I bind you, Maren.Not out of cruelty.But because I need to survive. And I think… so do you.
The words weren't spoken aloud.But the system heard them.
The lighter flared—then died.The smoke from the burned photo twisted upward and spiraled around my chest, forming a jagged symbol just above my heart.
It felt like being branded with cold fire.
[You have bound the soul of Maren.]
Status: Restless Companion – Dormant Phase
Class: Wraithbound
Trait Gained: "Lingering Presence" – The soul may manifest during extreme emotional states or mortal danger.
Locked Skills:
"Wraithsense" – See the echoes of recent deaths
"Grave Whispers" – Hear nearby buried memories
"Soul Shackle" – Bind target's movement through spectral tether
Risk: Bound soul retains its own will. Loyalty must be earned.
[Corruption Threshold: 8%]
I exhaled.
The air had gone still.Elias watched me with an unreadable look, one hand on the hilt of a knife made from gravestone shards.
"She's yours now," he said finally. "For better or worse."
"Can she talk?"
Elias shrugged. "Only if she wants to."
I turned slightly. The air behind me shimmered — and for the briefest second, I saw her.
Maren.
Standing quietly in the corner of the Bastion.No more stitches on her mouth. Just wide, watching eyes.Her lips didn't move — but in my mind, I heard her voice.
"I don't know if I hate you… but I'm not gone."
And then she faded.
Elias motioned toward the map again.
"We don't have time," he said. "You've bonded a soul — that makes you visible to the Gravebound network."
"Network?"
"There are more of us. Dozens. Maybe hundreds. All across the city. Some want to survive. Others… want to control the Deadzone. Or worse—merge it with this world completely."
He pointed at several marks on the map.
"There's a man called Victor Pale. Calls himself The First Digger. Claims he found the Deadzone before the Shatter happened. He's building a Grave Cult in the east. Binding souls by the dozens. Not all of them willing."
My hands clenched.
"I want you to infiltrate it," Elias said. "You're unknown. Fresh. Powerful. If he recruits you, we might learn how deep this rot goes."
✅ [Main Quest: Shadows Beneath the Church]
Objective: Infiltrate the Grave Cult under Victor Pale.
Subtask: Survive the Binding Rite without losing control.
Reward: Access to "Tomb Channel" — a forgotten power channel between graves and souls.
Warning: Victor knows how to bind more than just the dead.
Before I could speak, Maren's whisper returned, cold and sharp in the back of my mind.
"Don't trust the man with white eyes."
I looked at Elias.
His eyes were grey.
But for a moment…Just a flicker…
They looked white.