The sky above Cael'drath was dead.
No sun. No moon. Only ash-colored clouds swirling endlessly, as if time itself refused to move forward here.
Kairo stood at the edge of a crumbling cliff, the ruins of the ancient city stretching beneath him like the bones of a fallen god. Buildings twisted by age and war, shattered towers leaning as if whispering forgotten prayers. The air crackled with leftover energy, thick enough to choke.
"Welcome to hell," Kairo muttered.
His hand instinctively brushed against the scroll bound to his wrist by the cursed chain. It pulsed now and then, sensing proximity to… something. He didn't know what. The System hadn't clarified. Nyra hadn't either.
> [Location Detected: Ruins of Cael'drath]
[Curse Density: 73% – Warning: Extended Exposure May Trigger Mutation]
"Mutation?" Kairo repeated, staring at the alert. "Great. Walking into a city of cursed radiation with a bomb strapped to my wrist."
He took a breath and stepped forward.
---
The streets were silent. His footsteps echoed against cracked stone. Shadows moved where nothing should have lived.
Signs of battle were everywhere—burned barricades, shattered sigils, melted weapons embedded in walls. But no corpses. No skeletons. Not even ash.
It was like the city had devoured the dead to hide the truth.
Then came the whispers.
They began faint—just wind at first. Then they grew sharper, forming words in a language he didn't know, yet somehow understood.
"Return… Reclaim… Repeat…"
The curse on his chains stirred. A low hum vibrated along his arm.
> [Curse Sync Level: 35%]
[Mental Integrity: Holding]
"Not reassuring," he muttered.
He passed a crumbled statue, half-buried in rubble. It once depicted a robed figure holding up a crystal—now shattered and bleeding black ooze.
Suddenly, his system flared.
> [Warning: Hostile Presence Detected – 40 meters]
Kairo unsheathed his blade.
Out from behind a collapsed spire came movement—three figures. They stumbled at first like drunkards, but then straightened. Their eyes glowed white. Their flesh was dry and cracked, skin stretched tight over their bones like wax.
> [Wraithbound – Cursed Remnants of the Eclipse War]
Rank: C
Quantity: 3
Status: Aggressive
"Finally," Kairo whispered, lips curling into a grim smile.
The first lunged. Kairo ducked low and slashed its legs out from under it. Before it hit the ground, his cursed chain shot forward, wrapping around its neck. A pulse of black fire ignited along the links.
> [Devour Triggered – Curse Absorption +2%]
[EXP Gained: 40]
The other two screamed and rushed him together. He caught one's blade with his gauntlet and headbutted it, cracking its skull. The third drove a dagger into his side.
Kairo winced but didn't flinch. Instead, he gripped the attacker's wrist, cursed chain wrapping around its arm—and pulled.
The chain surged with darkness. The Wraithbound shrieked, turning to ash as its soul was devoured.
> [Devour Triggered – Curse Absorption +3%]
[Level Up Achieved – Rank Increased]
[New Passive Skill Unlocked: Soul Bind]
He staggered briefly. His side burned, but the system instantly worked to suppress the damage.
> [Auto-Regen Active – Vitality Restoring]
The final Wraithbound tried to flee.
Kairo raised his chain.
"Not done yet."
The chain lashed out like a serpent, impaling the creature through the spine. It dropped instantly, twitching as the curse drained it dry.
Ash fell like snow.
---
By the time he reached the central tower of Cael'drath, the curse fog was thick enough to choke. Kairo felt its weight in his bones, slowing him.
But the scroll on his wrist pulsed harder now—glowing like a beacon.
He pushed through a massive gate half-buried in rubble and entered what must have been a cathedral. Stained-glass windows shattered, blood-red light filtering through what little remained.
And there, standing by the altar, was a woman cloaked in tattered robes.
She turned as he entered, revealing piercing red eyes—and skin made of shimmering obsidian.
Not human.
Not quite cursed either.
"Deliverance," she said, voice like wind through graveyards.
Kairo stopped. "You the contact?"
She nodded once. "I am the Mirror of Cael'drath. The scroll… give it to me."
The chain around Kairo's wrist tightened.
He frowned. "Not so fast. I want answers first."
Her eyes narrowed. "You are brave."
"Stupid, maybe. But if this thing kills me when I hand it over, I'd like to know why."
The Mirror studied him for a moment, then extended her hand—not in demand, but in offering.
"I will show you."
Kairo hesitated, then reached out.
Her fingers barely brushed his skin, and the world shattered.
---
Visions burned into his mind.
He saw Cael'drath in its prime—golden towers, magical lights dancing through the skies. Then the war came. He saw the skies tear open, monstrous things pouring through rifts. Cities fell in seconds. Heroes burned. Armies crumbled.
Then he saw them—a circle of robed figures. The same cloaked council from the Black Fang.
But younger. Different.
Back then… they had names.
And they weren't monsters.
They had tried to stop the end.
They failed.
And then—he saw himself.
Bound to a stone altar, chains digging into his flesh, screaming as magic tore him apart and rebuilt him.
But it wasn't Kairo.
It was someone else—a prototype.
His voice—his face—identical. But older. Twisted.
The image whispered:
"You are the echo of a broken curse."
---
Kairo gasped, yanking his hand back.
The Mirror stood silent.
He staggered back a step. "What the hell am I?"
"Not yet awakened," she replied. "But soon."
He looked down at the scroll. It pulsed.
"Take it," he said hoarsely.
The Mirror reached forward. As her hand touched the scroll, the chain binding it snapped clean.
The scroll unraveled in her hand.
She read it silently.
Then—without a word—she set it ablaze.
"What are you—?"
The fire turned black and exploded outward, washing over her. But she didn't burn. Instead, the curse on her body shimmered—breaking. Cracking.
The fire died.
And standing where the Mirror had been was a woman—flesh restored, eyes no longer cursed.
"You freed me," she said.
> [Mission Complete: Echoes of Cael'drath]
[EXP Gained: 300]
[Class Skill Unlocked: Curseforged Weaponry]
[New Title Acquired: Breaker of Chains]
Kairo staggered back again.
"What the hell is going on?"
The woman bowed her head. "You are not just cursed. You are a vessel. A key. The Black Fang… they didn't tell you everything."
He glared. "No. They didn't."
She stepped forward and placed a black sigil in his hand.
"Take this. When the time comes… go to the Shattered Vault. There you'll find the truth."
"More riddles," he said bitterly.
The woman smiled sadly. "Or perhaps… a beginning."