The ruins were silent. Not the silence of peace, but the heavy, echoing stillness of aftermath. The Veil-Touched Abomination was gone, its twisted carcass dissolved into a pool of whispering shadow and vanishing sparks. The air was thick with the residue of corrupted essence, but for the first time since nightfall, the tower stood still.
Leo dropped to his knees.
"Aerin!"
No answer.
The residual glow of Soul Chain shimmered faintly in his chest, threads of energy still tethered to nothing. He had felt her will burn alongside his—her fury, her fear, and then her sudden, impossible vanishing.
"System, locate Aerin Veyla."
"\u2756 Query Invalid: Subject Unreachable in Current Plane.\u2756"
He stood, fists clenched. "Then find where she went."
"\u2756 New Quest Available: Through the Veil\u2756 Objective: Discover the fate of Aerin Veyla. Track Essence Echoes to locate the Plane of Resonant Memory.
Rewards:
Unique Skill Upgrade
+3 Soul Resonance
???\u2756"
Leo accepted instantly.
Kaelgrun approached slowly, favoring a wounded leg. "That girl saved our hides more than once. Whatever just happened to her... it wasn't death. Not exactly."
Leo nodded grimly. "I felt her soul. Still burning. Somewhere beyond."
Sylari, still pale and shaking from her efforts, spoke softly. "The Plane of Resonant Memory isn't just myth? The scholars said it was where the soul-stained go when the world rejects their timeline."
"Then I'm going to tear through it," Leo said, his voice cold with fire. "One echo at a time."
"\u2756 Soul Resonance Increased\u2756 Current Resonance: 33%\u2756"
He turned to the scorched remains of the tower. The corrupted crystal that once powered the wardline flickered in its base. A shard remained.
"\u2756 Item Acquired: Echo-Crystal Fragment\u2756 Type: Quest Artifact Effect: Reveals latent soul trails linked to the Resonance Plane.\u2756"
He clenched it tightly.
A path had opened.
And he would walk it alone if he had to.