The stone arch loomed like a forgotten relic of divinity, its glowing runes pulsing in cadence with Hikaru's heartbeat. Every breath he took near it felt heavier, like the air itself resisted intrusion.
The Heartguard stood silently before it, each of them lost in their thoughts.
Kaela traced a rune with her finger. "These symbols... they predate the current System interface. This is from the Core Layer."
Illya nodded. "It's like finding the bones of a god buried beneath your house."
[Instance: Rift Origin – Echoes of the First War]
Difficulty: Unknown
Instance Type: Chrono-Echo
Entry Limit: 5 Players
Respawn: Disabled
Time Limit: 2 hours
Objective: Witness. Learn. Survive.
"Chrono-Echo?" Brant frowned. "What the hell kind of instance is that?"
"It means we're not just raiding a dungeon," Illya replied grimly. "We're stepping into a preserved memory… one that likely shouldn't exist anymore."
Hikaru checked his gear. Everything was sharpened, charged, and synced. "Let's go."
One by one, they passed through the arch—and the world changed.
They emerged into a sky bathed in blood-red twilight. Broken towers loomed around them, pierced by crystalline spears. Rivers of lava cut through cracked cobblestone. Ash fell like snow.
And in the distance: war.
Two armies clashed—one of armored humans bearing flags with the same emblem on Hikaru's chestplate. The other... twisted abominations of flesh and shadow, screaming in languages that clawed at the mind.
"Is this the First War?" Kaela gasped.
"Looks like it," Hikaru muttered, wide-eyed. "The one before players. Before the System."
[System Voice: You are witnessing a sealed Chrono-Echo. Do not interfere.]
A laugh echoed from behind.
"Funny how rules are made to be broken."
The group spun around—and saw him.
A player.
Not an echo. Not an NPC.
A living, breathing player, his level redacted, his name unreadable.
His armor shimmered with glitching hex-codes, and his blade hummed with raw Rift energy.
"Who the hell are you?" Brant demanded, raising his shield.
The stranger smiled.
"You broke the ritual. Killed Lucien. That got Their attention. So now, you're here… and so am I."
[Boss Encounter: Rift Herald – ???]
Class: Unlisted
Threat Level: Catastrophic
"Combat's restricted," Kaela said. "The system warned us not to interfere!"
The Rift Herald raised his sword.
"That's the funny part."
He swung.
The blade didn't strike Hikaru—it struck reality.
[ERROR: CHRONO-LAYER DISTORTION DETECTED]
[INTEGRITY COMPROMISED. OVERRIDE IN PROGRESS.]
The entire instance shook violently. Time bent. The soldiers around them screamed and froze mid-battle, flickering like broken holograms.
Illya screamed, clutching her head. "He's rewriting the memory! He's turning it into a battlefield!"
The Herald grinned, stepping forward. "You want truth? Here it is—"
He vanished in a flash of red light—only to reappear behind HelixJump.
[Critical Hit – 3724 Damage]
[HelixJump has died.]
"No!" Kaela moved to cast a revive, but—
[Revival Disabled in this Instance.]
"Fall back!" Hikaru shouted, activating [Phantom Dash] to close distance.
But the Herald was a step ahead.
He thrust his hand toward the sky. A rift opened above, from which poured a black, acidic rain. The burning droplets melted cobblestone and shimmered off Brant's shield.
"We can't beat him like this!" Illya shouted.
"Then we change the rules too," Hikaru growled.
The group dove into the ruins of a cathedral as the Herald's storm raged.
Illya dragged up her interface, fingers flying over keybindings.
"I might be able to interface with the original memory core. If I stabilize it, we can turn the instance back into observation-only and kick him out."
"Do it," Hikaru said. "Brant and I will keep him busy."
Kaela looked at Hikaru, eyes wide with worry. "If you die—"
"I won't," he cut her off, forcing a smile. "Because I haven't found out what happens next."
With a deep breath, he kicked open the cathedral doors.
The Herald was waiting.
"So. You think you can stop corruption with courage?"
Hikaru drew his blade. "No. But I can cut it."
They clashed.
Steel and Rift energy collided with thunderous shockwaves. Every blow bent the broken laws of space. Hikaru's HP plummeted, but he danced between strikes like a ghost, countering with [Riftlash] and [Void Parry].
Brant barreled in, shield-first. "We're rewriting this ending!"
The Herald roared, unleashing a cone of pure anti-magic. Brant's armor cracked, but he held firm—buying Illya the seconds she needed.
Inside the cathedral, she reached the altar and channeled her energy.
[Skill Activated: Arcane Reweave – Bind Memory Fragment]
Target: Chrono-Echo Root
Status: Purifying…
The Herald screamed.
"No! You're sealing it!"
Kaela threw everything into a protection ward.
[Divine Anchor: Sanctuary Shield – 20 Seconds of Immunity Granted]
A pulse of pure white energy surged from the cathedral, encasing the world.
The Herald's body split, shattering like glass.
[Boss Defeated: Rift Herald – ???]
Instance Restored. Memory Lock Reapplied.]
The battlefield went still.
Then, a final vision played—unprompted.
The five remaining players stood as ghostly figures watched them from the broken spires.
Tall. Silent. Radiating power unlike anything seen before.
One spoke—not with words, but intent.
"You pull strings you do not understand."
"You are fragments of chaos. But you are also keys."
"When the final lock breaks, the Game ends."
"And the World begins."
Then, silence.
And the instance collapsed.
They reappeared before the stone arch.
The ruins were unchanged. The fire was still smoldering. The sky was still cracked.
But something deep had shifted.
Hikaru fell to one knee, catching his breath.
Illya whispered, "The Rift Herald was a player. One like us. But… changed. Twisted."
"They're using us," Kaela said. "To reach the Core."
"Then we stop them," Hikaru replied. "Before they tear everything apart."