Back in town, the guild receptionist took one look at Squad 3 and sighed so hard it summoned a mild wind spell.
"You were supposed to clear an abandoned shrine," she said.
Kazuki, still smoking slightly, replied, "We did. We just… cleared more violently than expected."
Mistral poked his head out of Kazuki's hood. "Also, he may be the Broken One of prophecy. Please update his file."
The receptionist didn't blink. She just reached for the form labeled "Potential World-Enders (Unranked)."
[Quest Turn-In Complete: Shrine Clearance]Reward: 6 Bronze, One Relic, Guild Rep +1]
The relic came in the form of a glowing medallion, shaped like a spiral sun. When Kazuki touched it, the system lit up like a Christmas tree on fire.
[Relic Identified: Echo Sigil – Fragment of the Past]Function: Enhances Echo Dive. Stores one vision. Whispered messages optional.]
[Corruption +1%]
"Why does everything cool come with corruption?" Kazuki asked.
Mistral blinked slowly. "Because that's your gimmick, my sweet dumb lad."
Later, at the tavern, the team regrouped over food that definitely wasn't up to health code.
Darin ate like someone who'd never had a survival scare.
Vera poked at her food like it might bite back.
Kazuki just stared at his Echo Sigil, trying to figure out if it looked cool or cursed. It was both.
Then something odd happened.
A letter slipped under the table.
Not handed to him. Slipped.
He opened it. The parchment was old, the ink erratic. The writing looked like it was done by someone having an argument with a quill.
"To the Vessel Who Pretends Not To Be:
You're walking a path we've tried to erase.You will be tempted to choose sides.Choose neither.You are the crack in the cycle.Stay broken. That's your power.
– S"
Kazuki stared at the letter.
"Cool cool cool," he whispered. "Random haunted mail. Nothing terrifying about that."
Vera looked up. "You okay?"
"Nope."
Back in the rented room that night, Kazuki activated Echo Dive.
He saw the shrine again—but older.
Unbroken. Lit by torches. Filled with people in robes chanting around the altar. They weren't summoning something—they were trapping it. Wrapping it in light. Sealing it.
And in the center… was him.
Not metaphorically. Not a memory.
Literally him.
Bound in chains of fire and light, eyes closed, expression peaceful.
Kazuki snapped out of the vision sweating, heart pounding.
Mistral spoke from the corner.
"Told you you weren't just a reincarnation. You're a reincarceration."
Kazuki lay back on the bed and muttered, "I'm going to die surrounded by metaphors, aren't I?"
"If you're lucky."