The ground trembled beneath our feet. Vel grabbed my arm, her silver eyes glowing with glyph-light as the forgotten Mechanarch's roar echoed behind us.
"Don't stop running," she said. "It feeds on hesitation."
We sprinted through the ancient corridors, the path shifting with every step. Cracks in the walls oozed purple mist, and ghostly glyphs blinked in and out of view.
> [System Notice: You have entered a Variable Dungeon Zone]
Effects: Map instability, Memory Fragmentation, Time Displacement possible.
A scream—not mine—echoed from behind. Then a second voice joined it. Not human. Something deeper. Older.
I turned a corner and saw it. The Mechanarch.
A towering golem of silver and rust, its head shaped like a crown of blades, and its chest exposed—a nest of whispering gears and blood-red flame.
> [BOSS DETECTED: Mechanarch of the Forgotten Vault]
Level: ???
Class: Time-Drained Warden
Status: Hostile / Non-System Entity / Forbidden Construct
Vel summoned a crescent blade from a ripple of light. "I'll hold it. You unlock the next path."
"But—"
"Go, Kael. You're the only one who can hear the next echo."
---
I ran.
A door waited at the end of the corridor—half-formed, flickering like it existed in multiple times.
I pressed my hand against it.
> [SYSTEM RESONANCE ACTIVATED]
Identifying Compatible Key...
Trait Response: [Dream-Echo Instinct] > Synchronizing...
New Trait Unlocked: [Shadowflame Resilience]
Effect: Reduces damage from Forbidden-type and Memory-linked entities. Increases Echo Sync Rate by 15%.
The door melted into light, revealing a spiral sanctuary of mirrored walls.
In the center: another me.
He was older. Wounded. And smiling.
"You made it," he said. "Then there's still time."
> [FORBIDDEN ECHO IDENTIFIED]
Designation: Kael Virdane – Potential Timeline Δ-Seven
Class: Flamewoven Revenant – Lv. 91
Status: Memory Fragment / Echo Transmission Only
"I failed," he said. "You must not. The Mechanarch is just a herald. The real war hasn't begun."
Then he raised his hand—and passed something glowing into mine.
A shard of crimson metal. Burning with two lights: one of flame, one of void.
> [INHERITANCE ITEM RECEIVED: Ember of the Broken Oath]
Item Type: Class Catalyst (Unique)
The older Kael faded.
Vel burst through the light doorway behind me, cloak scorched, blade cracked.
"We have to leave now," she gasped. "This place is collapsing."
I nodded, clutching the ember.
And behind us, the walls began to scream.