The message had arrived before sunrise.
Not on paper, not by raven — but carved into the iron wall of the war room itself.
> "The Eye is no longer watching. The Fang bleeds freely. Come alone."
A location was scratched beneath it in symbols: an old tunnel once used by the Order during the northern riots.
Riven read it twice. Then again.
The message wasn't a threat. It was an invitation.
And that made it more dangerous.
---
> [Quest Update: The Blade Within the Circle – Splinter Cell Contact Initiated]
Objective: Locate the dissident faction within the Serpent Order.
Risk: High
Reward: Hidden Lore / System Clarity / New Alliance
---
Eron objected.
"This could be a trap. Another knife in the dark."
"It probably is," Riven replied, fastening his cloak. "But if I stay still, I get stabbed anyway."
He armed lightly. Two daggers. A foldable shortbow. No armor. No entourage.
He needed to disappear to find the truth.
---
The northern tunnel entrance was hidden behind an abandoned bakery near the edge of Varell's district.
Riven slipped inside unnoticed.
Torchlight flickered along damp stone. Dust coated the floor in every direction — except forward.
Someone had been here. Recently.
He followed the prints.
Twenty meters in, the tunnel opened into a chamber.
There she stood.
---
A woman in dark robes, head shaved on one side, a silver brand etched across her collarbone — the sigil of the Eye inverted.
She did not draw a weapon. She simply bowed.
"Riven Valen," she said. "I have waited through three deaths to speak to you."
---
> [Unknown Entity Identified: Elira Vess – Former Inquisitor of the Serpent Order]
Status: Defected
Alignment: Unclear
Threat Level: Medium–High
---
"You know me?" Riven asked.
"I knew your previous self. Before the Reset."
He froze.
"Before the what?"
Elira stepped closer.
"The System you carry is not only a gift… it is a memory vault. A copy of countless existences bound together through what the Order calls 'the spiral loop.'"
Riven's breath caught.
"You're saying I've lived these lives… because someone placed them there?"
"Yes. Not the gods. Not fate. The Circle."
---
> [System Warning: External Access Detected]
> Grant dialogue synchronization?
[Yes] [No]
Riven hesitated… then confirmed.
---
A new panel opened.
> [E.M.S.: Archive Mode – Partial Unlock]
Displaying: Elira Vess – Memory Link Detected
> Past Connection: Rebellion Architect / Subject Alpha-Prime
---
"You were the one who built the Rebellion inside the Order," Riven murmured.
"Yes," Elira said. "And you were the one who nearly destroyed it — before you died."
That revelation landed like stone.
He had fought both sides. In different lives. And now… he was caught in between.
---
Elira gestured to a side altar. Upon it sat three objects:
A broken mask with the symbol of the Eye,
A blood-stained journal,
And a crystal orb pulsing faintly.
"The Order is splitting," she said. "The Emissary you saw at the council? That wasn't the original. He's gone. Taken or turned."
"Then who sent the assassin?"
She shook her head. "They act without unity now. Factions within factions."
She stepped forward.
"You need to understand something, Riven. The more you synchronize… the more you drift."
He frowned. "Drift?"
"You lose clarity. You don't know which thoughts are yours — and which are borrowed."
---
> [System Fragment Unlocked: Identity Convergence Warning]
> You are now hosting 427 unique experience threads.
Discrepancies between dominant decision pathways detected.
Risk: Memory bleed / Identity fracture.
---
Riven closed his eyes.
Voices whispered now. Not loud. But always there.
Memories that weren't his — arguing. Guiding. Tempting.
"You said you wanted to help me," he told Elira. "Then help me now."
She picked up the journal and handed it to him.
"These were your words. In a life called Kael. The only one that rejected the System completely."
Riven opened the book.
The handwriting was sharp. Familiar.
> "The System does not serve you. It records you. And if it deems you unfit… it overwrites you."
---
He snapped the book shut.
"You want me to turn it off."
"I want you to own it," she said. "Master it. Or break it."
---
> [New Path Unlocked: Override Protocol – User-Controlled Synchronization]
Status: Inactive
Activation: Requires Reflection Chamber & Memory Anchor
Risk: Irreversible Change
---
Riven stepped back.
"You said you waited three deaths for me."
"Yes."
"And if I walk away now?"
She smiled faintly. "Then I'll wait again."
---
He left the tunnel with more questions than answers.
But one thing was certain.
This war wasn't about territory anymore.
It was about control of the truth.
---
Back in the Eastern Tower, Yra approached him at the gates.
"You were gone too long," she said. "Mira's been asking."
"I'm here now," he said. "And I brought a storm with me."
She handed him a sealed letter.
Riven opened it — and froze.
---
> "The Monk has declared religious sovereignty over the Southern Sectors."
"He has begun executing merchants bearing your crest."
"You are officially named heretic."
---
> [Main Quest Unlocked: War of Doctrine]
Objective: Counter the expansion of the Monk's cult before it converts two or more districts.
Time Limit: 7 days
Reward: Influence Surge / Faith Resistance Buff / New System Skill
---
Riven clenched the letter.
Faith was now a weapon.
And the battlefield just doubled.
---
He stared out the window, mind burning.
Behind him, the System flickered again.
---
> [Synchronization: 87%...]
> Personality Dominance: 71%
Identity Integrity: Stable (for now)
Recommended Action: Establish Memory Anchor or Risk Fragmentation
---
He breathed deep.
Time to choose.
To control the storm — or be consumed by it.