The shards of the false meadow still shimmered faintly when Nameless blinked himself back to reality.The Hall of Echoes had reformed — a vast cathedral of mirrored stone and bleeding light. The air was thick with the scent of burnt sigils and crushed divinity. The illusion was gone, but its echo lingered like the aftertaste of a lie too sweet to forget.
"Oi," a voice snapped. "You alive or just pretending?"
Nameless turned slowly.
Ryne stood a few steps ahead, one hand resting on the hilt of a blade, the other waving in front of Nameless's face. Her grin was familiar — half concern, half mockery. Behind her, Tianlong's massive body coiled lazily through the hall, eyes glowing faintly in the dim red light.
"You froze mid-step," Ryne said. "Like, statue froze. I thought you were trying to ascend or something. Scared the shit out of me."
Nameless didn't reply. His gaze drifted upward — to the ceiling where Lianxu's voice had faded moments ago.His mind still felt fractured, his soul buzzing from the god's intrusion. The warmth of Elara's illusion lingered on his skin, cruelly real.
Tianlong's golden eyes narrowed, ancient and heavy. "You saw him, didn't you?"
Nameless didn't need to answer. The dragon already knew.
"Lianxu," Tianlong muttered, the name alone enough to make the air shiver. "The god of deception and mystery. He walks through truth as if it were shadow, and bends shadow into truth."
Ryne let out a low whistle. "Well, that explains why our boy here looked like he saw the afterlife."
Nameless's jaw clenched. "He made me live one."
For a moment, silence stretched. Then he said quietly, "If this is what gods call mercy… I can't wait to see cruelty."
Tianlong's lips curled, not quite a smile. "Lianxu doesn't show mercy. He shows mirrors. You just survived one."
Nameless's hands tightened into fists. "Then I'll make sure next time he looks into mine."
The dragon's low rumble almost sounded like approval.
They began walking again, the hall's endless mirrors reflecting their steps like ripples of time. Ryne broke the silence first.
"So, what did he want? Your soul? Your dignity? Or just to see if he could make the mighty Nameless cry?"
Nameless ignored her for a few seconds — then said, quietly but sharp, "He wanted me to remember what it feels like to want peace."
Ryne blinked. "Peace? That's a new flavor of torture."
"He made me believe I had it," Nameless said. "Then reminded me that I never will."
Even Tianlong was silent at that.
As they neared the hall's edge, Nameless stopped. The crystals embedded in his back pulsed faintly, like hearts beating out of rhythm. His reflection in the mirrored floor looked foreign — half light, half ruin.
He turned to Tianlong. "Tell me something, Tianlong."
Tianlong's great head lowered, his golden mane flickering like flame. "Ask."
"Is there a way to remember?" Nameless asked. "All of it. Not fragments. Not whispers. The truth. Who I was before the gods forged me. What I was meant to be."
Ryne's grin faded a little. "You sure you wanna dig that deep? Most people spend their lives trying to forget."
"I'm not most people," Nameless said. His tone was flat, but the fire behind his eye said otherwise.
Tianlong watched him for a long time, as if weighing the strength of a broken sword before deciding if it could still cut.
"There is one way," the dragon finally said, voice deep enough to shake the walls. "But it's not a path. It's a person."
Ryne groaned immediately. "Oh, come on. Not her."
Tianlong's grin revealed ancient fangs. "Yes. Her."
Nameless frowned. "Who?"
Tianlong's voice dropped into reverence and warning."Lyra of the Shattered Veil."
The name itself felt heavy — like something that had once been divine but chose to remain human."She was mortal once," Tianlong continued. "A healer, a scholar… until she touched the Veil that divides life and memory. Now she lives in the space between both. She can destroy what no god dares to touch — the Crystals on your back."
Nameless's hand instinctively went to his spine. The crystals there thrummed, faintly luminous — the locks that sealed his forgotten essence.
"She can break them?" he asked quietly.
"She can," Tianlong said. "But whether you survive her doing it… that's another question."
Ryne crossed her arms. "She's basically a walking paradox. Half goddess, half nightmare. And very, very hot."
Nameless shot him a sideways glance. "I wasn't asking for your preferences."
"Hey," Ryne smirked. "It's relevant intel. If she ends up killing you, at least you'll die looking at something pretty."
Tianlong exhaled through his nostrils, a sound like a thunderclap. "Children."
They stepped beyond the final mirror of the Hall of Echoes.The world outside was not sky or land but an expanse of floating ruins — the remnants of once-sacred temples now drifting through nothingness. The air glowed with faint crimson, shimmering like a dream half-remembered.
"Where does she dwell?" Nameless asked.
"In the Fields of Ash and Glass," Tianlong replied. "A realm suspended between oblivion and time. Only beings untethered by mortality can cross it."
Nameless nodded. "Then let's go."
Ryne blinked. "You're serious?"
Nameless looked at him, unblinking. "You think I'd come this far to stop now?"
Ryne sighed dramatically. "Alright. Fine. But if I get vaporized by time ghosts, I'm haunting you."
"Wouldn't be the first ghost I've fought," Nameless said dryly.
"Now that's the spirit," Ryne grinned.
They approached the edge of the floating platform. Tianlong's colossal wings unfurled, each scale reflecting worlds upon worlds. The sound of it shook the void — a thunderous roar of power that made the shattered stars tremble.
"Climb on," he said, lowering his body. "The journey ahead will strip away your illusions — if any remain."
Ryne stretched her arms, cracking her neck. "Been a while since I rode the lightning lizard."
Tianlong's tail twitched. "Call me that again and I'll make you ride the wind… without me."
Ryne grinned wider. "You're getting soft, old man."
Nameless ignored their bickering, climbing onto Tianlong's back with practiced ease. The dragon's scales were cold and smooth, humming faintly with celestial energy. Ryne climbed up behind him, muttering curses as she settled in.
"Try not to fall," Nameless said.
"Try not to brood for once," Ryne shot back.
Tianlong's roar drowned them both as he leapt from the platform.
They soared through the void.Beneath them, reality fractured — a sea of mirrored shards swirling in spirals. Above, lightning stitched rifts across crimson clouds. The wind wasn't wind at all — it was memory, flowing like time given shape.
Each gust carried whispers: voices of the dead, of gods, of forgotten selves.
Nameless closed his eye. He heard Elara's laughter in one whisper. Lianxu's mocking tone in another. His hand tightened around his blade.He would remember. He had to.
Ryne leaned closer, shouting over the roaring wind. "Hey, if she's so powerful, why hasn't she fixed your memory herself?"
Tianlong's voice echoed back, calm despite the storm. "Because she doesn't care to. Lyra serves no one — not gods, not mortals, not fate. If she helps you, it will be because she wants to."
Ryne smirked. "Sounds like every woman you've ever met, Nameless."
Nameless didn't answer — but a faint twitch in his jaw gave him away.
The storm thickened.Waves of broken light surged across the sky, and shadows shaped like lost souls clawed toward them. Tianlong's scales lit up, forming ancient runes that burned the darkness away.
Ryne gripped tight. "Remind me why we don't just walk places?"
"Because you can't fly," Tianlong growled.
Nameless's gaze cut through the storm, and beyond it — through the veils of flame and glass — he saw it.
A city floating in the void.White towers curved like blades, bridges of light connecting them. Rivers of molten glass flowed beneath, reflecting a sun that wasn't there. At the center stood a temple carved from obsidian and bone — its gates shaped like two hands reaching upward.
Tianlong slowed, his voice reverent. "The Shattered Veil. Lyra's domain."
As they descended, the storm quieted, replaced by the hum of suspended souls. Figures of light drifted in the air — not alive, not dead. Each one a memory, trapped in eternal stillness.
Ryne whistled. "Cozy place. Real homey."
Nameless jumped off first, landing silently on the glass surface. It rippled like water beneath his feet. "She's here?"
"Oh, she's here," Tianlong said. "She's probably been watching us since before we left."
Ryne looked around, half-expecting an ambush. "I don't see anyone."
"You won't," Tianlong murmured. "She chooses when she's seen."
A voice answered, smooth and playful.
"Then it's a good thing I've chosen now."
She stepped out from the light — barefoot, robes shimmering like liquid moonlight. Her hair was silver, her eyes glowing faint violet. Every movement was fluid, deliberate, almost serpentine. Power coiled around her like perfume — intoxicating, dangerous.
Lyra of the Shattered Veil smiled faintly."Welcome, Tianlong. You brought guests. And one of them smells like divine rebellion."
Ryne's mouth opened. Then closed. Then opened again."I— uh— you're—" She cleared her throat. "Hi."
Lyra tilted her head, amused. "Charming."
Nameless stepped forward. "You know why I'm here."
"I do," she said, walking closer. "You want your memories back. You want the truth. You want to break what the gods chained into your spine."
Her fingers brushed the air near his back, and the crystals flared violently. Nameless winced, staggering a step. Lyra's eyes narrowed, fascinated."They've grown stronger. The gods really didn't want you remembering."
"I don't care what they want," Nameless said. "Can you destroy them?"
Lyra smiled — the kind of smile that could melt worlds or ruin them. "I can. But you might not survive the breaking."
"Then I'll take my chances."
Behind him, Ryne whispered to Tianlong, "She's terrifying and hot. This is such a problem."
Tianlong rumbled softly. "Control yourself, mortal."
Lyra looked back, her lips curling into a smirk. "You're right, though. I am terrifying."
Ryne froze. "Did she—?"
"She can obviously hear you," Tianlong said. "She always does."
Lyra turned to Nameless again. "If you wish your memories returned, you'll need more than resolve. You'll need permission from your own soul."
Nameless's eye flared crimson. "Then I'll make it give me permission."
Lyra's laughter was like the sound of shattering glass. "Good. I like your arrogance."
She turned, walking toward the temple's inner sanctum. "Come, Nameless. Let's see if what's left of you is worth remembering."
Tianlong lowered his head slightly. "Be careful. She isn't your enemy — but she isn't your ally either."
Nameless didn't answer. He followed her, each step echoing across the glass, the air humming with power.
Ryne sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. "If he dies in there, I'm taking his sword."
"You won't lift it," Tianlong said, chuckling. "It remembers its master."
Ryne shrugged. "Then I'll just steal his boots. Those things look expensive."
As the temple doors closed behind Nameless and Lyra, the light outside dimmed. Tianlong gazed into the horizon, where storms of forgotten time swirled.
"The gods will not like this," he murmured.
Ryne sheathed her blade, looking uneasy. "When have they ever?"
Tianlong's eyes glowed faint gold. "Because this time, he's not trying to fight them."
Ryne frowned. "Then do you think he is doing?"
Tianlong looked toward the temple, his voice a whisper of thunder."He's trying to remember why he wanted to."
"I obviously know that" replied ryne.