The last Shade crumbled into ash, its scream still echoing off the stone walls like a curse refusing to die. Marcus fell to his knees, gasping for breath. His veins throbbed from the uncontrolled power he'd forced through them. His arms were burned raw. His eyes blurred.
SYSTEM ALERT:
Trial Passed.
Level Up: You are now System Level 2 – Core Stabilized.
Skill Tree Unlocked: Ember Root (Fire-Aligned)
Trait Gained: Will of the Forsaken
Stat Boost: +2 Strength, +1 Spirit
He barely saw the notifications. The pain had his attention.
"Why does power come with so much suffering?" he rasped, hands trembling.
Then came the voice.
"I could ask you the same."
He jerked around.
A figure stood beyond the arch of broken stone columns. Cloaked in grey and shadows, her face was veiled by silver silk, but her presence was undeniable—dangerous, poised, inhuman. Eyes gleamed beneath the veil like molten obsidian, unblinking.
"How did you get in here?" Marcus asked, instinctively backing away.
She raised one pale hand. Runes flared across her fingers like constellations. "This chamber isn't hidden to those who walked it before your kind crawled."
"You're... one of the ancient ones," Marcus whispered.
She tilted her head. "Close enough. You may call me Seraphine."
His throat dried. He had heard that name before—in whispers passed by terrified elders, in ruined scrolls Master Renald had once hidden from the village hunters.
"You're with the Vengeful Court."
That earned a soft, musical laugh.
"I was. Before I realized vengeance has many layers—and some rot at the core." She stepped forward, unbothered by the flickering green fire still dancing at Marcus's side. "And you... are the boy with the Infinite Core."
Marcus's heart skipped. "I don't know what that means."
"You will." She studied him, unreadable. "Tell me, Marcus—do you wish to survive... or do you wish to win?"
He hesitated. "What's the difference?"
"Survivors obey," she said. "Winners break the system from within. You've only tasted its rules. What you felt just now—the pain, the power surge—that's what happens when the System realizes it doesn't control you."
Marcus frowned. "I thought the System chose me."
"It didn't choose you." Seraphine's tone sharpened. "It's afraid of you."
Silence.
Far in the distance, something groaned—like the world itself shifting. Marcus clutched his arm, still seared with fire runes. "Why are you telling me this?"
"Because they'll send hunters now," she said, glancing toward the chamber ceiling. "Captain Kreel has already sensed your awakening. You'll have two choices: die like the others, or find the Pillars before they do."
"The Pillars?"
"Anchors of the System's code," she said. "Destroy them... and your chain becomes your sword."
Marcus struggled to his feet. "Why help me?"
"Because I need you alive—for now." She touched his forehead lightly. Energy surged through his mind—brief but electric. A sigil burned into his thoughts: Veil Rune – Memory Lockbreaker.
"If you survive the next ten days," she said, turning to leave, "come to the ruins of Falcrest. There, we'll see if you're the weapon I think you are... or just another pawn."
With that, she stepped into shadow—and vanished.
Marcus stood alone once more.
But the world no longer felt still.