"Northwatch was abandoned not because it fell... but because something down there survived."
—From the last recorded journal of Warden Myrol
+11 Days After the Ashen Vault Defense
Location: Forgotten Passage Beneath Tower Delta
Northwatch wasn't always a ruin.
Centuries ago, it was the original command node of Stormwatch, the very spine of the kingdom's defense network. But during the Great Sundering, it was sealed—its entrances collapsed, its schematics erased from war records.
Until now.
Jag, Ashra, and Rain stood before a narrow iron gate embedded in bedrock. Its sigils flickered faintly—echoes of long-forgotten enchantments. A side shaft uncovered by miners during tower reconstruction had revealed this ancient passage.
[Quest Activated: Memory Fragment #2 – Northwatch Depths]
Entry Requirement: Order of Rain Bloodline (Fulfilled – Rain Present)
Threat Level: High
Known Hazards: Collapsed Vaults, Mana Scar Traps, Dormant Warden Constructs
Objective: Descend to Depth Level 3 – Retrieve Fragment
Phase I – Descent
Torches crackled against damp, rune-etched stone.
The air grew colder the deeper they went. No sound, save for the scrape of boots and the low hum of residual warding magic.
Jag gripped his blade tighter. "If it gets dark, drop to the floor. These walls remember things."
Ashra frowned. "Like what?"
"Wards built on death magic. They don't attack light. They attack movement made with intent."
Rain whispered, "Then we move without memory."
Phase II – Vault of Echoes
The first chamber opened into a spherical antechamber of cracked crystal and corroded brass.
At its center: an echo-pillar. A monolith of obsidian with broken mirrors circling it.
Rain approached carefully.
[Memory Resonance Detected – 12% Sync]
Mirror Glyph Active: "Sanctum Override Protocol"
Warning: Defense Activation Imminent
Two figures unfolded from the crystal seams—thin and tall, wrapped in chainmail etched with black runes.
Warden Specters (x2) – Class: Anti-Intrusion Spirits
Traits: Phase Shift, Reflective Immunity, Silent Strike
Weakness: Bound Name Protocol
Ashra was first to move.
[Skill: Phantom Intercept – 4 Blinks]
Result: Distracted both specters
Jag activated his runeblade.
[Skill: Oathbreaker Surge – Strike x2]
Result: 150+ damage; partial phase disruption
Rain placed his palm to the mirror.
[Order of Rain Protocol Accepted – Binding Active]
Bound Names Deployed: "Syllen of the West," "Halvar Below Ice"
Specters froze. Screamed. And scattered into dust.
Phase III – Depth Level 2: The Listening Walls
The corridor narrowed into a cracked hallway lined with rune-slates. But unlike before, these glowed dimly.
Rain stopped.
"These walls remember names whispered. And repeat them—without context."
Ashra glanced warily. "Meaning?"
Jag responded, "Say the wrong name—and the wall thinks it's calling something."
As they advanced, ghostly voices began to whisper.
"Jag... Jag... The boy who watched storms die..."
"Ashra... Daughter of dust..."
"Raen... You left them to burn..."
The hallway trembled.
Ashra growled, "This isn't memory. It's guilt."
Rain replied, cold and steady. "No. It's an interrogation."
They reached the far wall—a sealed door with three glyph sockets.
Jag placed his token.
Ashra placed a blood drop.
Rain whispered the final name: "Velan."
[Gate Protocol Confirmed – Access Granted]
The door opened.
Phase IV – Depth Level 3: Core of the Forgotten
They entered the lowest chamber.
It was not built—it was carved, a natural cavern reinforced by ancient magic. Floating stones rotated around a pulsing core crystal suspended in midair. Surrounding it were sigils glowing faintly with hundreds of names.
And among them: another fragment.
[Memory Fragment #2 Located – Core Lattice Binding]
Defense Node Detected: Ancient Warden - Class Alpha
Status: Dormant – Will activate upon retrieval
Jag exhaled. "Of course."
Ashra stepped back, drawing her blades. "This one... isn't like the rest."
Rain stepped forward slowly. "I have to take it. Even if it wakes him."
Jag placed a hand on Rain's shoulder. "Not alone."
Boss Encounter – Alpha Warden: "The Vaultmind"
The floating core flickered.
The sigils twisted.
Then, from the floor, an armored construct rose—three meters tall, body formed of fractured crystal and metal, a face split by a horizontal glow. Its voice echoed like thunder.
"YOU SEEK THE TRUTH OF NAMES. THEN FACE YOUR FORGETTING."
Boss: The Vaultmind
HP: 950
Skills:
• Echo Lance (Piercing Memory Strike)
• Forget Pulse (Silence & Debuff)
• Name Burn (Erases a random skill for 30s)
Weakness: Sync Overload (Trigger by overfeeding memory glyphs)
Battle Begins
Ashra danced in shadows, striking with phantom blades—landing minor hits.
Jag took front, drawing aggro with oath surges and flame arc swings.
Jag: -122 HP (Echo Lance hit)
Ashra: Avoided Forget Pulse
Rain: Approached core sigils – began overload process
Rain: "I need 15 seconds!"
Jag activated shield glyphs. "You've got 10!"
Ashra leapt through a memory echo, appearing behind the Vaultmind, landing a piercing strike to the spine.
Rain pressed both hands to the glyph slab.
[Overload Active – 65% → 100%]
Memory Flux Triggered
Vaultmind stunned
Jag and Ashra struck simultaneously.
[Critical Chain – x3 Multiplier]
Vaultmind Core Shattered
Memory Fragment #2 Retrieved
The fragment floated upward, glowing pale blue.
Rain caught it. His eyes closed. And when they opened again—something older looked back through them.
[Memory Unlocked – The Day the Order Died]
Rain's Class Progression: Advanced Infiltrator – Veilkeeper Branch
New Skill: Sealstep – Phase through enemy lines, apply memory bleed
Ashra walked beside him. "More to remember?"
Rain whispered, "More to avenge."
Post-Descent Summary
They returned to Stormwatch under cover of dusk.
Rialt reviewed the data. "The Order of Rain wasn't just a record-keeper sect. They were a failsafe. A backdoor into the truth."
Jag nodded. "And the Vultures tried to bury that truth beneath blood and silence."
He looked at Rain.
"Not anymore."
Memory Fragment #2: Acquired
Vaultmind Destroyed
Class Upgrade: Rain – Infiltrator → Veilkeeper (Active)
Skill Unlocked: Sealstep
Side Quest Unlocked: Memory Fragment #3 – Location Unknown
Global Consequence: Hidden Truth Spreads – +5% Resistance to Vulture Propaganda Among Nearby Factions