The night after their quiet campfire talk passed in soft, lingering silence. Zayn stirred before dawn, the fading embers still faintly warm near the rock shelf where he and Nala had slept. A thin sheet of frost clung to the edges of his cloak, delicate as ash. He sat up slowly, blinking away sleep. In the sky above, the first hints of twilight bled through the haze.
Nala was already awake.
She stood near the waterline, her silhouette faint beneath the rising mist. One hand hovered above the surface of a shallow stream that fed into the canyon's edge, her fingers twitching slightly as if feeling something unseen.
Zayn padded over, voice low. "Is it reacting again?"
Nala nodded, her eyes still closed. "It's faint... but there's a pulse. Like threads woven through the water. Something's beneath. Old, and cold."
He tilted his head. "Another ruin?"
"It's not like Brinehook's," she murmured. "There's no warmth in this one. The flow here is tight, knotted... as if it's trying to stay hidden. But it wants to be found."
That was all the confirmation he needed.
They packed light and followed the stream's descent. The path narrowed as rocks closed in, becoming jagged. Crystalline frost clung unnaturally to the stone, despite the warming sun above. Birds avoided the region. Even the wind seemed cautious.
As they descended further, strange symbols began appearing on the canyon walls. Some etched directly into stone, others traced in half-faded light. The deeper they went, the colder it became. Zayn found himself adjusting his core flow to warm his fingers.
A frozen gate soon revealed itself. It was partially collapsed, vines and frost coiled along its outer edge. Above it, engraved in faded runes, glowed two words:
[The Shiver Vault]
"Looks like a Tier Two site," Zayn whispered. "But we haven't even finished mapping Tier Ones."
Nala stepped forward, her hand brushing the runes. "I think it's waiting for me."
Zayn frowned. "That's not comforting."
Nala offered a quiet smile. "Nothing ever is."
They stepped through.
The Vault wasn't just cold. It breathed it. Every step forward sent a pulse through the ground that made their skin tighten. The interior walls were curved in concentric rings, glowing faintly with silver threads that pulsed like veins.
Nala's Pulse Sense came alive instantly.
"There," she pointed. "The pattern's strange. It bends. This place isn't linear... it loops."
Zayn narrowed his eyes. "A maze?"
"A spiral," Nala corrected. "But only if we move with the rhythm. If we don't... it resets."
They tested it carefully. Each hallway reacted to their motion. Veins of Aether would light with their footfalls, only to fade if they paused too long. Once, Zayn moved too fast and the entire wall shimmered, then the room shifted, placing them back at the entrance.
"It's trial-based," he muttered. "It's watching how we think."
On the fourth reset, Nala took the lead.
With her hands brushing the air, she moved by instinct. Her movements were fluid, guided not by sight but by the subtle vibrations in the Aether. Zayn followed silently, matching her steps. Minutes passed. Then an hour.
They passed into a central chamber. This one was unlike the others.
An enormous crystalline pillar jutted from the center, surrounded by a frozen lake. Suspended above the pillar, half-buried in frost, was an object that throbbed like a living heart.
[Forgememory Fragment Detected]
[Locked: Trial of Echo Pattern Required]
A soft chime echoed.
The floor beneath them shifted, then symbols lit the lake's surface. Rows of shifting lines danced in patterns.
[Trial Initiated: Echo Alignment]
[Objective: Match the forging flow with ambient resonance]
Zayn blinked. "This is my test, isn't it."
Nala stepped back. "It's all you."
The moment he stepped forward, the symbols beneath his feet glowed. His system interface flickered.
[Core Interface Active]
[Relic Link Engaged]
He reached out with his thoughts, feeling the tension within the Vault. The lines pulsed like a forge bellows, inhale, exhale, pulse, rest. Zayn mirrored it.
Step. Pulse. Tap. Draw. He mimicked the forging cadence he'd once felt in Brinehook's ruins, recalling how the relics resonated with his intent. But this was deeper. Older.
Something shifted.
The fragment above him reacted. Lines of Aether surged downward, wrapping around his arms, shoulders, and core.
Pain flared.
His vision trembled as the weight of memory poured into him... not his, but someone else's. Flashes of flame, of relics shattering, of hands carving glyphs into air.
The system flared:
[Forgememory Interface Unlocked]
[Passive Unsealed: Relic Tracing]
Grants vision of forging history in touched relics. Enhances crafting options and compatibility recognition.
[Skill Unlocked: Pattern Recall]
Allows user to mimic previously observed skill patterns at 60% efficiency for a short duration.
He staggered backward, gasping.
The fragment settled into his palm, cold but no longer hostile. It pulsed once, then fused into his core with a quiet hum.
Nala caught him before he fell. "You're burning cold."
"Forge Memory," he whispered. "It wasn't just data... it was alive."
The Vault didn't collapse like the last one had. Instead, its inner light dimmed, soft pulses fading into stillness. A quiet acceptance.
Outside, the air was crisper. The frost along the canyon walls had less bite.
They made camp nearby. Neither spoke much at first. The Forge Memory had left Zayn quiet, contemplative.
Nala tended the small fire they built between old stones. Her hands moved calmly, methodically. After a while, she looked over.
"It suits you."
Zayn raised an eyebrow.
"The forge look," she added with a small grin.
He gave a soft snort. "You think I'm going to turn into some hammer-wielding maniac?"
"Not yet," she said. "But give it time."
He stared into the fire, letting silence settle again. Then he spoke, voice softer.
"I saw someone... during the forging pattern. A man with silver in his hair. Not me, but...
"
Nala didn't answer immediately. Then she leaned forward, resting her chin on her hands.
"Maybe the world's trying to show you your place in it."
He didn't reply. Not directly.
That night, as the fire dimmed and frost returned to the stones around them, Zayn dreamt.
Not of Earth.
Not of the Nullborn or the broken cities.
He dreamt of a great forge deep beneath ice, where flame sang with memory and echoes became tools.
And in that forge, something waited for him still.