The darkness receded.
Kael stood alone in a new part of the Abyss, where the ground was softer—ashen, like the remains of something ancient and burned. Strange trees twisted upward, leafless, their bark oozing with red light like open wounds. The silence here wasn't empty—it felt... watchful.
> [Area Discovered: The Ashen Veil]
[Memory Echoes Detected in Proximity]
The system's voice echoed in his mind, but this time… it felt different. Warmer, almost familiar.
> "Memory Echoes?" he muttered.
The moment the words left his lips, the world flickered.
---
Suddenly, Kael was no longer in the Abyss.
He stood in a sunlit courtyard—green banners flapping in the breeze, children laughing in the distance. The scent of flowers and steel filled the air. His armor was polished. His hands clean. His heart... whole.
> This is a memory.
Not yours alone.
He turned—and saw her.
Lyria.
Golden-haired, sharp-eyed, fierce. The commander of the Royal Guard... and once, his closest friend. Maybe more.
She smiled at him in the memory.
> "Don't trust them, Kael," she said. "Not even me."
The courtyard darkened. Shadows spilled from the cracks in the stone. The flowers withered. The children's laughter twisted into screams. Lyria's face melted into ash.
> "They never did forgive what you were born to become."
---
Kael gasped and fell to one knee as the vision shattered.
He was back in the Ashen Veil, surrounded by cold silence once more.
> [Memory Echo Complete]
[New Trait Unlocked: Lingering Truth]
"You now perceive echoes of past betrayals and future lies."
Kael wiped the sweat from his brow. The system wasn't just giving him power—it was giving him truths. Memories not his, but connected to him.
He looked at his palm.
The shadow-mark there pulsed once… then shifted. A new rune appeared beside it, glowing silver instead of red.
> [Soul Reaver Protocol Evolved: Phase II Initiated]
Before he could process that, movement stirred in the fog ahead.
A voice called out—real, this time. Not memory. Not system.
> "Kael...? Is that really you?"
He froze.
He knew that voice.
Turning slowly, he saw a hooded figure stepping out from the mist. Slender. Human. Scarred across the jaw.
In his hand: a weapon Kael had forged himself, years ago.
> "Taren..." Kael whispered.
"You died... I saw you die!"
Taren smiled grimly. "So did you."
---