Graven Hollow faded into the fog behind him.
Kael moved under cover of dawn, slipping through the narrow frost-worn trails that cut between old mining veins and half-buried ruins. The battle with the null-faced had left him cold and restless, even though the body still hadn't started to rot.
Too clean.
Too divine.
He didn't like how quiet the blade had gone since.
The system, though—it hadn't stayed silent.
Soulweight: 29Status: Evolution Threshold ApproachingTrait Integration Queued: Silent Mind (Complete)Resonance Pulse Stable[Notice]: New Path Option Unlocked: Fragment EchoFurther interaction may destabilize host integrity.
Kael didn't understand half the words. Fragment Echo? Host integrity? The terms felt clinical, detached. Not the whispers he first heard when the blade had bound itself to him.
He pushed it all aside.
The town of Mirefold was only a day's hike east. A minor trading post at the edge of Church influence. He needed to disappear somewhere—buy supplies, find a quiet place to rest, think, bleed if needed.
He walked until the trees began to thin and the trail leveled out into muddy ground and splintered wood bridges. The snow lessened here, traded for fog and rot.
Mirefold was barely a town. More like a cluster of moldy huts tied together by planks and desperation. The river nearby was black with runoff, choked with dead things.
Kael paid no attention to the stares. He looked like a vagrant, maybe a mercenary. Good. That meant no one would ask questions.
He stepped into the nearest tavern, a crooked structure with a single hearth and more shadows than customers.
The innkeeper barely glanced up. "Room or drink?"
"Room," Kael said. "And quiet."
The man grunted and tossed him a key.
Kael climbed the rotting stairs and locked the door behind him.
That night, the dream came again.
But it wasn't fire or blood.
It was a door.
Massive. Stone. Sealed by chains not made of metal, but thought. The blade was in his hand, but it felt heavier—older.
And something behind that door was breathing.
Slow. Deep. Timeless.
Kael reached for the handle.
The Ledger interrupted.
[Warning: Internal Fragment Conflict Detected]Soulweight: 29 → 30Minor Evolution Unlocked: Shadow CoreAbility Gained: Phantom StepInstability Risk: ElevatedAuto-Integration Commencing…
He gasped awake.
The room was dark, window cracked.
His chest was slick with sweat.
And his hand was already gripping the blade.
It hovered inches above his chest—drawn on instinct.
He forced his breathing to slow.
The blade didn't move.
But the message still lingered in his mind.
Shadow Core confirmed.You are no longer unseen.You are being watched.
Kael sat up, stared at the edge of the room.
There was no one there.
And yet—he could feel it.
A pressure. Not from outside.
From beneath.
Beneath the skin. Beneath the thoughts. Watching him from within the blade.
In the morning, he left without eating.
As he walked toward the eastern road, a child ran past him—barefoot, feral, clutching a dead bird.
Kael didn't react.
But the child stopped ten paces ahead. Turned.
Their eyes were pure black. No whites. No irises. Just void.
The child grinned.
And spoke in a voice not their own:
"You wear it better than the last one."
Then turned and vanished down the alley.
Kael stood still for a long time.
He didn't draw the blade.
This time, he didn't need to.