"There are three chains that bind the world: flame, silence, and memory. Break one, and you invite the others."
—Inscription beneath the Forsaken Eye
Day 7 of the Depth War
The map of the tunnels beneath Stormwatch had stabilized. Two of the three nodes were sealed.
The Depth no longer surged.
It waited.
[System Alert: Final Node – Chain Root Active]
Location: Below the Ruins of the Old Tower
Depth: 16.2 km
Status: Guardian Present
Codename: "Third Chain"
Risk Class: SS
Chain Traits: Chrono-Seal, Rebirth Loop, Anomaly Anchor
Jag read the report in silence.
Ashra sat nearby, sharpening one of her curved daggers. Branwyn stood arms crossed, armored and ready.
"This one won't fight like the others," Jag said. "This is a lock. Not a beast."
Rialt entered the chamber with a new design: a Time-Tether Bomb, one-shot artifact designed to disrupt chrono-seals.
"It'll either buy you three seconds or erase your bones from the calendar," he said dryly.
Jag took it. "Good odds."
Expedition Formed
• Nameless Bastion (Jag)
• Ashra (Lv. 6, Condition: Stable)
• Branwyn (Lv. 6)
• 1x Arc-Scribe
• 2x Depth Guard
Objective: Break the final chain, end the Depth's foothold, secure the surface
Descent to the Root
The Third Chain wasn't in a tunnel.
It was in a vaulted chamber, carved long ago from obsidian, then overgrown by time.
At the center stood a towering stone monolith entwined with three glowing bands of molten silver—looping around a massive, hollow humanoid shell bound to the ceiling.
A statue? A corpse?
No. It breathed.
[Boss Detected: The Third Chain]
Type: Root Core Guardian
HP: ???
Phases: 3
Behavior: Passive until provoked
Traits:
– Chrono Loop: Resets all status every 60 seconds
– Chain Pulse: Area Damage every 15 seconds
– Time Drain: Slows attackers near core
Weakness: Simultaneous Strike to All Chains
Branwyn readied her hammer. "This won't be a fight. It'll be a pattern."
Ashra whispered, "It's not a guardian. It's a prisoner."
Jag nodded. "Then we break the lock."
Combat Initiated: Phase One
The silver chains pulsed, each with its own glow—blue, red, and black.
Ashra and Branwyn took positions left and right, while Jag approached the central chain.
[Strike 1: Chain of Flame – 87 DMG]
Result: Partial Burn
Chain Pulse: -33 HP to Party
Chrono Loop: Time Reset – Enemy Status Returned
Ashra cursed. "It's healing itself!"
Rialt's voice crackled over the relay. "You'll have to strike all chains at once. Before the Loop resets them."
[Synchronization Required – 3 Strikes within 3 Seconds]
Timer: 60s Loop Window
The Plan
Branwyn prepared her warhammer with a force rune.
Ashra infused her blade with pulse venom.
Jag knelt beside the statue's base, planting the Time-Tether Bomb directly into the obsidian floor.
[Timer Armed – Detonation Upon Next Loop Start]
At exactly 60 seconds, the Loop began.
And the bomb exploded—freezing the chamber's time for 3.4 seconds.
[Chrono Loop Suspended]
[Strike Window: Open]
Simultaneous Assault:
Jag – Ashforge Slash: -122 HP
Ashra – Shadow Pulse: -91 HP
Branwyn – Rune Slam: -133 HP
[All Chains Damaged – Sync Success]
[Phase One Broken]
[Phase Two Initiated]
The humanoid shell opened its eyes.
They bled light.
Phase Two: The Chain Speaks
A voice echoed across the chamber. Not through sound—but memory.
Each team member staggered as images surged into their minds.
Ashra saw a battlefield—herself slitting the throat of a chained child.
Branwyn saw herself abandoning her dying mentor.
Jag saw the last day of his former life—the moment he begged to live, not to die.
[Status Effect: Echo Shame – -15% Morale, -10% Accuracy]
[Passive Immunity Detected: Nameless Bastion – Memory Loop Blocked]
Jag pushed forward alone.
"Get up," he growled. "It can't hurt us unless we believe it."
He drew the sword with two hands. The Eye above him flared.
New Skill Unlocked: Oathbreaker's Stand
• Once per encounter
• Negates one Mental or Moral Debuff party-wide
• Cost: -10% Lifespan
[Skill Used: Oathbreaker's Stand]
[Echo Shame Cleared]
Branwyn roared.
Ashra wiped tears she hadn't meant to shed.
"Again," Jag ordered.
Final Sequence: Phase Three
The chains now moved, coiling around the chamber like serpents.
Timer activated: 40 seconds
All Chains must be struck in final window
Failure = Time Collapse
Ashra blinked across shadows.
Branwyn channeled another rune.
Jag whispered to the Eye: "Watch me now."
Final Countdown:
3… 2… 1…
—Strike—
Jag: Blade through Chain of Fire
Ashra: Double slash to Chain of Silence
Branwyn: Hammer slam into Chain of Memory
[Sync Achieved]
[Third Chain Broken]
The chamber began to crumble.
The humanoid figure fell from its bindings, unmoving, shattering into bone-dust and glass.
Silence.
Then—
[System Update: Depth Rift Sealed]
Status: All Subterranean Threats Dormant
Stormwatch Secured
Trait Gained: "Chainbreaker" (All Heroes)
Bonus Title (Jag Only): "Anchor of the End"
They climbed back to the surface in silence.
Jag stood atop the rampart that evening, watching the wind carry dust out of the crumbled earth.
The Depth hadn't screamed in defeat.
It had watched.
And Jag knew—there were more than three chains in the world.