I reached deep.
Not into my pocket.Not into my soul.Into my mind.
And I pulled something loose.
A memory.
It felt warm.Familiar.
A rooftop.A voice.Laughter?
I couldn't see the face.But I remembered how it felt.
Important.Human.Mine.
Then — gone.
[Memory Offered: "The Name You Loved"]
You have forgotten someone precious.
That space inside you is now hollow.
And the Watcher… filled it.
The creature stirred.
Slowly, joints grinding like stone on stone.Its stitched-shut eyes bled smoke.
Its voice didn't speak — it rewrote reality around me.
The pit became a room.The room became a grave.The grave became a story.
[Memory Received – The Watcher's Sin]
Long ago, before the Deadzone was fractured…A man tried to bury death itself.He failed.What rose from that attempt became the First Bound Soul.
That soul could not die.So they buried it beneath the city.
And it watches all who try to dig.
The Watcher leaned forward.
And in a voice like thunder swallowed by silence, it said:
"You will dig deeper than the rest."
"And when you find what even I fear..."
"Don't bury it. Bind it."
Then the pit collapsed.
I woke up on the cathedral floor.
Covered in dust.Nose bleeding.Heart missing a beat.
Maren reappeared beside me, flickering like a candle near death.
"You're… not the same," she whispered. "You forgot someone."
"I know."
"I hope it was worth it."
✅ [Power Unlocked: Watcher's Mark]
Passive Effect: +30% Resistance to Mental Fracture
Active Skill: Grave Echo – Temporarily relive a dead soul's last 10 seconds to reveal clues, weaknesses, or hidden paths.
Side Effect: Amnesia Fragment – You've lost a memory. It may be used against you.
And far, far below the city—
The Watcher opened its eyes.Stitched no more.