The sky was bleeding.
Red streaks of dawn cut through the stormclouds as Kairo stood atop the ridge, staring down at the ruins of the Mindforge Temple. What remained of the once-sacred place had been half-swallowed by the earth—black spires jutted from cracked ground like jagged bones, and a green mist rolled from its shattered gates.
Beside him, Aerin adjusted the straps of her leather armor. Her jaw was clenched. "This place reeks of old magic."
"Not just magic," Seraph said, her gaze cold. "Memories live here. Dead ones."
Kairo stepped forward, his breath visible in the frigid air. The pull in his chest—the fragments—were trembling now, vibrating in rhythm with something deep inside the temple.
> [Location Reached: Mindforge Temple – Primary Anchor Detected]
[Fragment Trial: Echo Initiated – Entry Required]
The gates groaned open without a touch.
Kairo exhaled. "It's calling."
"Then we go in together," Aerin said, stepping beside him.
He hesitated. But the system's response was instant.
> [WARNING: Trial is personal. Companions will be separated or barred.]
Seraph narrowed her eyes. "We wait here. Go. And come back whole."
Kairo nodded once—and stepped into the dark.
---
He passed through the mist—and the world fractured.
In an instant, the cold vanished.
He was no longer in the temple. He stood on a cracked battlefield under a twilight sky, surrounded by burning husks of machines and broken armor. Floating above the ground, suspended in chains of memory, was a younger version of himself—V-02.
Not Kairo.
The prototype.
His face was blank, his eyes glowing blue, his limbs surrounded by experimental tech linked directly to the Mindforge.
And in front of that younger version stood a boy. Fragile. Scared. Crying.
Kairo's breath caught.
It was him.
Before the lab. Before the curse. Before everything.
> [Fragment Trial Objective: Protect Your Core Self]
[Threat Detected: Corrupted Memory – Herald of Regression Incoming]
The ground trembled.
A monstrous form slithered from the horizon. A black mass of rotting armor, burning chains, and whispering mouths—each whisper echoing words Kairo thought he had forgotten.
You were never meant to be free.
You were designed to obey.
There is no Kairo. Only V-02.
He grit his teeth, his chainblades igniting in his hands. "I'm not your experiment anymore."
The Herald lunged.
---
The battle was like fighting grief.
Each blow from the Herald left echoes in Kairo's mind—twisted memories, distorted truths. He saw himself screaming in a cell. Saw Seraph turning her back. Saw Aerin dead in his arms.
Lies. He pushed forward, slicing through the corruption with cursed fire and sheer rage.
But the Herald reformed again and again, feeding off the fragments still buried in his heart.
The boy—his younger self—screamed behind a wall of shadow as the Herald reached for him.
> [Skill Unlocked: Echo Chain – Temporarily bind a memory to weapon form. Enhances damage vs illusion and corruption.]
[Cursed Aspect Activated – "Hope" Reconstructed]
Kairo roared and flung his chainblades wide.
They exploded into radiant links—each one pulsing with an old memory, a good one. A touch. A laugh. A sunrise through prison bars. The first time Aerin smiled at him. The way Seraph had once said his name before the labs ruined it.
Hope.
He caught the Herald mid-lunge and dragged it down, anchoring it with every chain.
Then he stabbed both blades through its writhing core.
Light erupted.
The Herald screamed—and shattered into dust.
---
The battlefield dissolved.
Kairo opened his eyes—and stood once more inside the temple. Alone. But something was different.
A piece of armor now rested on his left shoulder—ethereal, pulsing with green runes.
> [Trial Complete: Fragment Stability Achieved]
[Aspect Gained: "Hopebound Core" – Mental resist increased. Summon temporary memory allies during limit states.]
> [New Title Unlocked: The Shackled Flame]
[System Level Increased: LVL 17 → LVL 21]
[New Chain Skill Available: Memory Bind]
He stepped forward—and the exit opened in front of him like a sigh.
When he emerged, Aerin ran up to him, relief etched across her face. "You were gone for three hours."
Seraph didn't speak—but her gaze scanned him closely.
"You changed," she said. "Something's… anchored now."
He nodded. "I found what I lost."
Aerin placed a hand on his arm. "And?"
He looked out across the Scarlands.
"We move forward."
---
That night, they camped near the edge of the ruins. The sky above had turned quiet, the rift from before dimmer now.
Seraph crouched near the fire, her blade across her knees. "The Order won't stay quiet forever. When they learn you passed the Temple, they'll hunt you harder."
"Let them," Kairo said. "Next time, I'll be ready."
Aerin raised an eyebrow. "You sure? What if they send someone worse than the Herald?"
"They will." His voice was steady. "And I'll find them first."
> [New Objective Unlocked: Seek the Truth of the Fracture Event]
[Optional Objective: Reclaim Broken Fragments Hidden in Ruined Zones – Progress 1/7]
Seraph frowned. "There are seven?"
"At least," Kairo replied. "Each one will tell me more. About them. About me."
Aerin nodded. "Then we don't stop. We burn through everything in our path."
And as the fire crackled, and the cursed winds of the Scarlands faded into silence, Kairo closed his eyes for just a moment.
And dreamed—for the first time in years—without screaming.