The Forge reawakened with a roar—
not sound,
but vibration.
A low, rolling tremor swept across the broken realm as if the dimension itself feared what was about to begin. Light spiraled upward, forming a massive ring around Rourke that hovered like a blade made of pure gravity.
Seren backed away, pulling the guide with her.
"Oh great. The murder-donut is back."
The guide trembled.
"This lesson is not merely dangerous…
It is forbidden."
Seren's eyebrows shot up. "FORBIDDEN? And you let him walk into it?!"
The guide didn't respond. It didn't have to.
Rourke stepped forward, eyes glowing faintly silver as his Gravity Sight activated on instinct. He could see every force line around the Forge—
each thread twisting into spirals, knots, or lethal razor-sharp arcs.
The Memory Core dimmed to a deep violet.
"Lesson Six:
Break the Crown."
Rourke frowned.
"What does that mean?"
The relic expanded, projecting an image into the air.
A Solarii warrior—tall, radiant, with a crown of gravitational rings orbiting their head.
A Heartbearer.
The last one.
Before the fall.
"A Solarii Heartbearer is only complete
when they can break their own gravitational crown
and reform it at will."
Rourke blinked.
"Break… my own crown?"
Seren raised a hand.
"What crown? He doesn't even HAVE a crown!"
The Memory Core responded:
"Look closer."
Rourke lifted his hand, focusing Gravity Sight inward.
For a second—
he saw it.
A faint halo of spiraling force above his head.
Invisible to normal eyes.
Weightless, yet powerful.
A Solarii crown.
Seren's mouth fell open.
"Okay… that's actually kind of gorgeous."
The relic pulsed sharply.
"Do not admire it.
You must destroy it.
Only then will it rebuild stronger."
Rourke nodded.
"Tell me how."
The Memory Core's voice turned cold.
"You will let the Forge attack you."
The Crown-Shattering Trial
The ring of light above Rourke spun faster—
compressing into a searing, white-hot circle.
A gravitational halo.
The Forge unleashed the first strike.
A shockwave blasted downward—
aimed directly at Rourke's skull.
Seren screamed, "GET DOWN!"
Rourke didn't move.
He inhaled.
The crown above him cracked—
a thin line splitting it down the middle.
Pain exploded behind his eyes.
He almost buckled—
But the Memory Core spoke:
"Do not run.
Let the crown break."
Another blast hit him.
The crown fractured further.
Rourke fell to one knee, gasping as energy poured through him like liquid fire.
Seren fought the urge to rush in.
"G–Guide! He's going to DIE!"
The guide hovered inches in front of her, glowing weakly.
"He must face this alone."
Rourke forced himself upright.
The crown's glow faded—
flickered—
and shattered like glass.
A rush of energy—too fast, too hot—ripped through his body. He arched backward, screaming as gravitational threads broke their alignment.
Seren ran forward—
the guide grabbed her arm with surprising strength.
"Not yet!"
Rourke collapsed to the ground, trembling.
The Forge quieted.
The Memory Core floated closer.
"Lesson Six:
Break your crown.
Now survive the aftermath."
The Pain of Unbinding
Inside Rourke's chest, the Heart lost rhythm.
Just a second—
just a slip—
And Rourke felt gravity tearing in all directions inside his body.
Like a star collapsing in slow motion.
Seren couldn't take it anymore.
She screamed, "LET ME GO!"
She tore her arm free and sprinted toward Rourke—
A gravitational barrier slammed up in front of her, throwing her backward.
She hit the ground hard.
"NO! Rourke!"
The Memory Core's voice echoed:
"If you touch him now,
he will break the resonance entirely
and die."
Seren cursed viciously, fists trembling.
Rourke lay on the ground, vision blurry, senses scattered.
The crown was gone.
But nothing replaced it.
He felt hollow—
wrong—
unbalanced.
He couldn't breathe.
He couldn't think.
His mind spiraled downward like falling into a black hole.
"R… Rourke…?"
Seren's voice sounded far away.
He tried to reach for her voice—
but the gravitational storm inside him drowned everything.
His bones vibrated.
His blood felt too heavy.
His thoughts felt like shattered glass.
He whispered:
"…I'm slipping…"
The Memory Core spoke urgently.
"Lesson Six is not about breaking.
It is about rebuilding.
Focus.
Find the center."
Rourke could barely stay conscious.
"I can't… I can't find it…"
Seren slammed her fist against the barrier.
"ROURKE TALON! You stay with me!
Breathe!
Use MY voice if you have to!"
Her shout cut through the fog.
Rourke reached toward her voice—
toward her light.
Toward gravity that felt familiar.
Stable.
Human.
The Memory Core pulsed.
"Good.
Anchor your gravitational field to something constant."
Rourke whispered:
"…Seren…"
Her breath caught.
He inhaled sharply—
found a pulse—
found a rhythm in the chaos.
He grabbed it.
Forced the swirling gravity inside him into alignment, pulling it together like gathering scattered shards of glass.
And then—
The crown reformed.
Not as a faint halo—
but as a blazing, silver-white ring orbiting above his head.
Seren stared, stunned.
"Woah…"
The guide's voice trembled.
"He has reforged his crown.
Twice as strong as before."
Rourke slowly rose to his feet.
Gravity bent around him in tiny waves.
Power hummed under his skin.
Not uncontrolled.
Not wild.
Aligned.
Awake.
A New Power Awakens
The Memory Core floated in front of him.
Its voice sounded… impressed.
"You have passed Lesson Six.
Your crown is no longer fragile.
It is a weapon."
Rourke exhaled.
"What does that mean?"
The relic darkened.
"It means you can now bend gravitational fields
with a thought—
not a gesture."
Seren blinked.
"You mean—
he can use his powers without moving?"
"Correct."
Rourke lifted a hand—
But he didn't need to.
A nearby fragment of the realm lifted into the air, spun once, and lowered silently.
He hadn't moved a muscle.
Seren whispered,
"…oh that's terrifying.
And also extremely cool."
Rourke steadied himself, still feeling the remnants of the crown-breaking agony.
"We're running out of time.
What's the next lesson?"
The Memory Core pulsed—
Its light turning crimson.
"Lesson Seven is the harshest of all.
You must face the one thing the Heart cannot withstand."
Rourke tensed.
"What is that?"
The relic's voice broke into a cold echo.
"Your own collapse."
Seren's eyes widened.
"His WHAT?!"
The world trembled—
the sky shattered again—
and a second Rourke stepped out of the darkness.
Identical.
Perfect.
Eyes burning with obsidian-black gravity.
The Memory Core announced:
"To master the Heart,
you must defeat
your Collapse Form."
Rourke stared at the dark version of himself.
Seren whispered:
"Oh.
This is VERY bad."