The forest felt quieter.
Not safe—never that—but… still. Like everything was holding its breath.
Lira and I didn't speak for a while as we made our way down the overgrown trail, guided only by slivers of moonlight filtering through the twisted canopy. The Spiral Moon hung low behind the clouds now, its glow flickering like a dying lantern.
I could feel it in the soil. In the trees. In my veins.
A vibration.
A rhythm.
A pulse.
We reached the edge of a cliff just before dawn. Below us stretched a mist-choked valley dotted with ancient ruins—stone rings, toppled columns, and the faint gleam of standing water beneath the haze. Pale mist curled over shattered archways and crumbled statues, all of it sunken into the mud like the skeleton of a forgotten god.
Lira shivered beside me.
"This place… it's older than the cult. I can feel it," she said, voice soft.
"So can I," I murmured.
And I could feel something calling.
Not a voice. Not a message.
A heartbeat.
Resonating through the stone and into my soul. Like it remembered me—before I had even become myself.
[System Notice: Aeon Echo Detected]Residual energies of a forgotten age have stirred. Soulbound resonance amplifying.Warning: Presence may trigger spiritual recall and entity awareness.
[System Prompt: Engage Aeon Echo and attempt connection?][Y / N]
I hesitated.
Lira looked at me with concern. "What is it?"
"Something ancient," I said. "Something… buried beneath all of this."
And maybe something I needed to understand.
I chose Yes.
The world stopped.
Not literally—but it felt like it.
Wind halted. The leaves froze mid-rustle. Even the sound of our breath faded.
Everything dimmed—except the light beneath my skin.
My veins glowed faintly gold. Not spiral light. Something older. Calmer.
My soul was being pulled into something vast.
I saw flashes—this time clearer.
A city of white stone and translucent spires.
A civilization of spirits and binders.
Priests in armor made of starlight and bone crystal.
They stood around a living flame, suspended above a platform etched with ancient runes that pulsed to a slow, steady rhythm.
Then—shadows.
The Spiral.
Not drawn.
Not carved.
Born.
It bled into their reality like ink into cloth. A rift in form and sanity. The Spiral wasn't merely a curse—it was a seed of ruin, one that grew in the cracks of their perfection.
And I saw them fall, one by one, to madness.
But a few resisted.
One survived.
A girl—barely older than Lira—stood at the center of the spiraling gate. Her left eye burned like silver flame. Her blade was shaped like a crescent moon, etched with memory glyphs.
She raised it high and screamed one word:
"Bind."
The Spiral recoiled.
But not enough.
Everything burned—
I gasped, blinking away tears that hadn't fallen. The memory wasn't mine, but it lived in me now.
Lira had collapsed beside me, gripping her head. Her whole body shook.
"You saw it too?" I asked, kneeling beside her.
She nodded. "I think… we were both pulled in."
[System Alert: Aeon Echo integration complete.]New Title Gained: Bound WitnessYou have seen echoes of the Spiral's origin. Your soul now carries resistance against its deeper corruption.+2 Willpower+1 Intelligence
[Skill Seed Detected – Aeon Fragment Stored]Your soul has recorded a memory of a weapon once used against the Spiral.(Awakening may be possible in future chapters…)
Updated StatusLevel: 5Race: Unknown (Undead-Linked)Title: [Revenant], [Bound Witness]
HP: 80 / 130MP: 10 / 67Strength: 10Agility: 6Endurance: 8Intelligence:9 (+1)Willpower:9 (+2)Charisma: 1Luck: ???
Recent Gains:+2 Willpower, +1 Intelligence (Aeon Echo – Bound Witness)
We rested for a moment at the edge of the overlook, Lira still clutching her knees, her pale eyes wide with something halfway between awe and fear.
"I don't think we're just survivors anymore," I said quietly.
Lira looked at me. "Then what are we?"
I stared out across the misted ruins, where something ancient stirred beneath the earth. Echoes of a war too old to name—and a weapon forged by memory itself.
"Witnesses. And if we live long enough… maybe the last line of defense."
The wind returned.
And it carried whispers again.
But this time—they didn't scare me.
They feared me.