They moved quickly.
The encounter with Kael Draven had changed everything.
Not with words—there hadn't been many—but with weight. His presence. His confidence. His understanding of the Codex's path. He was further along than Kieran had anticipated, not in fragments, but in clarity.
And clarity in this world was power.
Three days passed in steady travel.
The terrain grew harsher. Flatlands gave way to jagged ridgelines and weather-worn cliffs. Black rock jutted from the earth like frozen waves. The trees were sparser here, twisted and gnarled, their leaves dark with absorbed mana.
The Codex had changed its tone.
[Crimson Depths Fragment – 4/7 Location Approaching]
[Trial Type: Ascension Gate]– Entry Requirement: Emotional Catalyst– Status: Dormant– Resonance: Split (Two candidates detected)
[Codex Note: Only one can activate the gate.]
Kieran stared at the message as he and Riven made camp beneath the overhang of a collapsed stone bridge.
"Split resonance," he murmured. "So either Kael or I can trigger the gate—but not both."
Riven sat beside him, her spear resting across her lap. "Then we beat him there."
He hesitated. "Or the Codex forces us to fight the moment one of us reaches it."
"Then you win," she said simply.
He looked at her—really looked. Riven's face was calm, eyes steady. Not blind faith. Not false optimism. Just belief. The kind forged in fire.
[Anchor Status: Emotional Trust Deepened][Shared Skill: Perception Sync (Lv. 2) – Duration increased to 25 sec.]
He exhaled. "Let's hope the Codex agrees."
The entrance to the Crimson Depths was found buried beneath the ruins of a cratered settlement—what had once been a mining town, now little more than charred foundations and shattered concrete.
The signal was faint.
The Codex vibrated low in Kieran's chest as they passed what had once been a well. Now it was sealed with a slab of obsidian stone, cracked but not broken.
Selene stood waiting near it.
"I expected you sooner," she said.
Kieran frowned. "You've been ahead of us?"
"I walk in shadows Codex users don't see," she replied, brushing a gloved hand over the stone seal. "This is where your fourth fragment waits."
"It's not active."
"Because it needs something from you first."
Kieran stepped closer. "What?"
Selene looked at him—truly looked, her eyes piercing. "A memory you don't want to face. Something unresolved. Regret. Guilt. The Codex won't open a path deeper unless you're willing to bleed internally."
Kieran swallowed hard.
"Like what I saw when I fought my echo in the first gate?"
She nodded. "Worse."
That night, Riven left to scout the area, giving Kieran time to think. Or perhaps, to face what the Codex demanded.
He sat alone beside the seal, the air still, too quiet.
And he thought of Liana.
His sister.
The photograph tucked in the pendant at his neck had begun to fade, the corners worn by time and fire. She'd died before the world ended. Before the Codex.
Because he'd been late.
Because he'd told himself five more minutes wouldn't matter.
"I never got to say goodbye," he whispered, clutching the necklace.
The Codex pulsed.
[Emotional Catalyst Detected]
[Trial Gate Activation: Crimson Depths – In Progress…]
[Warning: Presence Detected – External Entity Near Gate]
His head snapped up.
He wasn't alone.
Footsteps.
Not Kael—not heavy enough.
From the far side of the ruins, a figure emerged. Hooded. Cloaked in ragged black-gray. Their presence triggered no Codex alert—no danger ping. But something in Kieran's instincts screamed power.
He rose, blade forming in his palm.
The figure stopped ten meters away.
Then spoke.
"I wouldn't do that, if I were you."
The voice was soft, melodic. Feminine. But layered—like multiple voices speaking as one.
"Who are you?" Kieran demanded.
The hood was pulled back.
She was… young.
Or looked it.
Dark silver hair, eyes the color of old wine. A faint scar traced her jaw. She wore no visible weapon, no armor, yet the Codex responded to her.
[Unknown Entity – Codex Signature Masked]
[Status: Neutral / Unknown Intent]
[Caution: Potential Tier II+ resonance detected]
"I'm not your enemy," she said, stepping closer.
Kieran didn't lower his weapon. "Then why are you hiding your presence?"
"Because I'm hunted," she said simply. "Like you will be. Soon."
He hesitated. "You know about the Crimson Path?"
"I walked part of it," she said. "Then I walked away."
"…You can do that?"
Her smile was sad. "Only once."
He studied her. "Why are you here?"
She gestured to the seal. "That gate… it was opened before. Once. But the one who entered never came back. His Codex echoed for days after—until it went silent."
"So you're here to warn me?"
"No." She stepped forward slowly, hands raised. "I'm here to offer you help."
Kieran narrowed his eyes. "Why?"
"Because the other one—Kael—isn't just following the Codex," she said. "He's shaping it. Twisting it."
"What does that mean?"
She knelt by the edge of the seal and ran her fingers along a faint rune.
"It means your rival isn't just chasing the Crimson throne. He's building an army to claim it."
[Codex Alert – Crimson Rival Expansion Detected]
[Kael Draven has unlocked: Bloodlink Pact (1)]– Subordinates empowered through shared Codex influence
[Estimated Combat Strength: Tier II–]
Kieran swore.
The girl looked up. "You need allies. Not watchers. Not followers. People who understand the Codex."
"And you do?"
"I was born into it," she said. "My name is Ashen Lyel. My Codex path was sealed at birth."
Kieran met her gaze.
And this time… he believed her.