The tunnel swallowed them whole. Dank air thick with mildew and the metallic tang of old blood hit Elara like a slap. Thorne moved ahead with predatory grace, one hand trailing along the slime-slick wall as if reading braille only he could see. His cloak blended into the gloom; only the occasional glint of scales on his exposed forearm caught the faint phosphorescent glow from fungi clinging to the ceiling.
Elara followed close, dagger still clutched tight. The broken manacles chafed her wrists, a constant reminder she was no longer in control—of her body, her world, or this mad alliance.
"How far?" she whispered.
"Far enough the hounds lose our scent," Thorne replied without turning. "These passages were built before the Empire forgot mercy. Smugglers, rebels, lovers... they've all used them. Now us."
A distant bark echoed—imperial hounds, bred with echo fragments for unnatural tracking. Closer than she'd like.
Thorne paused at a fork, head cocked. "Left leads to the river under the city. Right... deeper. Riskier."
"River sounds good. Clean water, possible boat—"
"No." He cut her off. "River's watched. Patrol boats every hour. We go right."
Elara bit back a protest. History had taught her one thing: survivors listened to those who knew the terrain. For now.
They veered right. The tunnel narrowed, forcing them single-file. Water dripped steadily, plinking into unseen pools. Her HUD flickered faintly:
[Passive Echo Scan: Residual Fragment Detected Nearby][Type: Unknown – Low Purity][Recommendation: Absorb to restore stamina. Risk: Corruption 8%]
Tempting. Her legs already ached from the sprint and climb. But "corruption" sounded like a bad trade.
Thorne stopped abruptly. She nearly collided with his back.
"Problem?" she asked.
He didn't answer immediately. Instead, he pressed a palm to the wall. Scales rippled across his hand, black and shimmering like oil on water. A low rumble vibrated through the stone—almost a growl.
"They're close," he said quietly. "And they've brought something worse than hounds."
Before she could ask, a new sound: wet, slithering movement. Something large dragging itself through the dark.
Thorne drew a slender, curved blade from beneath his cloak—black steel etched with crimson runes that pulsed like heartbeats. "Stay behind me."
Elara gripped her dagger tighter. "I'm not helpless."
"You're untested." His tone wasn't insulting—just factual. "And I need you alive."
The slithering grew louder. From the shadows ahead emerged a abomination: a hound twisted by forbidden cultivation. Fur matted with oozing scales, eyes glowing sickly green, extra limbs sprouting from its flanks like cancerous growths. An echo-corrupted beast.
It snarled, revealing rows of jagged teeth.
Thorne moved first—lightning-fast. He lunged, blade slicing a shallow arc across the creature's muzzle. It howled, recoiling, but lashed out with a barbed tail. Thorne twisted aside; the tail smashed into stone, cracking it.
Elara didn't wait. She darted left, using the narrow tunnel to her advantage. As the beast swung toward Thorne again, she drove her dagger into its exposed flank—right where a pulsing green vein throbbed. Hot ichor sprayed her arm. The creature shrieked, thrashing.
Thorne finished it—blade through the throat in one clean stroke. The body slumped, twitching.
Breathing hard, he wiped his blade on the beast's hide. "Not bad. For a book-rat."
Elara pulled her dagger free, grimacing at the gore. "Flattery will get you nowhere."
He smirked, but it didn't reach his eyes. "We need to move. That thing wasn't alone."
They pressed on. Minutes blurred into a haze of damp stone and echoing drips. Finally, the tunnel widened into a small chamber—once a shrine, judging by the cracked altar and faded murals of crowned figures absorbing glowing orbs.
Thorne leaned against the wall, catching his breath. For the first time, she saw strain in his posture—shoulders tight, jaw clenched.
"You're hurt," she said, nodding to a gash on his forearm where the tail had grazed him. Black blood welled, mixed with faint crimson sparks.
"It's nothing." But he didn't move when she stepped closer.
Elara tore a strip from her tunic hem—ragged, but clean enough. "Hold still."
He raised a brow but complied. As she bound the wound, their faces were inches apart. His heat radiated like a furnace; she could see the faint scars crisscrossing his neck, old burns perhaps.
"Why risk this?" she asked softly. "You could have left me at the auction. Or killed me and taken my echo."
Thorne's gaze dropped to her wrist—the silvery crown mark now faintly glowing again. "Because your echo... it's not just any queen's. It's tied to the First Throne. The one that started it all. If the Emperor finds out—"
He broke off.
Elara's stomach twisted. "Tied how?"
"Your blood remembers. Isolde wasn't just a queen—she was the architect. The one who bound echoes to mortal flesh. And you're her echo-bearer reborn. Or something close."
The words landed like stones. History she'd studied as myth suddenly felt personal. Dangerous.
Before she could respond, her HUD blazed:
[Echo Absorption Opportunity][Corrupted Hound Fragment – Purity: 12%][Options: Absorb (Restore 20% stamina, +5% Resilience) OR Purify (Unlock hidden memory, Risk: 15% corruption)]
Thorne noticed the glow in her eyes. "What does it say?"
She hesitated. "I can take something from the corpse. But it might... change me."
He studied her. "Everything in Veiloria changes you. The question is: do you want power, or control?"
Elara looked at the dead beast, then back at him. His amber eyes held no judgment—only waiting.
She knelt beside the corpse. Extended her hand. The HUD prompted:
[Choose: Absorb / Purify / Ignore]
Her finger hovered.
Then—movement in the shadows beyond the altar. Not another hound.
A figure stepped into the faint light: cloaked, hooded, but the voice was feminine, smooth as silk over steel.
"Prince Thorne. And the little historian. How delightful."
Thorne tensed, hand on his blade. "Mirael."
The woman lowered her hood. Pale skin, silver hair braided with black thorns, eyes the color of storm clouds. An imperial inquisitor—high-ranking, judging by the echo-runes embroidered on her sleeves.
She smiled thinly. "The Emperor sends regards. He wants his property back."
Elara rose slowly, dagger ready.
Mirael's gaze flicked to her. "And the girl... interesting. Her echo sings so loudly. Almost like a beacon."
Thorne stepped between them. "Walk away, Mirael. While you still have legs."
The inquisitor laughed softly. "Always so dramatic. But we both know how this ends."
She raised a hand. Shadows coalesced—tendrils of dark echo energy snaking toward them.
Elara made her choice.
[Purify Selected][Soul Memory Unlocked: Fragment of the First Binding][New Skill: Echo Ward – Temporary shield against corruption]
A pulse of light erupted from her palm—clean, golden. It slammed into Mirael's shadows, shattering them.
The inquisitor staggered. "Impossible—"
Thorne didn't waste the opening. He charged.
But Mirael was faster than she looked. She vanished in a swirl of darkness, reappearing at the chamber's far exit.
"This isn't over," she hissed. "The throne calls its own."
Then she was gone.
Silence fell, broken only by dripping water.
Thorne turned to Elara, breathing hard. "You just saved us both."
She stared at her hand—still tingling. "I... felt something. A memory. Not mine. A ritual. Binding echoes to prevent madness."
He nodded slowly. "The First Binding. Forbidden knowledge."
Their eyes met. Something shifted—subtle, electric. Not trust, not yet. But recognition.
"We can't stay here," he said.
Elara sheathed her dagger. "Then where?"
Thorne's smirk returned, edged with something darker. "To the one place the Empire fears most. The Ashen Wastes. Where forgotten thrones sleep... and curses are born."
He offered his hand again.
This time, she took it without hesitation.
As they slipped deeper into the tunnels, her HUD whispered one final prompt:
[Alliance of Ashes – Progress: 15%][Shared Echo Resonance Detected][Warning: Bond strengthens with proximity. Risk: Mutual corruption if trust breaks]
The shadows ahead seemed to watch them go.
[End of Chapter 3 – To Be Continued...]