The moment the echo-warrior lunged, time seemed to fracture.
Rina's body moved before thought. Her blade clashed against the curved scimitar of the spectral warrior, the force behind it far greater than she expected from a being made of paint and mana. Sparks burst into the air, and the vault echoed with the clash like a funeral drum.
Dozens of figures were emerging from the walls now—each one etched from ancient history, bearing different weapons, armor, and fighting styles. All moved with fluid grace, like warriors trapped in eternal battle, now unleashed upon the intruders.
> [System Alert: You are engaging Echo Guardians.] [Estimated Power Level: High-A Rank (Scaling with Willpower).] [Survival Rate: 14%.]
"Great," Rina hissed, twisting mid-air as two more attackers dove toward her. "Guess we're doing this the hard way!"
With a flick of her wrist, her sword glowed bright silver. She whispered a mantra, and a wave of mana exploded outward, sending the nearest echo-warrior flying. She dashed forward, stepping on midair platforms of wind, slashing a path through the storm of spirits.
But every time one fell, another emerged.
And Harvey was still suspended at the center of the chamber, bathed in red light, runes crawling across his body like molten veins.
Inside his mind, he was elsewhere.
> [Initiating Inheritance Sequence.] [Memory Echo Infusion: Commencing.]
A blinding vision overtook him. He stood at the edge of a battlefield under a bleeding sky. Armies of angels and men clashed below as a lone figure stood before him—Vandrel the Skybreaker himself. His voice was thunder, yet sorrowful.
"You carry my curse. And my will."
"If you wish to wield what I gave up everything for, then you must endure what I could not."
Harvey opened his mouth to speak, but fire swallowed him whole. His soul was thrown through echoes of pain, war, betrayal—he saw gods burn temples, heard the screams of children as cities fell. And in the heart of it all—Vandrel, kneeling, blade in the earth, defying divinity.
"Break fate, or be broken by it."
Back in the vault, Rina was bleeding.
She gritted her teeth, having taken a cut across her thigh. Her breathing was ragged, and her blade trembled slightly in her grip. Ten more echo-warriors surrounded her, circling like vultures.
"Come on," she spat. "You think I'm just a background character in his story?"
Her system flared. A hidden skill unlocked.
> [Hidden Skill: Crimson Pulse – Activated.]
Her mana turned blood-red. With a single step, she launched herself into a whirlwind strike, slicing through three warriors in a single motion. Her eyes were wild, alive with adrenaline and fury.
Above her, Harvey's scream pierced the air.
Then the ritual ended.
He collapsed to his knees on the altar, panting. His hair was streaked with crimson. His eyes flickered with gold.
> [Inheritance Complete.] [Title Acquired: Echo Heir.] [Skill Acquired: Starbreaker Blade.] [Passive: Memory of War.]
Harvey stood.
The vault stopped moving.
Every echo-warrior froze.
One by one, they turned toward him—and knelt.
Even the one Rina had been fighting dropped its weapon and bowed.
Harvey raised his hand, still shaking. "Stand down."
The echoes dissolved into light.
Silence returned to the vault, broken only by the sound of Rina limping toward him.
"Next time," she said, breathing hard, "give me a warning before you unlock a death dungeon."
Harvey offered her his hand, smirking faintly. "Noted."
She took it.
Behind them, the coffin sealed itself again. But something was different. In the far wall, a path had opened—a hidden corridor bathed in starlight.
Harvey stared down it.
"Looks like our journey isn't over."
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