The forge's walls creaked as Kaden pressed his thumb to the glowing runes on the metal plate, sweat beading at his hairline.
The system's earlier warning—blood sacrifice required—gnawed at him, but he couldn't ignore the urgency coiling in his gut.
Barlow's dead hand, the shadow in the fog, Serena's whispered "key"—they all pointed here, to this plate, to whatever it unlocked.
Serena hadn't moved from the stool, her knuckles white where she gripped the edge.
Her eyes stayed shut, as if even the dim forge light burned, but her lips still moved in silent repetition: "Key… your key…" Kaden bandaged his arm with jerky motions, the acid-burn stinging, and forced himself to focus.
The system had decoded the artifact; now it was time to test the soul branding technique it had granted.
He lit the forge, the coals flaring to life with a hiss.
The plate, cold to the touch moments ago, now hummed under his fingers as he laid it on the anvil.
"System," he muttered, "walk me through this."
[Initiating Soul Branding Protocol.
Focus your intent.
Visualize the rune's purpose: to bind the artifact's energy to your will.
]
Kaden closed his eyes, recalling the system's lessons.
Soul branding wasn't about metal or fire—it was about intent, a thread of his own essence woven into the weapon.
But this wasn't a weapon.
This was… a key.
When he opened his eyes, the plate glowed brighter, the runes shifting like liquid silver.
He raised his hammer, the weight familiar, and struck once.
A spark flew, but the plate didn't dent.
Struck again—harder—and this time, a low, resonant clang echoed through the forge.
Not metal on metal, but something deeper, like a bell tolling from the earth itself.
Serena gasped, her eyes flying open.
Her hands flew to her ears as the vibration climbed—a high, keening note that made the windows rattle and the tools on the wall clatter to the floor.
Kaden staggered, his teeth chattering, the anvil shaking under his palms.
The plate wasn't just vibrating; it was singing, a sound that seemed to scrape at the inside of his skull.
"Serena!" He lunged for her, but she'd already curled into a ball, her body trembling.
Her lips moved in a silent scream, tears streaking her face.
The forge fire flared, blue and wild, as if feeding on the sound.
Then—abruptly—it stopped.
The silence was deafening.
Kaden's ears rang, and he steadied himself on the anvil, his pulse thundering.
Serena lifted her head, her breathing ragged, and mouthed, What was that?
But before he could answer, a crackling sound drew his gaze to the corner.
The old mirror—cracked, fogged, a relic from the shop's previous owner—had cleared.
And in it, standing just behind him, was a man.
He wore a tattered blacksmith's apron, the fabric frayed at the edges, and his face was a blur of shadow, as if the light refused to settle on it.
His lips moved, slow and deliberate, but no sound came.
Kaden spun, heart leaping—no one was there.
When he faced the mirror again, the man was still there, staring.
Serena's breath hitched.
She pointed, her hand shaking, not at the mirror, but at the floor.
The cellar.
Kaden hadn't touched the cellar in weeks.
The door, a slab of iron bolted to the floor, had been sealed since he'd arrived, his master's voice in his head: Leave it, boy.
Some things are better buried.
But now, the bolts had snapped like twigs, the door ajar.
A thin wisp of gray fog curled out, carrying the stench of rot and sulfur.
"Stay back," Kaden said, though Serena was already inching toward it.
He grabbed a poker from the hearth, its tip still red-hot, and knelt.
The door groaned as he pushed it open, revealing stone steps descending into darkness.
"Serena—"
She shook her head, determined, and followed him down.
The anvil was untouched, as if waiting.
And on it lay a warhammer, its head jagged, unpolished, the handle studded with a red crystal that glowed faintly.
Kaden's palm tingled—the same mark that had burned there since he'd touched the metal plate pulsed in time with the crystal.
[Detection complete.
Primordial God-Smith Relic identified.
Binding will grant access to:
- Forging Secrets of the First Smiths
- Resistance to Soul Corruption
- Warning: Binding may alert hostile entities.
]
Kaden's throat went dry.
Hostile entities—like the shadow in the fog?
Like the ones that had killed Barlow?
Serena gripped his arm, her fingers ice-cold.
She pointed upward, her eyes wide.
Footsteps.
Heavy, deliberate, echoing on the forge's wooden floor above.
Metal clanged—a sword?
A hammer?
Kaden's blood ran cold.
He'd heard those footsteps before, in his nightmares: the ones that had chased his master through the streets, the ones that had left him bleeding in a ditch.
"Up," he said, pushing Serena ahead.
They scrambled back up the stairs, Kaden slamming the cellar door shut and jamming the poker through the hinges.
Serena darted to the furnace, yanking aside a loose brick to reveal a hidden compartment - his master's emergency cache.
She sl