The Freya temple is serene and loud with whispered calculations. Their scholars thank me and the shard is locked in a cabinet with prayer cloths. For a moment I feel safe.
The system pings and an unfamiliar menu appears, personal and formal.
[SYSTEM NOTICE]: Binding complete. Guide evolution unlocked. Effect: Echo Sense, passive. Cost: one grace token.
I realize Oren used the grace token we earned, and the charm worked beyond cheap metal. The guide has changed. It no longer floats like a paper lantern. It anchors, its light settling into a steady pulse that I can feel against my skin.
Echo Sense hums in the back of my skull. The city filters like a map. Weaknesses and wind tunnels and the places where sound gathers show as soft blips. For the first time I do not feel blind in Ōlari. I can hear the city in a way that feels like power and like a leash.
The Freya scholars nod at their results and then a messenger whispers something to their captain. Eyes move to me. I am glad yet I am tense. The recruiter appears in the doorway like a bad thought.
"You took the safe path," he says. "Freya will guard you, for a price. Now you are listed, and those ledgers travel. There are blessings and chains sometimes with the same ink."
He steps closer and his voice lowers. "One more thing. The shard you found draws attention upward. Some old Familias consider it a sign to wake. Keep it quiet, or the city will find you before you find yourself."
I feel the weight of new chains, thin as thread and heavy as iron. Echo Sense thuds, marking a spike on the map to the north. The system labels it briefly: Unknown Signal, High Priority.
Note: initial legacy activation window set to 7 days. Cause: initial ledger resonance detected.
Cliffhanger: As I look up, a flare blooms in the northern sky, and for a second the whole city tips toward a sound like the beginning of war.
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