said, voice more determined now. "I want to know what they hid under it."
Days Later – Ruins of Tier'Solin
The path to Tier'Solin was more treacherous than expected.
Shattered bridges, collapsing cliffs, and cursed beasts slowed their progress. Still, Alex felt a pull—like a compass buried in his chest was guiding them.
Finally, they reached the ruins.
Tier'Solin wasn't a city.
It was a crater.
An enormous pit stretched endlessly downward, filled with shattered towers, broken artifacts, and glowing symbols half-buried in dust.
Eira knelt near the edge. "This… wasn't destroyed naturally."
Kairo narrowed his eyes. "It was erased."
Veyra clutched her pendant. "By the Source?"
"Or something it couldn't control," Alex muttered.
Descent into the Crater
The group carefully climbed down, using ropes and ancient stone paths. As they reached the deeper tiers, the air shimmered with residual energy.
It was different from the Source energy they knew—older, more volatile.
Suddenly, a soft chime echoed in Alex's mind.
System Alert:
Warning – Reality Flux Detected. Prepare for Temporal Distortions.
Before they could react, the air around them shifted.
They were no longer alone.
The Distortion
Echoes of the past flickered to life.
Ghosts of Tier'Solin's last day.
Guardians ran through burning streets, shouting warnings. A shadow blanketed the sky. A being with no form, only hundreds of glowing white eyes.
Alex staggered. "Is this… another memory?"
"No," Veyra said, eyes wide. "This is a fragmented timeline. We're inside a ripple."
Suddenly, a figure turned to them.
One of the echoes.
Unlike the others, this one saw them.
"You shouldn't be here," it rasped. "This place rejects reincarnation."
The echo raised its hand. Its body warped—becoming a monstrous shape, half-human, half-beast.
System Alert:
Temporal Warden Awakened – Tier'Solin Class Threat.
Boss Battle Initiated
The creature lunged.
Alex activated Soulflare Pulse, his body glowing in brilliant blue as he parried the first strike.
Eira fired arrows blessed with memory sigils. Kairo unleashed lightning arcs from both blades. Veyra summoned a dome of fire, trying to trap the beast.
The creature was fast—but it wasn't just strong.
It remembered them.
It mimicked their attacks, their strategies. Every strike they made, it adapted and responded faster.
"It's learning!" Kairo shouted, dodging a claw that looked eerily like his own weapon.
"We need to destabilize the flux!" Veyra yelled. "That's the only way to end the echo!"
Alex looked around and saw it—a pulse crystal buried beneath the rubble, glowing faintly. He dashed toward it, dodging the beast's next strike.
Breaking the Flux
He grabbed the pulse crystal and shoved his blue aura into it.
System Override Initiated – Echo Termination in 10… 9…
The creature roared, lunging at him.
5…
He held his ground.
3…
"Come on…"
2…
He activated Soulflare again—just as the countdown hit zero.
The echo shattered.
Silence
The world snapped back into normal.
The crater was dark again. The ghosts were gone. Only the four of them remained, panting and bruised.
Veyra helped Alex up. "You okay?"
He nodded. "That thing… it knew us."
"It was you," Eira said, voice shaken. "It copied parts of your soul during the flux."
Alex froze.
So did everyone else.
The Twist
System Update:
New Trait Acquired – Fragmented Self.
Passive Effect: Residual pieces of your past lives now linger across space-time. Unknown consequences may follow.
Alex swallowed hard.
"What does that mean?" Kairo asked.
"It means," Alex said slowly, "parts of who I used to be… might start waking up in places I've never been."
He looked toward the deepest part of the crater.
"And if even one of them remembers the wrong thing… this world won't survive what comes next."
End of Chapter 36