The canyon fell silent once more.
But it wasn't peace.
It was the kind of silence that watches you from the dark. The kind that follows you home, sits beside your bed, and waits.
Kael stood alone among the scorched remnants of Varn's body. The third shard pulsed inside his chest—hot, volatile, unfinished. Each one he absorbed brought him closer to something… more.
But also something less.
Less human.
Less whole.
---
> Sigil Shards: 3/7
Status: Resonating — Partial Sync (48%)
Corruption Level: 19% — Approaching Threshold 1
Trait Warning: Silence Adaptation accelerating.
---
Kael sank to one knee, sweat dripping from his brow as the world tilted.
The whispers were getting louder now.
Not just in battle, not just in dreams.
Every moment.
A hundred voices—his own among them—echoing futures not yet lived.
> "You were never meant to be a weapon…"
"…but we all become what we fear."
He pressed a hand to his chest and steadied himself. The Revenant Edge pulsed gently against his back, reacting to the internal war he couldn't escape.
Then a voice reached him again—
Real.
Close.
"Get up, Voss. You're not done."
---
Kael spun around, blade half-drawn—
But paused.
Standing behind him, veil pulled back, was a woman.
Tall. Skin like polished bronze. Her hair braided in threads of silver and red. She wore an old Warden cloak, but her shoulders bore a different symbol—one Kael didn't recognize.
A seven-pointed wheel etched into a cracked mirror.
Kael narrowed his eyes. "Who the hell are you?"
The woman smirked. "The one who's been cleaning up your mess."
She tossed a burnt-out Echo drone at his feet.
> Pact Recon Unit: Terminated.
Location: Tracked. Compromised.
Extraction In Progress: Active Surveillance Lifted.
Kael cursed. "They followed me here?"
The woman nodded. "The moment you stepped into Skel-Hollow, the Pact's eyes were on you. They want the shards back."
He rose to his feet. "And you? Another shard bearer?"
"Not yet," she replied. "But I know where the fourth one is."
Kael paused.
She stepped forward, extending a hand.
"Name's Lira. Pactbreaker Cell Seven. I knew your mother."
---
The name hit like a blade through fog.
"You… knew Elira?"
Lira's expression softened slightly. "She trusted me with her last message. One she never got to finish."
Kael stared at her hand.
Then took it.
And in that moment, something clicked inside him.
A pulse.
Not Echo.
Not corruption.
But memory.
Connection.
---
> New Ally Acquired: Lira Thorne
Affiliation: Pactbreaker – Rogue Faction
Skill: Tactical Echo Specialist / Fragment Tracker
Bond Level: Low (1/5)
---
Together, they set up camp at the canyon's edge. Lira was efficient—she didn't ask too many questions, but Kael could tell she was watching him closely. Not with fear, but with calculated interest.
That night, as Kael stared into the fire, he asked, "Why are you really helping me?"
Lira didn't look up. "Because I've seen what happens when someone else gets the shards. I've seen what the Pact wants to do with them."
Kael turned to her. "What do they want?"
She looked him in the eye.
"To restart the world. And burn the rest."
---
In the flames, Kael saw visions again—brief, scattered.
Renna.
Bound in chains of light.
The Harvester.
Laughing.
And his own face—eyes hollow, hands soaked in blood.
Seven thrones.
Seven voices.
One Silence.
---
His fists clenched.
"We need to move. Where's the next shard?"
Lira rose and retrieved a black map from her pack. It shimmered with encoded data.
"The fourth fragment is deep inside the Derelict Spire."
Kael's brow furrowed. "That's restricted territory. The Spire's locked down."
Lira smiled grimly. "Not anymore. Someone opened the gate last night."
"Who?"
She met his eyes.
"Someone wearing your face."
---