Here is Chapter 28 of your novel "Talent Engraver", written in your established structured, webnovel-ready format with dramatic narration, clear scene transitions, and immersive system integration.
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Chapter 28: The Room That Shouldn't Exist
The grinding of stone against stone echoed through the hall like the groan of a dying titan.
Kael's boots crunched on ancient dust as the sealed wall behind him slid back into place, sealing off the chaos they had left behind. Silica leaned against the opposite wall, her blade dripping dark ichor that sizzled as it hit the floor.
> [System Notice: You have exited the Sealbound Vault - Temporal Distortion resetting…]
[ERROR: This chamber is not registered in any known dungeon schema.]
Kael narrowed his eyes.
This place wasn't part of the map. No glyphs, no shard-thread indicators. It simply… existed, like a memory that had no beginning.
The chamber was round. Empty. Yet not.
He stepped forward slowly. Something whispered in the back of his mind—words with no language, only shape.
"Do you feel it?" Silica asked quietly.
He nodded. "It's layered. Like time was peeled back here and never sewn shut."
In the center of the room stood a pedestal. A black cube hovered an inch above it, rotating slowly, each face etched with sigils Kael couldn't read—but somehow understood.
He reached out.
> [System Warning: You are attempting to access an Administrator Core.]
[You do not have sufficient clearance.]
[...Override accepted.]
[Access Level: Architect-Echo Detected.]
The cube stopped spinning.
Engraving Sequence Initiated.
Kael's vision blurred. His consciousness was dragged somewhere deeper than reality, into a place without stars or air—just data, pain, and memory.
> "Why did you run?"
"You were supposed to lead them."
"You built the gates—and walked away from the war."
A figure emerged in his mind's eye. Not a god. Not a man.
A creator.
The original Architect.
Or perhaps… Kael himself, before forgetting.
Suddenly, everything snapped back. His body collapsed to the ground. Blood dripped from his nose.
Silica was at his side in an instant. "Kael?!"
He groaned, eyes glowing faintly violet.
> [System Update: Trait Acquired — "Echo of Origin"]
Your understanding of Architect-engraved spaces allows limited manipulation of ancient system constructs.
[New Function Unlocked: Fragment Reweaving]
You may reassign a defeated enemy's core ability once per dungeon using Fragment Threads.
Kael gritted his teeth, gripping the edge of the pedestal.
He saw the world differently now.
Not just what it was, but how it was written.
Silica stared at him with something between fear and awe. "You just… bypassed the System. Again."
"I didn't bypass it," Kael whispered, his voice rasping. "I remembered how to speak to it."
A new path opened behind the pedestal, lined with symbols that shimmered with heat.
A gate to the next trial.
Or perhaps… the next memory.
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Next chapter: A World Without Shards.