The wind howled like a wounded beast across the canyon's jagged ridges. It was no ordinary breeze. Aether charged the gusts, causing the air to shimmer with barely restrained energy. Zayn stood at the edge of a broken cliff face, boots anchored in loose rock and crumbling sediment, his eyes tracing the violent swirl of violet and gold storms that rippled overhead. The Bound Valley stretched before him, a graveyard of shattered ruins and pulse-scorched terrain.
It had been four days since they'd left Brinehook behind.
Four days since Zayn had chosen the path of the Signalwright, rejecting the factional pull of the Dawnspire Pact and setting his focus on finding the ruin bearing the ancient mark etched in his core. That symbol... an ever-burning spiral wrapped in fractured lines, had pulsed again this morning. It had pulled him westward, toward this chaotic canyon, a place marked by ruin fragments and storm-swept anomalies.
Nala stepped up beside him, her cloak flaring gently in the wind. Her expression was calm but focused, eyes scanning the horizon. She had changed in subtle ways. Her movements carried more certainty. Her aura had grown sharper since their synchronized bond during the Aether Stormfront. They hadn't spoken about it much, but Zayn could feel the difference.
"This place feels alive," she said, squinting into the haze.
Zayn nodded. "It's not just the storm. The ground's humming. Something's resonating under the rock."
System Prompt:
[Pulse Terrain Detected: Bound Valley]
[Warning: Residual Ruin Radiation Active]
[Environmental Effect: Increased Core Fluctuation. Skill adaptation accelerated. Essence volatility high.]
[Recommended Gear: Aether-stabilizing relics or pulse anchors.]
Zayn dismissed the prompt with a flicker of thought. The moment he'd stepped within a mile of the valley's edge, the system had begun throwing warnings and modifiers his way. He welcomed them. This was exactly the kind of place where power could be earned... or lost.
They descended slowly, picking their way through the broken ridges. Loose shale gave way underfoot, and several times, Nala extended a hand to steady Zayn as he navigated narrow ridgelines. Strange formations jutted out of the valley walls, crystalline thorns, rusted Aether cages, skeletal remains of relic constructs. Aether storms flickered above them like an ever-burning ceiling, occasionally sending bolts of green fire cascading into the cliffs.
The deeper they went, the more warped the terrain became.
Once-flat stones curled into spirals. Old ruin slabs pulsed with a dull blue glow. At one point, they passed a grove of blackened roots growing upside down, their tips reaching toward the sky like grasping fingers. Zayn marked it on his system's mental map.
Then, a growl.
It was low, almost inaudible, carried on the pulse of the wind.
They froze.
A second growl followed, closer this time. Something darted between shattered columns ahead. A glint of green eyes. A blur of movement too fast for a natural beast.
"Pulsefangs?" Nala whispered.
Zayn's core tingled. "Modified... maybe. This place might've warped them."
He reached for his blade, a short-edged weapon reinforced by Pulse-weave and memory-forged alloy. It responded to his intent with a dull thrum, echoing his pulse.
The first beast leapt from behind a ruin wall.
System Alert:
[Beast Identified: Ruin-Fused Pulsefang]
[Variant Type: Radiation-born. Traits: Accelerated Reflex Loop, Core-Hardening Hide, Echo Aggression]
[Combat Tier Estimate: Mid-Tier 2]
The thing was larger than the standard Pulsefangs they'd fought weeks ago. It was half-wolf, half-metal, its hide laced with reflective scales that pulsed with inner light. Blue fire glowed along its spine. Behind it, three more emerged from the shadows.
Zayn didn't hesitate. "Circle pattern. Keep one in sight, don't split from me."
Nala's spear spun into her grip with practiced ease. Her Aether veil shimmered faintly, body encased in a soft blue ripple. They stepped forward together.
The first beast pounced.
Zayn slid under its claw-swipe, raked his blade along its underbelly, then spun and deflected a second beast lunging from his flank. The third slammed into him, knocking him into a low wall. Pain flared in his shoulder. The air crackled.
He rolled to avoid a follow-up strike. Nala lunged past him, driving her spear into the chest of the attacker. The blow didn't pierce completely. The creature twisted, jaws snapping.
Zayn focused.
System Input:
[Active Skill Triggered: Forge Memory]
[Memory Construct Loaded: Ember Step — Delay Pulse Technique]
His blade lit with a soft glow, the imprint of past battle patterns surfacing.
Zayn dashed forward, stepping twice in quick succession. The delayed pulse behind him exploded, launching the closest beast into the air. He caught its side mid-arc and slashed through its limb with a burst of Aether.
Nala held off the last two, redirecting their strikes with short pulses of veil energy. Her movements were clean, precise, almost elegant. Zayn joined her, their flow syncing in bursts. She twisted left, he struck right. The final beast staggered back, then fell.
Breathing heavy, they stood among the twitching remains.
Zayn winced, touching his bruised ribs. "Too fast for wild ones. The ruin must've altered their cores."
Nala nudged one with her boot. "We should check their essence. Might be usable."
He agreed. He knelt and placed his palm near the dead beast's chest. A faint glow rose.
System Update:
[Essence Extracted: Ruin-Pulse Residue x3]
[Item: Radiant Core Fragment (Unstable)]
[Function: Can be refined. May unlock partial defensive or detection skills when used with Forge Memory.]
He added the loot to their system inventory, tagging the fragments with caution labels.
They continued deeper into the valley. The terrain leveled out, forming a massive depression between two broken ridges. In the center, partially buried beneath layers of storm-altered stone, stood a ruin unlike the ones they had seen before.
It wasn't tall or grand.
It was dense.
Circular patterns covered the floor, marked with overlapping rings and fragmented spirals. A low hum echoed through the air. Zayn's core reacted.
The Signalwright mark inside his chest burned.
He stepped forward. The world dimmed. A phantom pulse spread across the ruin floor.
System Notification:
[Legacy Signature Detected: Signalwright Sequence Alpha-3]
[Accessing Memory Seal...]
[Warning: Initiating this ruin will begin a chain-linked trial. Exit not guaranteed.]
[Would you like to proceed?]
Zayn turned to Nala.
She looked at him, then at the strange ruin floor. Her pulse veil shimmered gently.
"It's your path," she said. "I'll walk it beside you."
He nodded slowly. The weight of the moment pressed on his shoulders, but it felt right. This was why he'd rejected the factions. This was why he'd followed the mark.
His thoughts reached forward.
[Confirm: Proceed.]
The ground shifted.
Light exploded from the rings, rising like columns of memory and flame. The ruin sank inward, pulling them into an echo chamber of Aether.
And the Signalwright's next trial began.