Kael awoke not with a jolt, but a slow, shuddering breath. The cold floor beneath him was gone, replaced by a soft, woven mat smelling faintly of cedar and smoke. His eyes adjusted to warm torchlight filtering through a stone chamber carved with ancient runes — the Sanctuary of Threads.
A low hum buzzed beneath the surface of the air, as if reality itself was stitched together here.
[Thread Nexus Identified]
Soul Stability: 62%
Mental Integrity: Stabilizing... 74%
Kael sat up slowly. His body ached from the trial, but it was different now. The pain wasn't weakness — it was grounding. Real.
He glanced down at his arm. The silver threads from the mirror world were now etched into his flesh like glowing tattoos, shifting faintly with his emotions. They pulsed gently, in rhythm with his heartbeat.
He wasn't alone anymore. Part of her — Lyria's memory — now resonated within him. Not as a ghost, but as a promise. A bond.
The heavy door creaked open.
A tall figure entered — robed in layered silk embroidered with celestial glyphs. Her eyes shimmered like twin galaxies, and her voice was both ancient and amused.
"You woke up faster than expected."
Kael didn't answer. He simply studied her, guarded.
She tilted her head. "You're not used to surviving, are you?"
He narrowed his eyes. "Who are you?"
"Your handler. For now." She stepped closer, producing a small pendant in the shape of an hourglass pierced by a thread. "You can call me Irelia."
Her presence was impossible to read — serene yet sharp, like a sword veiled in velvet. She handed him the pendant.
"This marks you as a Threadbearer in training. Don't lose it. Or do — it won't matter. Your soul's already marked."
Kael took it hesitantly. "What now?"
"Now," Irelia said, walking toward the far wall where an intricate loom stood spinning threads into a tapestry of shifting constellations, "you begin the real tests."
She gestured, and the tapestry shimmered, revealing dozens of floating islands suspended in a sea of stars. Some burned with conflict, others pulsed with eerie silence.
"One of these realms holds the next Fragment of your Soul. To reclaim it, you must enter a Veil Rift and survive the Anchor Trial."
Kael's jaw tightened. "Why are these fragments even scattered?"
Irelia looked over her shoulder, her eyes darkening. "Because your soul was ripped apart, Kael. Not by fate, but by design."
[System Access Expanded]
Unlocked: Veil Rift Navigation
New Objective: Reclaim Soul Fragment – "Aspect of Grief"
Location: Shattered Isle – Veil Rift No. 73B
Kael clenched his fists. "Then I'll reclaim every piece. No matter what it takes."
Irelia smirked faintly. "Good. You'll need that resolve where you're going."
Elsewhere — Deep Within the Threads of Fate
In a void where light dared not touch, a figure stirred. Wrapped in decaying threads, it watched Kael through a fracture in the weave of time.
"So… he survived the First Reflection."
Its voice was a hiss carried on entropy.
"Let him gather his pieces. When he is whole again… I will break him properly."
And then it vanished into the dark — where forgotten gods wept and dead hopes lingered.