The wind that swept across the ruined tower no longer howled with malice, but with memory.
Leo stood at the edge of the shattered battleground, the Echo-Crystal Fragment pulsing faintly in his palm. It was warm—almost alive—and every pulse resonated with something deep in his chest. Not just the Soul Chain. Something... older. Something that listened back.
Behind him, Kaelgrun and Sylari waited in the uncertain silence. Neither spoke. Neither needed to. They knew Leo wasn't staying.
"You're going after her," Sylari said, finally. Not a question. A truth.
Leo nodded. "The system gave me a path. I intend to walk it."
Kaelgrun scratched his beard, limping forward. "Then take this, lad. Might not be much, but it's dwarven steel blessed by the old stone-seers."
He handed Leo a small pendant etched with runes.
"⟪Item Acquired: Stone-Seer's Sigil⟫ Type: Minor Relic | Effect: +5% resistance to dimensional instability. May reduce temporal backlash⟫"
Sylari stepped beside him and pressed a thin book into his hand. "Notes from the Arcanum. On the Resonant Memory Plane. Most of it's theory... but some of it might be true. Just—don't get lost. That plane feeds on regret."
He met her gaze. "I won't."
He turned toward the remnants of the corrupted crystal. It had grown unstable—fracturing space around it like a prism of shattered time. The Echo-Crystal Fragment shimmered, reacting, and the tower trembled once more as a rift unfolded—quietly, almost reverently. Like the world itself was reluctant to open this door.
"⟪Quest Activated: Through the Veil⟫ Objective: Step into the Resonance Plane. Locate Aerin Veyla. Survive the soulstorm.⟫"
Without hesitation, Leo stepped through.
---
The sensation wasn't like teleportation. It wasn't like falling. It was like remembering something he never lived.
He emerged into a world not bound by sky or stone. The Resonant Plane was built of fragments—echoes of ruined cities, forgotten fields, shattered towers—all floating in an endless sea of mist and starlight. Pieces of memories. Discarded timelines. Ghosts of what might've been.
The air hummed with whispers. Some familiar. Others… hungry.
"⟪Location Discovered: The Driftways⟫ Realm: Resonant Memory Plane⟫"
Leo stumbled forward, trying to anchor himself. The ground beneath his feet shifted subtly with every step. Not unstable, but fluid—as though memory itself were a landscape to walk upon.
"⟪Status Effect: Dimensional Strain⟫ Effect: Minor disorientation. Reduced perception clarity. Duration: Adapting⟫"
He gritted his teeth and focused. One step at a time.
From the mists, a shape began to emerge—a statue. Half-shattered, headless, its base inscribed with a single word: Aerin.
His pulse spiked.
As he approached, the statue shimmered... and a projection appeared.
Aerin.
Not flesh. Not illusion. A memory echo.
She stood, facing away, her hair caught in a wind that wasn't there. When she turned, her eyes met his—and something flickered. Recognition. Pain. Hope.
"Leo…"
But her voice was fragmented, distorted.
"Don't trust... them. The echoes lie. I'm still... fighting. I remember you. That's what anchors me."
He stepped forward, reaching out.
The vision collapsed into dust.
"⟪Memory Echo Registered⟫ Location Saved. Resonant Signal: 12%⟫"
Tension coiled in his chest. She was here. Somewhere. Fighting to exist.
But not alone.
Something felt him. A ripple in the mist.
A new presence emerged—a tall, flickering silhouette of a man wrapped in tendrils of light and shadow. No face. No features. Only the echo of intent.
"Welcome, outsider," it spoke, voice like cracking glass. "You seek what was lost. But the Resonant Plane demands exchange."
"⟪Entity Detected: Warden of the Drift⟫ Rank: ??? Alignment: Obfuscated⟫"
Leo stepped into a guarded stance, one hand on the Verdant Fang. "Then let me offer this—my soul burns brighter than any echo here. I'll tear through this plane, one lie at a time, to find her."
The Warden tilted its head.
"Then burn... but beware. In seeking her, you may unravel yourself."
The entity vanished, leaving only silence and the cold breath of mist.
Leo exhaled slowly.
"⟪New Objective Unlocked: Gather Memory Echoes (0/5)⟫ Progress Resonant Signal to 100% to locate Aerin⟫"
He looked ahead, into the veiled horizon where fragments of worlds drifted like forgotten dreams.
He walked forward.
Alone.
But not without purpose.