Part 1: The Siege of Sector 13
Location: Sector 13 – Guild Outer District
The air reeked of smoke before the sirens ever started.
By the time the alarms wailed, three Guild posts were already burning.
Shadowed shapes flickered through alleys. Blades glinted, silent and fast.
The Ash Blades hadn't sent one assassin this time.
They'd sent a dozen.
Coordinated. Clean. Clinical.
And in the center of it all?
A figure in dark silver robes with a red halo stitched to the hood.
[Designation: Blood Herald – Ash Blade Commander-Class]
[System Link: Refused | Status: Reality Breaker]
[Threat Level: Absolute]
The Blood Herald stepped over the corpse of a C-rank Hunter, one hand glowing with crimson light.
"Bring out the Unbound," he said. "Or we tear the district apart."
Location: Guild Post 9 – East Sector 13
Riven had felt it before the sirens. A low pulse behind his eyes, like the world glitching.
The moment the message came in—Sector 13 under attack—he was already moving.
[System Alert: Family Proximity to Threat – 1.2 km]
[Allied Entities: Civilian (Mother, Lira)]
[Temporary Protocol Override Approved – Combat Cloak Lifted]
He dropped from the rooftop onto the cracked street.
The time for hiding was over.
Nearby – Lyra, Standing at a Crossroads
She arrived two minutes later, panting, armor half-fastened, sword drawn.
Guild orders were clear:
"Observe. Report. Do not interfere unless the Unbound goes rogue."
But when she saw Riven cutting through three Ash Blades like smoke through glass?
She knew.
There was no rogue here.
Just a protector.
One the Guild would rather erase than acknowledge.
Street Level – Combat Sequence
Ash Blades converged, screaming battle chants that twisted the air:
"One World. One Order. End the System."
Riven stood in the center, his eyes glowing faint violet, system runes crawling across his blade.
[Skill Activated: Revenant Cross]
→ Unleash a cross-slash of shadow and flame.
→ If struck target is Systemless, deal bonus spiritual burn.
He slashed once—and four bodies dropped.
Another wave rushed.
He dropped low, spun, and activated Soul Echo—summoning the phantom of the Executioner-class assassin he killed days ago.
The ghost leapt forward, dual blades screaming.
Together, they held the line.
But the Herald?
Still hadn't moved.
System Interjection
[Memory Trigger Detected – Forbidden Memory Fragment Nearby]
[Origin: Kael – Status: Unscanned | Risk: Mental Sync Disruption]
[Proceed to Extract?]
[WARNING: Blood Herald proximity may interfere]
Riven didn't hesitate.
He pressed two fingers to the concrete beneath his feet.
A pulse of light exploded from the ground, revealing a hidden mana-stamped symbol buried beneath the street—his brother's mark.
[Extracting Memory Fragment: Kael_02.Eclipse]
[Estimated Sync: 42%]
He staggered.
Screams faded.
The battle dulled around him.
And the world shifted.
Memory Dive – Kael's Second Fragment
Location: Sealed Dungeon Gate – Unauthorized
Subject: Kael Kaelson (Tier 2 – Class: Blade Marshal)
Timestamp: 3 years before
Kael stood with two others.
One was a woman in red armor. The other was the same figure from Riven's first memory—the shadowed monster in human form.
But this time… Kael spoke a name.
"You think the system can contain him? He's not a boss. He's a goddamn Warden of Nihil."
The name echoed.
Warden of Nihil.
The figure laughed.
And the memory ended in static.
Present – Sector 13 Street, Mid-Battle
Riven gasped, falling to a knee.
[Memory Acquired: Kael_02.Eclipse – Fragment Incomplete]
[Keyword Unlocked: Warden of Nihil]
[System Reaction: Panic Protocols Engaged]
[Tier 3 Evolution Path Update – Sovereign Protocol: "Destroy or Bind a Warden Fragment"]
His hand trembled.
The air felt thinner.
The system itself seemed to flinch at the name.
And across the battlefield, the Blood Herald finally began to walk forward.
One step at a time.
Like a god testing gravity.
Lyra's Decision
She stood just behind Riven now, breathing hard, sword still sheathed.
The Guild's voice screamed in her ear:
"Stand down. Do not interfere. The Unbound is expendable."
But her eyes were on Riven—bloodied, silent, still standing between innocents and annihilation.
And she made her choice.
She stepped forward.
And drew her blade.
"I fight for him now."
Part 2: The Flame, the Sword, and the Gate
Location: Sector 13 – Ground Zero
The sky was bleeding.
Not with fire.
Not with light.
But with reality itself.
A rip had opened above the Guild outpost—air warping like fractured glass, space screaming without sound.
And from that tear… something began to reach through.
A Warden Fragment.
[Unregistered Entity Detected]
[Class: ???]
[Alignment: Unknown]
[System Sync: Rejected]
[Threat Level: Ungraded – Too High to Classify]
Even the Blood Herald paused.
Then, smiling beneath his mask, he knelt before the rip in space.
"Let them witness. Let the Unbound remember what they were made to kill."
Street Level – Riven and Lyra
Riven's hand trembled, not from fear—but from pressure.
The kind that even Tier 4 Hunters would collapse beneath.
Yet he stood.
Because behind him, civilians were fleeing.
Because beside him, Lyra raised her blade.
Because above them, something ancient and broken was entering their world.
[System Override Initiated – Unbound Protocol Opening Tier 3 Window]
[Revenant Sovereign – Partial Glimpse Available]
In his mind, a window opened.
And he saw himself:
Cloaked in armor of living memory
Eyes like burned-out stars
A blade on his back that spoke between worlds
But the system whispered a warning.
"You are not ready."
"But you no longer have the luxury of waiting."
Combat Begins – Blood Herald vs. Riven & Lyra
The Blood Herald stood, unsheathing a crimson spear glowing with chained runes.
"You've touched the Gate," he said. "That makes you mine."
Riven's body moved on instinct.
[Skill Activated: Revenant Cross – Chain Strike Mode]
→ Target lock: Multiple
→ Damage scales with soul instability
His blade carved three strikes in the air, each one rippling with black-red light.
The Herald dodged two. Blocked the third.
But still staggered.
[Impact: Blood Herald Barrier Integrity -13%]
Lyra surged in behind him, her sword sweeping low in Guild-form style—clean, sharp, righteous.
Together, they pushed him back.
But only for a moment.
Because the Herald laughed.
And then—he changed.
Enemy Evolution – Blood Herald Unleashed
The red halo on his hood flared.
Chains of light exploded from his arms, embedding into the street.
A voice that was not his own echoed from his body:
"One system falls. Another awakens. He is watching."
His flesh cracked.
His spear shattered.
And from his chest rose a core shard—pulsing with dark energy that didn't belong in this world.
[New Form Detected: Herald of the First Warden]
[Reality Pressure: Level 7]
[System Integrity Failing – Soul Stress Spiking]
Riven fell to one knee.
Blood leaked from his ears.
[Warning: Class Threshold Reached]
[Path to Revenant Sovereign Opening Prematurely]
Lyra screamed something behind him, but he couldn't hear.
The system drowned out everything else:
"Consume the Fragment."
"Step into the Sovereign's shadow."
"Or die."
Decision Point – Consuming the Fragment
The Warden Fragment tore fully through the sky now, dropping like a meteor of black crystal.
Riven's instincts screamed.
But something inside him moved.
Not fear.
Not rage.
Just… resolve.
He stepped forward.
And touched it.
System Reaction – Sovereign Path Engaged
[Forbidden Memory Absorbed – Fragment 1 of 3]
[Status: Partial Sync]
[System Integrity: Strained]
[Tier 3 Path Update: Revenant Sovereign – Progress 17%]
The world snapped back into focus.
And Riven rose.
His blade now pulsed with soul-bound fire.
The Revenant class reacted to the Warden's energy with hunger.
He slashed forward—
—And for the first time, cut through the Herald's core defense.
[Critical Hit Registered – Barrier Shattered]
[Enemy Injured: 41% Integrity Loss]
The Herald howled.
And vanished into the rip above, retreating with the words:
"Enjoy your evolution, little Sovereign. The Warden waits."
Aftermath
The sky sealed.
The rip collapsed.
But the streets were scorched.
The Guild arrived too late—cleanup, excuses, containment.
Lyra said nothing.
She just stood with Riven, breathing hard, sword still gripped, back-to-back.
Their bond was sealed in battle now—not romance, but trust.
And Riven?
He looked toward the sky.
Toward what came next.
Final System Notice
[Tier 3: Revenant Sovereign – Path Engaged]
[Next Requirement: Locate Gate of Silence – Contain or Destroy Second Forbidden Memory]
[Warning: System stability decreasing with each fragment consumed]
[Optional Directive: Find a Stabilizer Class Entity (Recommended if you wish to retain humanity)]
Riven exhaled.
"…So be it."