The white eyes pierced the darkness beyond Soren's door, their glow cold and unyielding, like the Forgotten's gaze. The hum screamed in his ears, a wrathful pulse of something vaster, drowning out the fading "Unbound, you'll break or become." His Shadow Echo flared, crimson eyes blazing, knife trembling in his grip. The chill of Corruption—now 65%—gnawed at his core, like a beast twisting his mother's shadow into a void. Someone wants me dead. The door creaked, but the shadows vanished, leaving only silence. The hum whispered: They're not gone.
Morning light barely touched the Citadel's storm-heavy spires. Veyra gathered Soren and Mira in the Hall of Runes, her runic armor bloodstained, her Wolf Echo pacing with courage fraying at the edges. Kai's absence—still confined, despite Torren's clearance—hung heavy, his crimson rune a lingering thorn in Soren's hum. Mira's Lightveil glowed faintly, her gentle eyes clouded with fear. "Those white eyes… they weren't Echoes," she whispered, her hand brushing Soren's, stirring Lila's fierce loyalty in his mind, her pendant a weight in his satchel. I'll come back stronger.
Commander Torren's scarred face was a mask of suspicion. "The vaults are waking," he growled. "Something's calling the Forgotten. You three, find it—now." His gaze lingered on Soren, the hum prickling with distrust. "Unbound, your Corruption's a risk. Don't lose control."
The deepest vault was a crypt of stone and shadow, air thick with dust and wrath. The crimson runes pulsed, their wrongness a blade in Soren's senses. Veyra led, her Wolf sniffing the dark, while Mira's Lightveil lit the path, her calm a fragile anchor. Soren's Echo Pulse sensed vibrations—something alive, something ancient—deep within. What's calling me?
A roar shattered the silence, not mechanical but primal. A Forgotten Wraith emerged—an Echo of lost memories, its form a towering specter of jagged bone and shadow, with glowing white eyes pulsing like dying stars. Its wrath hit like a storm, mother's shadow twisting—"Soren, fight." Soren's Shadow surged, crimson eyes blazing, but the Wraith's bone claws slashed, forcing him back. Pain seared, Corruption spiking: 70%. It's breaking me.
"Spread out!" Veyra shouted, her Wolf lunging, claws sparking against bone. The Wraith's eyes flared, knocking her Wolf back, Veyra's courage crumbling. Mira's Lightveil swept in, a golden wave easing Soren's chill. "Stay with me," she urged, her voice trembling but firm, echoing Lila's Stay alive. Soren nodded, his Shadow Bind restraining the Wraith's arm, but it broke free, its white eyes locking on him.
The hum roared, mother's shadow screaming—"Hold on, Soren." He focused, Echo Pulse guiding his Shadow to the Wraith's core, a pulsing rune of white fire. Shadow Slash struck, carving deep, but the Wraith's claws grazed his chest, blood dripping. Corruption burned: 75%. I'm losing myself. Mira's Lightveil burned brighter, weakening the Wraith's runes. Veyra's Wolf tore at its flank, giving Soren an opening. He drove his Shadow deeper, Echo Ward deflecting a claw, absorbing a fragment of the Wraith's essence. Vertigo hit, but strength surged, his Bone Armor hardening.
The Wraith wailed, dissolving into wisps, leaving a glowing white shard on the floor. Soren touched it, his status flickering:
Name: Soren Vey
Echo Affinity: Grief (Tier 2 - Volatile)
Resonance Points: 110/200
Skills: Emotional Echo (Passive), Shadow Slash (Active), Echo Pulse (Basic), Shadow Bind (Basic)
Traits: Bone Armor (+25% Defense), Resonance Sense (Basic), Echo Ward (Basic)
Corruption Risk: 75%
Tier 2 cap broken? The hum sharpened, his Resonance Sense mapping the vault's runes, but the chill deepened, like a void devouring his mother's shadow. What am I becoming?
Veyra clutched her side, panting. "That Wraith… it's tied to the Forgotten. Someone's waking them." Mira's Lightveil dimmed, her eyes wide. "The white shard—it's like Kai's rune, but… older." Soren gripped the shard, its wrath echoing the hum. Is Kai waking these things?
Torren stormed in, guards at his heels. "You stopped it, but the vaults are unstable." His suspicion cut through the hum. "The traitor's close. Unbound, you're on lockdown until we find them." Soren's heart sank—lockdown? Mira's hand squeezed his, her calm a fleeting comfort.
That night, confined to his cell, the hum was a storm. The white shard haunted him—Kai's rune, the Wraith, the Forgotten. Mira's Stay with me clashed with Lila's pendant, its vow heavy. I'll come back stronger. But Corruption pulsed, like a void swallowing his soul.
A pulse rocked the cell, not a scream but a call—ancient, commanding. Shadows writhed below, their white eyes flaring, not one but dozens, moving as one. A voice hissed, "Unbound, you'll open the gate." Soren's Shadow flared, crimson eyes glowing, but the hum screamed: The Forgotten are rising.