My senses ignite one by one—young tune of clashing steel in the distance, the bitter taste of blood and electricity, the distant pounding of my own heart against the walls of my skull, a second heartbeat. I open my eyes, and the world erupts into sharp brilliance: I'm sprawled out on a frosty slab of obsidian, silver light running like veins of rock. My breathing is heavy; each inhalation is metallic.
Overhead, broken pillars soar into shadow.Above me. Five columns still stand — it each has a mystic symbol I can't yet read — and the other five are in rubble, smoke-tinged. Torches flicker on the walls, throwing light and shadow in a merry dance about the massive chamber. It's an ocean of raw magic and the air shimmers with it.
Then the HUD comes on, intersecting with my field of view:
LINK ACTIVE Territory "LINK ACTIVE"領域属性 Effect Monster (No other card are on the side of the Field Zone in the same column) While there are no cards other than this card on the side of the Field Zone this card is in, this card's Field Zone cannot be destroyed by your opponent's card effects. Your opponent cannot use the cards in the Field Zone that are in the same column as this card.دهج:jخThis card's name becomes "Majestic Dragon" while on the field or in the Graveyard.
Vitality ▏▇▏▏▏▏
Strength ▏▇▏▏▏▏
Chaos Stability ▏▏▏▏▏▏
01:58:37 until System Link expires
Quest #1 – First Mutation You must defeat the Ashborn Imp and extract its Emberheart Core.
A rush of vertigo comes over me. My fingers twitch—bones of iron all new and strong tingling with potential. I attempt to sit up, but fatigue knocks me back.
A gentle step sounds from behind me. I tilt my head and spy a woman emerging from the darkness: silver-white hair, clipped to her chin, and pale violet eyes that spark with determination. She has filigree-etched armor that glows a soft starlight hue.
"Good, you're awake," she says, calmly yet urgently. She's on her knees next to me, feeling for my pulse in my neck. "I'm Lirael Starforge—your Heart‑Anchor Technician."
My throat feels raw. I croak, "Where… am I?"
"Elyndros," she says, holding a cloth to my side. I wince — there's a Band-Aid over my ribs. "You connected to the System two hours back. The ritual nearly killed you. I saved what was left of your humanity."
Shock snaps through me. "You… saved me?"
She smiles, lips turning up and then down again. I dared the Void Rift to pull you here. Your life is mine, Kairo Vale." I feel her brush a hair from my face. Her fingers are cool to the touch on my skin—a touchstone in this mess.
I force myself to stand. The muscles burn, but the bars of the System pulse a little under my skin, giving me power. "Where's home?" I ask, voice steadier now.
She rises, pointing out into the broken pillars. "This is the Sanctuary of the Fallen—a former fort, now waystation. We call it the Aegis Vault. Below that is the Underbelly, but that's another story. "At the moment, running you down is all we have to work with."
From the ground, an earthquake quake is sent out. Distant roars—metal on metal. "They're on the walls already," Lirael replies, her forehead furrowing. "The Void Legion's scouting parties."
I taste adrenaline. My first command: survive. My second: fight.
Lirael takes my arm and guides me at pace towards a broad archway. The world outside is an orgy in ruin, rolling fields of ash, blackened trees raised to claw at a bruised sky, and far off in the distance, jagged mountains crowned with lightning. Huge hot-bellied warmachines-half-dragon, half-tank-crawled the horizon. Smoke twined from their stacks, consuming all that moved.
My heart clenches. And we're not in a fairy-tale world. It's a battlefield.
An unmistakable red beam flashes across my HUD: "NEW LOCATION – AEGIS VAULT PERIMETER."
"Welcome to Elyndros," Lirael murmurs. "My home—once. Now it is one of the final bastions against the Legion."
I swallow. "Then we're already behind."
She nods. "They smashed down the outer gates an hour ago. The Shield Wardens are trying to keep them at bay, but these pillars are the heart of the vault's protections. As long as five remain, the rift onslaught can be deterred."
I take in the pillars — symbols glowing dimly: a heart on fire, a skull obscured by darkness, a broken crown. My vision focuses on the skull: the Sigil of Death. The pillar beneath it is so off-kilter that it already has spider web cracks running from the bottom.
Lirael follows my gaze. "It's weakening. We need to reinforce it."
I take a quick look at my HUD—Chaos Stability 10%. A mutation at this time could make me mad. But the pillars are that which sheltereth us.
All doubts seem to ^shrink As her voice cuts into my soul. "Come with me," she says to me, leading me down a grated stairway. The footsteps resound, counting down to war.
When the tides rise and fall, they will crash against the ramparts of Shield Wardens in argent armor. I don hulking churls and riders of bone, banners of shadow flapping in the breeze. Wardens form phalanxes, blades gleaming.
A single Warden — a woman with ash‑white hair — begins shouting orders, raising morale along the line. She's Kairo Vale's old O.G. instincts: leadership indelibly marked in every taut line of her body.
My blood surges. "That's Commander Sylene," Lirael whispers. "She taught me all the vault protocols. She'll need backup."
"Then let's give it to her." I hold the hilt of my plasma blade tightly. It hums to life, shrouded in blue-white light.
Lirael touches my arm. "Wait—your link expires soon. If you join now you could snap right in half."
I look at the HUD: 00:59:22. My time is nearly half gone.
Pressure coils in my chest. The defenses of the vault will fall if they are left unsupported. My decision echoes through every cell: assist now, risk collapse; wait, lose the vault.
I meet her eyes. "I'm doing it."
She exhales, fierce. "You follow my lead, then — keep the Death Pillar protected. I'll stabilize the connection while you distract them."
I cross between the battlements, nodding. Down on earth, CommanderSylene makes eye contact with me and jabs a finger into the broken Death Pillar. I lift my sword, shout in my booming voice: "Hither!"
Survivors and defenders on the turret rows cheer me. Two at a time I climb down the crenelations. Voidspawn surge, their hisses clashing against steel. I dive into the fray.
My swords flares its first jack armor bramble - plasma searing bone. I twist out, vault over a skeletal rider's flank and tear his sword from its hand. Sparks rain as we collide. He's swinging; I'm dodging and gutting him. His form disintegrates into ash.
Around me, the wave of darkness is closing in on the pillar. I spin and plant my foot in its caved-in base, and wail an ancient battle wail. I drive my sword into the dirt transferring energy into the ground. The pillar's runes flare, blasting the Voidspawn in a concussive wave.
Chaos Stability 5%.My HUD flickers. My vision shimmers, borders darkening. I grit my teeth.
Radio Lirael, I'm still picking up her voice in my ear there's no real auditory mode but the System translates thought into sound. "Hold FAST... Open your FOCUS to the Pillar's Leylines!"
I grit out a nod. And these warding hands at the stone Press me into His service and the doors. I push the energy from my center out into the pillar's veins. Solid streams of light penetrate the cracks, weaving through every fissure. The ranks of the skeleton horde shrink back, shattered by the light.
But at the peak of my struggle, there's a rumbling, and a gigantic Voidspawn Goliath smashes through the great wall—horned and enormous, armormade of night. So I hurry away And it comes rushing toward me, Making the ground shake with every step.
CommanderSylene screams a warning. I spin, the blade slicing through air. The Goliath's fist redoubles the explosion, and I'm thrown back against the rail. A flower of pain blooms, white-hot, in my side. A shard of wood splinters through my armor.
I suck air, my field of vision going dark. Behind me, Lirael is again on the battlement, her gauntlet burning the indigo of the bile of its power as she embarks on a ritual of her own to steady the ship. Five pillars blaze bright anew—but the Death Pillar flickers once more, as though battling a rot from within.
The Goliath raises an arm, poised to smite me. I taste fear — and something blacker: exhilaration. This is what I signed up for.
I rise to my feet, my plasma blade buzzing. My connection to the System stutters—-00:12:08-—yet the HUD blinks with a new line: "Mutation Unlocked: Emberheart Surge – dash, ignite targets, +1 Strength, +1 Vitality."
A spark twitches behind my ribs. I grasp that hilt of the blade and rush forward. I rush on, a moving blur. It's foot squashes stone beneath me, as I race. My body goes flying, smashing into its thigh. I light the Surge: It consumes my body and blazes ember into its armor.
The blast echoes like thunder. The Goliath stumbles, massive shockwaves obliterating the formation of wardens. I slide off its leg, jamming my elbow into its knee joint. Metal shears; the Goliath booms, a kneebuckle.
I gasp; the air is ashy. The Voidspawn that are left are stunned. The commanderSylene takes advantage of the opportunity and orders a counterattack.
Up there, Lirael is yelling—her voice so present in my mind. "Pillars at 75% stability! You saved them!"
I stagger backward, limbs trembling. The Goliath rumbles once more, now as much beast as machine, and bring a gauntleted fist down on the stone beam above my shoulder. Blossoming pain, then an encroaching blackness.
But then a crystalline pulse flares through the Death Pillar—different energy, more potent than ever before. Light shatters across the battlefield and the Voidspawn scream as they are torn back by unseen hands. The horn of the goliath splinters and it tumbles ten tonnes of twisted steel and shadow into the rampart.
Wind whistles through the breach. The battlement remains once the smoke has cleared, with wardens cheering. CommanderSylene drops her sword and we lock eyes. I nod, exhausted. My HUD returns:
Vitality ▏▇▇▏▏▏
Strength ▏▇▇▏▏▏
Chaos Stability ▏▏▏▏▏▏
01:23:45 until System Link expires
Lirael hurries down as the violet light dissolves. She collapses beside me. "You guys did it," she says, breathing hard, her voice cracking with relief.
I brush ash from her cheek. "We did it."
There is a faint murmur rumbling through the dungeon. I rise unsteadily. "The next pillar…"
Lirael grits her teeth and pulls me upright. "The Iron Pillar's under siege. And the real enemy…he's already in.
My stomach twists. The cut to the chase, the revelation that Echo's design goes deeper, that betrayal is at work within our own ranks — those are the undertows carrying us deeper into chaos.
I grasp my sword and turn to the next fight. In Elyndros, there is neither peace — nor mercy.