The monolith hummed with a pressure that weighed heavier than gravity. Kairo's breath slowed, his pulse syncing with the deep thrum that resonated from the Shard of Self.
> [Class Evolution Available]
Current Class: Bound Vessel
New Class: Curseforged Ascendant
Warning: Irreversible Transformation. Fragmented Memories May Return. Proceed?
Kairo stared at the glowing prompt. Power clawed at him from the inside, eager to be released. But this—this felt like more than a simple system upgrade. It felt like a point of no return.
Aerin stepped beside him, watching cautiously.
"You okay?" she asked. "You're shaking."
"I've been used since the day I woke up," Kairo muttered. "No memories. A curse I didn't choose. And now… this."
"You don't have to accept it," Aerin said. "We can walk away."
"No," Kairo replied quietly. "I don't think I was ever meant to walk away."
He reached out, fingers brushing the Shard of Self.
The moment he touched it, pain exploded through his body. Not the physical kind—but something deeper, a burning brand across his very soul.
> [Class Evolution Initiated]
[Synchronizing with Prototype Remnant…]
[Unsealing Suppressed Memory Fragments…]
[WARNING: Mental Instability Threshold Rising…]
Visions crashed into him. A thousand voices screamed. He was no longer in the Vault.
He was back—somewhere else.
---
A dark chamber. Metal restraints. Cold light from crystal panels above.
He saw himself—or someone who looked like him—strapped to a surgical platform. Cloaked figures in black surrounded him, chanting.
"Subject V-02. Binding in progress."
The figure screamed as chains of obsidian etched with blood rites coiled around his limbs. His skin burned. His eyes glowed.
One voice rose above the others.
"Let the curse take root. Let the soul fracture and be reborn."
Then—silence.
The vision shifted.
Now Kairo stood alone in a mirror dimension. Before him: the prototype.
"You saw it, didn't you?" the prototype asked, his voice like thunder and sorrow blended into one. "What they did to us."
"You're not me," Kairo said.
"No," the man agreed. "I'm what they almost made you."
Kairo clenched his fists. "Why show me this now?"
The prototype turned. "Because the choice they gave me, I threw away. I became a weapon. You still have time to be more."
Kairo's breath trembled. "Then what am I supposed to be?"
The mirror cracked.
---
> [Class Evolution Complete]
New Class: Curseforged Ascendant
Skill Unlocked: Soulfracture Aura – All enemies within range suffer stacking curse damage. Amplifies when near other cursed entities.
Trait Gained: Split Memory Core – Allows partial access to Prototype's experiences and skills. Increases resistance to mental influence.
Weapon Evolved: Shackled Wrath – Can now transform into dual-chainblades laced with cursed fire.
Kairo gasped and collapsed to one knee, panting.
Aerin rushed to him. "Kairo!"
He looked up—and his eyes weren't the same.
No longer just silver.
Now they shimmered like molten obsidian.
He stood slowly, his aura flickering in waves of black and violet. The chains that once hung loose from his arm now coiled with intent, humming with barely restrained violence.
Aerin took a cautious step back. "You… changed."
Kairo flexed his hand. "I remember things. Pieces. They turned me into a vessel not to seal the curse—but to control it. They wanted an army of us."
"You're saying there are more?"
He nodded. "Or there were."
---
The Vault trembled.
Not from his awakening—but from something else.
> [Alert: Foreign Magic Detected – Dimensional Rift Opening Above the Maw Peaks]
[Threat Classification: Unknown – Priority: Escape]
Kairo turned to Aerin. "We need to move. Now."
They sprinted out of the Vault just as the ceiling began to cave in. Outside, the sky had darkened unnaturally. Cracks of violet lightning split the clouds, and a massive tear in the sky bled black fire.
Descending from the rift—was a figure.
Clad in robes of shattered gold, masked with bone, riding a beast of void and chain.
Aerin froze. "That's… that's a Herald."
Kairo narrowed his eyes.
He didn't need the System to confirm it. His very curse pulsed in recognition.
The Black Fang had sent a true enforcer.
The Herald raised its hand—and the snow around them evaporated. Trees burned without flame. The wind screamed.
> [New Objective: Survive the Herald of Silence]
[Recommended Action: Flee]
Kairo didn't flinch.
He stepped forward.
The Herald tilted its head. "So you are the awakened shard."
Its voice echoed in his mind.
"I see the curse chose well."
Kairo snarled, eyes blazing. "I chose. Not it."
The Herald raised its hand—and from the sky descended hundreds of chains, slamming into the earth around Kairo like spears.
> [Warning: Cursed Bind Detected – Dodge or Counter Required]
He spun, his new dual-chainblades unfurling.
> [Skill Activated: Soulfracture Aura]
The earth cracked beneath him as cursed fire erupted in a wave.
Chains burned.
The Herald recoiled slightly, intrigued.
"A fracture with a will. Rare."
"You sent monsters after me," Kairo growled. "You made me kill to survive. Now it's your turn to run."
The Herald made no move to dodge.
Instead, it drew a staff from thin air and planted it into the ground.
A bell tolled.
Reality rippled.
And Kairo dropped to one knee as pressure like a collapsing star pressed into him.
> [Status Effect: Curse Overload – Class Compatibility: 83%]
[Engage Prototype Echo? Y/N]
He didn't hesitate.
Y.
---
Inside his mind, the prototype appeared again.
"You're not ready."
"I don't care."
The prototype gave him a faint, almost proud look. "Then let me show you what almost worked."
---
> [Skill Unlocked: Chain Grave – Create a domain of cursed chains that suppress enemy skills and corrupt terrain within a wide radius.]
The world turned black and violet.
The storm stilled.
Chains erupted from the ground like grasping hands, ensnaring the Herald's beast, tearing at its form. The creature screamed.
The Herald looked down at Kairo—not with contempt this time—but with interest.
"So the fracture remembers."
It vanished in a blink—escaping through the rift above.
The storm cleared.
Kairo collapsed.
> [Major Threat Repelled – No Rewards Issued]
[Prototype Integration 15% Complete]
[Mental Strain: High – Rest Recommended]
Aerin ran to him and caught him before he hit the snow.
"You insane, cursed idiot," she muttered, holding him steady. "You fought a Herald and lived."
Kairo opened one eye. "Barely."
She grinned. "That's still a win in my book."
He laughed weakly, the chains around him slowly retracting.
But in his heart, he knew—
This was only the beginning.