Ashes of Virelith: Reforged by Oath

Rain swept across the ruins, lashing against Kaelen's cloak as he stepped beneath the jagged arch of what had once been a temple. The stone was blackened, scarred by old magic, and vines had forced their way through the shattered floor. It was quiet here. Too quiet. Even the system's hum had gone still, like it was holding its breath.

Beneath the broken dome above, a single brazier burned with blue fire. Faint symbols circled it, pulsing with old energy. Kaelen didn't need the system to tell him that he was standing inside a place not meant for the living.

But this was where the trail had led. The whispers of the Watcher. The vision left by the Echo. The wound still lingering on his left shoulder from the Hunter's last strike. All of it had pointed him here.

He stepped forward. The flames did not flicker at his approach, but the air thickened, slowing him down, like he was walking through invisible chains.

"System," Kaelen muttered under his breath. "You still awake?"

No reply.

A tremor moved through the floor, subtle and slow, like something old had stirred.

He exhaled and moved toward the center of the chamber. A long, jagged line of broken stone split the ground beneath his feet. It led to a dais, where a circle of black pillars rose, each carved with a different sigil.

He recognized some of them. The Sigil of Binding. The Crest of Flame. One was marked with the broken crescent of the Oathbreaker's emblem.

The place reeked of betrayal.

A new interface flared before his eyes, jagged and distorted.

[You have entered: The Hall of the Unmade]

[System functions are temporarily restricted]

[Warning: Domain resonance detected]

[Memory Echo imminent]

Kaelen flinched as light burst from the ground. The brazier's flame surged, and the circle of pillars came alive with energy. And then he was somewhere else.

The world turned grey. Stone melted into vision. Sound returned in fragments.

He stood, unseen, watching a meeting that had taken place long ago.

Six figures stood in the Hall. One wore silver armor cracked with shadow. Another held a spear made of light. A third kept their hood low, the shape of their face always shifting. And there was one more.

Darian.

Younger. His face untouched by the crown he now wore. But the cold calculation in his eyes was already there.

Kaelen felt a chill crawl through his chest as the memory unfolded.

"We agree then," the one with the spear said. "Kaelen Vire dies tonight."

Kaelen's heart slammed in his chest. The Echo surged around him, but he could not look away.

"The Void wants him," said the shapeless figure. "He's cracked. Too much power. Too little control."

Darian nodded slowly. "We give him to the chasm. The system will bury what's left. The Path will seal behind him."

"And the oath?" the one in silver armor asked.

Darian's voice was quiet.

"He'll fall believing I tried to save him."

The vision shattered.

Kaelen staggered, gasping, back into the now. The Hall's light dimmed. The pillars burned low. The brazier's flame was a pale flicker.

[Memory Echo Complete]

[System reinitializing core functions]

[Progression Unlocked: Trait - Betrayer's Brand]

[Grants immunity to forced oaths, increased resistance to mental corruption, +5 to Void Affinity]

Kaelen wiped blood from his nose. His pulse was thunder. It wasn't just a betrayal. It had been planned, debated, and sealed in this place.

He had trusted Darian. Not just as a brother. As the last person who stood between him and the abyss.

Now he knew who pushed him in.

The ground rumbled again.

Stone behind him shifted.

He turned, eyes narrowing. Something had awakened.

A figure rose from beneath the cracked dais. Not a person. Not fully. It was a corpse built from fragments, bound together by ancient magic and rage. A forgotten sentinel of the Hall.

Its skull was cracked. One arm was missing. But it held a jagged blade of black bone.

[Unmade Guardian Awakened]

[Elite Construct - Sentient]

[Warning: System Combat Assistance is unstable]

[Survive or perish]

Kaelen's fingers tightened around the hilt of his blade. He stepped into a wide stance, breath slow and deliberate.

The Guardian lunged.

He moved sideways, rolling across the uneven floor. The blade struck where he'd been, slicing stone like paper.

Kaelen struck back. His sword sparked off the thing's ribs, carving shallowly. It didn't bleed. It didn't slow.

System. Any help now would be good.

Nothing answered.

He ducked another swing. His shoulder screamed with pain as he rolled again, barely avoiding the guardian's crushing heel. He had no buffs, no skill cards, nothing but the memory of training that wasn't fully his.

But there was something else.

Something colder.

He remembered the girl in the cave. The one who called herself the Watcher.

"You're not alone. Not anymore. The Void left pieces inside you. Use them."

Kaelen's eyes widened.

He let the breath go.

And reached for the pieces.

A wave of pain slammed into his chest. Cold fire flooded his limbs. A second system screen burst open, red-lined and flickering.

[Accessing Forbidden Subroutine: Echo Surge]

[Void Core: Cracked - Unsafe release]

[Warning: Host synchronization at 68%]

[Surge Available: 6 seconds]

Kaelen moved.

He was faster now. Just barely.

He stepped inside the guardian's next swing, blade arcing low and slicing through its leg at the knee. The thing twisted, roaring soundlessly, falling forward.

Kaelen leapt onto its back and drove his sword through the base of its skull.

A pulse of violet energy burst outward.

Then silence.

The thing collapsed, unmoving.

Kaelen stumbled backward, panting. The system flashed again.

[Target eliminated]

[Partial progression gained: Path - Voidbound Vowkeeper]

[Skill unlocked: Severing Pact - Rank F]

[When facing targets bound by false oaths or corrupted bonds, deal bonus damage and disrupt abilities]

He leaned against a broken wall, chest heaving.

It wasn't just vengeance anymore. It was war.

The world had let Kaelen Vire die once. It would not get the chance to do it again.

But before he could take another step, the stone beneath his foot shifted.

A hidden staircase groaned open behind the altar.

And rising from the dark below was the sound of chains dragging against stone.

Then a voice.

"You should not have come here."

Kaelen turned slowly.

From the darkness emerged a figure cloaked in shadow, but its face was familiar. Horribly familiar.

It was his own.

But hollow-eyed. Smiling.

And behind it came dozens of shapes, climbing into the Hall.

Each of them wearing his face.

Each of them bearing the Mark of the Oathforged.

The system chimed once more, but this time, its voice was distorted.

[Warning: Duplicate signatures detected]

[Possibility of fractured selves - high]

[Initiating identity lock...]

Kaelen stepped back.

And all of them stepped forward in unison.