The alley swallowed him like fog.
No hesitation. No second glance. Just that nod —as if to say: Come with me if you want to keep breathing.
I followed.
The city noise faded with every step, replaced by a sound I couldn't explain — not quite a whisper, not quite silence. Like something listening, just below the skin of the world.
The alley twisted unnaturally.Longer than it should be.Too many turns for a single block.
Graffiti peeled off the walls like dead skin. Shadows clung to brick as if alive.
And at the end of the path—
A door. Black wood. Bone handle.No sign. No lock. Just a symbol scratched into the surface:
The Gravebound do not die. They remember.
He was waiting beside it.
The man from the street. Closer now, I saw his eyes — too quiet for someone still sane. Like they'd watched too many people fall and learned to stay silent.
"You're fresh," he said.His voice was dry, but calm. Like gravel under wind."No scars yet. No grave rot. How long were you down there?"
I hesitated. "…One night."
He smirked. "Then you're lucky. The first night kills most."
I glanced at the bone pendant around his neck. It shimmered faintly in the dim light, like it was pulsing in sync with his heartbeat.
He noticed.
"You see it, huh?" he said. "Then yeah. You're one of us."
[Returner Encountered: Elias – Rank: Binder, Class: Tombwarden]
He opened the door.
Inside: dark candles, maps with red thread, walls lined with shovels, urns, and blackbooks.A woman in the corner muttered to herself, stitching something into a human jawbone.A boy sat shaking in a chair, his eyes completely white.
Elias motioned for me to enter.
"Welcome to the Bastion," he said."Everyone in this room has seen the Deadzone. And everyone who hasn't is either about to… or already dead and doesn't know it yet."
I stepped inside.
And the door locked behind me.
[Location Discovered: The Bastion – Safehouse of the Gravebound]
Returners gather here to trade knowledge, rituals, and survival tips.
Factions begin to form here.
Beware: Not all Returners are sane.
Elias sat across from me. Laid out a map of the city.But over it, another layer—marked with red zones, graveyards, faded tomb symbols.
"The Deadzone bleeds," he said. "It leaks into our world. Every grave left open becomes a crack. Every unburied soul calls to them."
"To the Fogwalkers?"
He shook his head.
"No. Worse."
He tapped a spot on the map.A familiar place.
My apartment block.
"You've got one following you already, don't you?" he said. "I can smell her on your skin."
I froze.
"You think the whisper stops when you wake up?" Elias leaned forward. "They cling. Every soul you bury leaves something behind. If you don't handle it, it handles you."
⚠️ [New Threat: Haunting Fragment Detected]
If not purged, the first buried soul will slowly merge with the host.
Risk: Corruption – 7%
New Ritual Available: "Memory Burn" – Learn the first haunting's full story… and choose whether to free it, bind it, or let it rot.
I looked at him.
"What do I have to do?"
Elias didn't answer immediately.
He just stood, crossed the room, and opened a drawer filled with letters, trinkets, and half-burned photographs.
He pulled out a lighter.
And a picture of a girl I'd never seen before.
He handed both to me.
"You'll need fire," he said. "And truth. But only one of them hurts."