The Spiral Custodian raised his staff—twisted bone and black iron wound together into a shape that defied geometry. The air split as a glyph of spirals burst open above him, and from its center poured pale fire… not flame, but memory. Screaming, frayed, spiraling memories.
They weren't his.
They weren't mine.
They belonged to her.
Seluriel.
"You were never meant to bear her flame," he hissed. "You defile the hollowed core of her ruin!"
But the brand in my hand pulsed.
A crescent moon ignited along the flat of the blade, shining with light that bled through shadows. It wasn't heat—it was truth given shape. Cold, cutting, clean.
And I moved.
Faster than I ever had before.
Not because of my strength—but because something greater was guiding me.
[Skill Activated: Moon-Soul Resonance I]– Movement speed enhanced under Lunar effects– Weapon gains Truestrike against Spiral-Bound– Resistance to Spiral Corruption: +30%
I struck the nearest spiral beast—its chitinous hide breaking open beneath Sigil Brand's burning edge. Black ichor sprayed. It shrieked, the sound more like metal shearing through teeth than anything natural.
Another beast lunged.
[Clawing Swipe – Rank D – Lv. 3]I ducked beneath it, the claw grazing my back as I twisted and ripped into its side with a slash. Sparks erupted as the blade carved through enchanted bone.
Lira shouted from behind the stone pillar, "They're summoning more!"
The altar behind me flared. The lunar runes began to spin, overlapping symbols I didn't recognize.
"You bear my pain…"
The voice again.
Seluriel?
No. Not her—but something of her. A fragment still living, bound in stone and memory and silver fire.
A glyph formed in the air before me.
[New Skill Gained: Moonbrand Pulse – Rank C]— Unleash a crescent wave of lunar energy.— Damage scales with INT and Willpower.— Cooldown: 60 seconds.
'Perfect.'
I raised Sigil Brand high, focusing on the Custodian who hadn't moved from the altar's far side. His spiraled mask was cracked—fractures glowing with blood-colored light. His hands moved in circular motions, drawing new glyphs midair.
"You think yourself chosen? She will consume you. Just as she consumed us."
He slammed his staff down.
A shockwave tore through the room.
Spiral flame rushed at me.
I activated Moonbrand Pulse.
Sigil Brand flared—searing the air—and a wide arc of moonlight split the darkness in front of me, colliding with the spiral fire in a thunderclap of raw force.
The ground split.
The Custodian reeled, mask half-shattered now.
[Enemy HP: 73% Remaining][Enemy Status: Staggered, Burning]
The spiral beasts fell back. One tried to run.
Bad idea.
I blinked forward.
[Devourer's Core – Active Consumption]I didn't even strike. I grabbed it—channeling the hunger of the Core.
Its flesh shriveled, twisted, dissolved.
[+2 STR][+1 END][Devourer's Core – Rank EX – Internal Threshold 6%]
Then silence.
The altar dimmed.
The Custodian lay collapsed. His robes torn, his flesh etched with burning lunar script. He stared at the moonlight streaming through the cracked ceiling.
"She watches still," he whispered. "But she… weeps."
Then he crumbled into ash.
I stood over the remains, chest heaving.
Lira approached, wide-eyed. "You… you were glowing."
I looked down at my hands. They still shimmered with fading light.
"No," I whispered. "We were."
The altar pulsed once more.
Then—
[System Notice: Soul Anchor Awakened – 2/3 Echo Fragments Recovered][Quest Update: Awaken the Bound Flame][Reward Unlocked: Lunar Echo's Blessing – Minor Passive Regeneration Under Moonlight]
Another memory was waiting in the stone.
But not tonight.
Not yet.
The chamber had gone silent.
But the war hadn't ended.
The Spiral Cult still lingered in the woods.
And now… they knew I was coming.