The chamber pulsed with raw energy. The Sentinel Forge had accepted Lucian's essence, and in doing so, awakened something far older than he had expected.
The circular platform beneath his feet cracked slightly as glowing veins of ethereal light webbed outward, engraving archaic runes into the steel itself. The ambient noise—a dull hum of old machinery—turned into a rhythmic thrum like a heartbeat. His heartbeat. Or perhaps… something else's.
[System Update: Access to Sub-System 'Echo of Origin' granted.][New Progression Path Unlocked: Mythbound Constructs.][Warning: The Cradle stirs.]
Lucian blinked. The Cradle?
Before he could ask, the room trembled. The air thickened, shimmering with pressure. Then, as if space itself peeled apart, a gateway of light opened in the heart of the chamber.
A figure stepped through.
It wasn't human.
The being was tall, armored in silver plates that shifted like liquid metal. No face—only a helm shaped like a wolf's skull, eyes burning crimson. In one hand, it held a spear whose tip hummed with untold force. The other arm bore a shield formed from a fractal of hexagonal shards.
Lucian tensed. His system flared in alarm.
[WARNING: Entity registered as 'Warden of the Cradle – Phase 1: Vritra Shell'.][Estimated Threat Level: S+][Recommendation: Do not engage.]
Yet the Warden didn't attack. It tilted its head slowly, regarding Lucian as if measuring something deeper than just power.
A voice echoed—not from the being, but from all around.
"Bearer of the Unformed Code. The Cradle recognizes your step upon its bones. Speak your purpose."
Lucian steadied his breath.
"I seek the Ascension Protocol," he said clearly. "I intend to rise beyond the limits. To rewrite what defines us. To reach where even gods falter."
There was silence.
Then, the voice again:
"The Protocol may only be awakened by one who understands entropy… and embraces creation. You wield one, but deny the other."
Lucian narrowed his eyes. "Then I'll learn. Show me."
The room answered not with words but light. The platform descended, and Lucian was taken deeper—beneath the Forge, into a vast underground network of tunnels, crystalline nodes and data streams swirling like rivers of starlight.
As he descended, he opened his system map. A new zone appeared:
Location Discovered: The Cradle of Steel.
Status: Unmapped
Inhabitants: Unknown
Resources: ???
Risk: MAXIMUM
Objectives:
Unlock the 3 Forges
Solve the Singularity Enigma
Uncover the 'Prime Catalyst'
Survive
He chuckled dryly. "Survive." Sure. That's always the plan, isn't it?"
But the air changed again as he stepped off the platform and into the Cradle proper.
The first thing he noticed: silence.
Not absence of sound—but silence as pressure. As if every footstep echoed into the bones of the world, and something heard. Something listening.
His system pinged softly:
[Passive Triggered: Dimensional Attunement – You are now partially synched with Cradle Frequency.][You are not alone.]
He summoned Argent Edge to his hand.
No sooner had he gripped the weapon than a shadow moved across the wall.
Lucian reacted instantly, throwing himself sideways as a slash of dark matter cleaved through where he had stood. A creature emerged—no, formed—from the very wall. Amorphous at first, then taking the shape of a humanoid with elongated limbs and burning green eyes.
[Enemy Identified: Cradle Shade – Type: Echo Remnant][Level: ??? | Weakness: Unknown][Special Effect: Immune to Physical-based skills for 30 seconds after emerging.]
Lucian didn't hesitate.
Instead of attacking directly, he focused inward.
[Skill Activated: Shift Matrix – Temporal Phantom][You have created a time-delayed clone for 4 seconds. All aggro transferred.]
The clone sprinted forward, drawing the Shade's attention. Lucian used the moment to dash into cover and scan the creature.
[System Insight: Its core is unstable. Light-based arcana may disrupt its cohesion.]
He snapped his fingers.
[Item Retrieved: Prism Sparkbomb (1x) – Tier 3 Light Arcana Explosive.]
He rolled it from cover, and with a flash like a dying sun, the shade screamed and evaporated.
Lucian exhaled.
[EXP Gained: +8,000][Skill Proficiency: Light Resistance +0.4%][Trait Awakening Progress: 27% – Echo Synchronization.]
His system chimed again.
[You are adapting.][Trait Unlocked: Echo Resonance – You may now absorb the final memory of Cradle entities.][Warning: Memory Overload is possible.]
Lucian blinked. "Absorb memory?"
A translucent orb floated where the Shade died. He reached out—and was instantly plunged into a vision.
He stood, not as Lucian, but as another being. A man in black armor, screaming orders. Around him, machines—towering giants—fought against serpentine creatures of void energy.
The Cradle was whole then. Bright. Alive.
But they were losing.
A last command echoed in his mind: Seal the Core. Lock it in the Echo Chain. No one must awaken the Ascension Seed until the world is ready.
Lucian gasped as the vision ended. Sweat clung to his brow.
[Memory Fragment Absorbed: Commander Iskhar – Last Day of the Cradle War.][New Quest Unlocked: Echo Chain Protocol – Part 1.]
Objective: Locate the First Seal Chamber.
The deeper Lucian went, the more the Cradle unfolded like a living labyrinth. Pathways opened only when he remembered the visions, as though the place responded to memory more than presence.
Every chamber was a riddle. One tested logic with paradoxes carved in crystal glyphs. Another demanded he feel emotions long buried: grief, fury, joy. He wept without knowing why—and the wall slid open in response.
In one such room, he met her.
A girl sat in silence, seemingly no older than twelve. White hair. No eyes—just runes burned into where they should be. She wore a gown of layered data sheets and whispered to herself in code.
Lucian approached cautiously. "Who are you?"
She tilted her head. "You are not fragmented. You are whole."
"…Not sure that's true," he muttered.
She smiled faintly. "You carry the Spark. The one the Warden failed to break. I am Aetheriel."
The name struck something within him. Familiar. Painfully so.
Before he could speak, she continued.
"I am the Cradle's first child. And its last guardian. You will need my help if you intend to survive the next descent."
Lucian felt a pressure behind those words.
[NPC Registered: Aetheriel – Sentient Echo][Bond Status: Neutral | Hidden Affinity Trait Detected.][She knows more about you than you realize.]
"Why help me?" he asked.
"Because the Protocol is waking. And when it does, so will he."
Lucian's pulse quickened. "Who?"
She only whispered one word:
"Ragnar."