> [Alert: Reclaimer Omega Squad – ETA 00:47 Seconds]
[Gravepath Internal Defense – Online]
[System Sync: 13%]
[Corruption: 6% – Controlled]
Kael stood at the center of the Forge Chamber.
Around him, molten conduits pulsed through the steel bones of Hollow Echo's hidden base. At the far end was a sealed pedestal, covered in runes that hissed with static as he approached.
Ysira's voice echoed through the chamber.
> "It was recovered from a Gate that killed forty-two Reclaimers in the first cycle. It chooses no one."
"But the Seed may make it listen."
Kael didn't hesitate.
He placed his hand on the runic core.
It burned through his glove instantly.
The weapon hissed, shimmered—and unfolded.
Black metal extended like a skeletal spine, forming into a hybrid blade-rod, its surface shifting between molten and solid, its edge humming with volatile power. In its core, a shard of crystal pulsed with fire-red light.
> [System Message: Gate-Forged Relic Accepted]
[Weapon Bound: Name—"Ashwake Fang"]
[Passive Gained: Ember Echo – Heat intensifies with blood loss]
[Unique Sync Signature: Valid – Kael Riven]
[Compatibility: 97% – Warning: Blade Will Evolve With Corruption]
Kael gripped it tight as the walls shook.
> [Enemy breach – now entering perimeter]
A blast cracked the hallway outside. Flame and shrapnel rained through the door.
Ysira yelled, "Go! We hold the outer ring!"
---
The battle had begun.
Kael charged into the upper corridor—where Reclaimer Omega Squad had already broken through the first shield gate.
He barely saw the first soldier before instinct took over.
Ashwake Fang moved like it was alive.
Slash. Spin. Burst.
The hybrid blade danced with him, turning his strikes into infernos. His blood boiled in his veins—literally—but the blade only burned hotter the more he bled.
> [Critical Strike]
[Omega Trooper – Terminated]
Two more lunged at him—shock blades and gravity bombs.
Kael vanished between them, embers flaring around him, reappearing with a backhand slash that melted armor on contact.
> "He's syncing with it!" one soldier shouted.
"He's not Reclaimer anymore!"
> "No," Kael muttered. "I'm something worse."
Another alert pinged.
> [Elite Target Approaching – Authority Signature Confirmed]
[Commander: YANIS DRAE – Rank A+ – Class: Psychic Executor]
[Status: Former Instructor, Outpost 9]
Kael froze mid-step.
> "Yanis…?"
---
A figure floated down the corridor—graceful, white-coated, and surrounded by a pulse of invisible force. Her eyes shimmered with psychic energy, and six silver blades spun behind her like a halo.
> "Kael Riven. You're still alive."
Kael stepped forward. "You trained me."
Yanis nodded slowly. "And now I'm here to end you."
> "Because I touched the Seed?"
> "Because you didn't die after touching it."
The floor shattered beneath them as her pressure field ignited.
> "Surrender now. Or I will erase your mind before you fall."
Kael's blade hissed in response.
He raised it—not in anger.
In resolve.
> "Then come erase me."
---