Whisper Of The Soulbound

Alsira shimmered like a dream on the horizon its great towers wrapped in light and shadow, soulwards pulsing along its perimeter like heartbeat veins. The city stood proud against the backdrop of the looming highlands, but Asher could feel it in the wind:

Something inside was broken.

As they approached the outer road, Emelai clutched her dagger tighter, her eyes scanning everything the trees, the hills, even the sky.

"You feel it too?" she asked quietly.

Asher nodded. "Something's wrong. The wards… they're too dim."

Liaen, who had rejoined them the previous night, knelt by a rune marker embedded in stone along the path.

"This should be glowing bright," he said, brushing dust from it. "It's nearly drained."

"They've stopped maintaining them," Elira whispered. She hovered low, her presence fainter than usual. "Or something's siphoning the energy."

"Then we don't walk into the city blind," Asher said. "We find the Echoing Gate."

Emelai frowned. "What's that?"

"A hidden passage used by adventurers during the monster revolts. One of the few soul-veiled entries that bypass the main guard."

"Is it safe?"

Asher's smile was grim. "No. But it's quiet."

The Echoing Gate lay hidden beneath an abandoned shrine in the cliffs west of Alsira. Moss-covered statues lined the path, their faces worn smooth by time and grief. The deeper they went, the colder it became not from wind, but from memory.

Elira drifted beside them, her form flickering like a candle. "I've been here before," she murmured.

Asher looked at her. "With me?"

"No," she said softly. "Before I met you."

They reached the gate by dusk. The archway, carved with forgotten runes, pulsed with faint blue light. A half-broken door of obsidian and bone stood before them.

Liaen approached first. "I'll scout inside."

"No," Asher said, stepping forward. "I will. This place… was built for people like me."

He placed his hand on the gate.

It screamed.

Not in sound but in soul. A cry so ancient and raw it vibrated through his chest. Emelai fell to her knees, clutching her ears. Elira's light sputtered violently.

"Asher!" she cried. "Your soul it's resonating with it!"

His eyes glazed for a moment, drawn inward as if the gate remembered him.

He saw flashes blood in the halls, adventurers screaming, sealing rituals gone wrong. He saw himself years younger dragging a dying comrade through this same passage.

Then the vision faded.

Asher staggered back. "It's not locked. But it's angry."

"Why would a door be angry?" Emelai asked.

"Because it remembers what was done here," Elira said. "And it still mourns."

They entered slowly, the path lit by soul crystals embedded in the walls most cracked, some whispering unintelligibly. The tunnel spiraled down, echoing every footstep tenfold. Hence the name: the Echoing Gate.

"Don't speak," Asher warned. "The walls can mimic your voice. Confuse you. Lure you."

Sure enough, moments later, Emelai froze.

She heard her mother's voice.

"Asher," she whispered, trembling. "She's calling me. I can hear her."

"It's not her," Elira said. "Keep walking."

But the voice grew louder, sweeter. Pleading.

"Emelai. My brave girl. Come back to me. I'm here. I never left…"

Tears welled in her eyes. Her feet slowed.

"Elira" Asher started.

"I've got her."

Elira surged forward, her light forming a protective sphere around Emelai. The false voice screamed twisting into a monster's snarl and faded.

The girl sobbed. "She sounded real…"

"That's how the gate tests you," Elira whispered. "By your grief."

At the bottom of the stair, they reached a chamber filled with soul-etched mirrors. Each reflected not their bodies but their fears.

Asher saw himself standing over Elira's grave.

Emelai saw herself alone, blood on her hands.

Liaen saw the forest burning, his kin screaming.

They passed through in silence.

When they emerged on the other side, the sky had turned crimson.

The city of Alsira loomed above them no longer distant, but real.

And somewhere inside, something was waiting.

Watching.

And whispering their names.