The night air had turned thick, not with heat, but with pressure. Each gust from the ruins carried motes of data like ash—flickering across Kael's vision as silent lines of forgotten code.
Silica leaned against the temple wall, sword across her lap. "You haven't moved in hours," she murmured.
Kael stood motionless, eyes closed, but the storm inside him raged.
Because the System hadn't stopped.
🟨 System Notification:
Class Evolution Pending…
Multiple Class Paths Detected:
🟩 — Origin Caster
🟩 — System Heretic
🟩 — Architect Reclaimer
🟪 — Echo Rewriter (LOCKED: Requires Core Memory – SHADOW)
🟦 Current Status: Evolution paused. User has not selected a path.
🟥 Warning: Delayed choice increases anomaly risk.
He stood between past and future—between who he was and who he feared he might become.
"Kaelum Ardentis," he whispered.
The name wasn't just a memory. It was a title engraved across dimensions. And now, it called to him from the forgotten reaches of the System's heart.
🟥 ALERT: UNAUTHORIZED IDENTITY RECALL.
🟥 SYSTEM MEMORY BINDING REVERSED.
Then, as if pulled by force, Kael was dragged—mind-first—into a construct of raw code.
∎
He stood within a white void where time stalled. Before him, three fractured panels floated.
Each showed a version of himself.
The Origin Caster walked among ruins, rewriting laws of mana.
The System Heretic burned system nodes, his body engraved with rebellion.
The Architect Reclaimer rebuilt fragments of a lost world, eyes full of sorrow and fire.
But the fourth path… Echo Rewriter… flickered and faded.
Kael reached for it.
🟪 SYSTEM OVERRIDE:
Class [Echo Rewriter] is sealed by Administrator Order.
Source Lock: Architect's Shadow
A shadow formed behind the panel.
His own silhouette. Wearing a broken mask. A thread of gold cutting his throat in a perfect loop.
"You don't deserve that path," the Shadow said. "You abandoned your code once. You'll abandon it again."
Kael stepped forward, hand trembling.
"I didn't abandon it. I chose to forget it—to protect what I couldn't control."
The Shadow raised its hand.
🟥 SYSTEM NOTICE:
Engraver Conflict Imminent.
Matching Class Signature Detected: [Echo Variant]
"You are not ready," the Shadow intoned.
Kael gritted his teeth.
"Then make me ready."
∎
The vision shattered. Kael staggered, returning to the ruined temple. Silica caught him before he fell.
"Kael—what the hell happened?!"
He looked up, eyes glowing with system sigils.
"No more running."
🟩 System Update:
Class Evolution Commencing…
Chosen Path: Origin Caster
⏳ Estimated Completion: 3 chapters
🟦 New Quest Unlocked: "Face the Shadow"
Objective: Defeat the Echo that remembers what you destroyed.
🟦 Reward: Partial Unlock of [Echo Rewriter]
∎
Far away, the Architect's Shadow stood on a tower of collapsed thoughts.
"So… he chose evolution over memory."
He turned, cloak dissolving into glyphs.
"Then let him forget what he once was. I will remind him."
🟥 SYSTEM DIRECTIVE:
Echo Purge Phase I – BEGIN
∎
💬 Author's Note from Talent Engraver:
Kael's Class Evolution is finally underway! And his confrontation with the Architect's Shadow is no longer optional. The final arc of Volume 3 is taking shape!
If you've enjoyed this chapter, please:
📝 Leave a review and drop your thoughts in the comment section!
❤️ Like the chapter to help it grow!
🧠 And join the community on Discord for sneak peeks and lore drops:
➡️ https://discord.gg/37x52Y8d
Next up: Chapter 34 – "Purging the Past"