The chamber beneath the academy was unlike anything Kael had seen.
Blackstone walls pulsed with threads of red soul light, and runes etched in ancient languages danced faintly in the dark. Only those marked by the Devourer path could enter here, and now… he was one of them.
Master Veyren stood at the center of the circular arena, his eyes half-lidded in thought, his cloak pooling like smoke at his feet.
Kael approached, Emberfang strapped to his back. The weapon felt heavier now—not from weight, but potential.
"You're here earlier than expected," Veyren said.
Kael shrugged. "You said I needed to be faster than my enemies. So I'm here."
A faint smirk played on the old master's lips. "Good. Then let's begin."
With a flick of his hand, the air shimmered, and a soul-simulated construct appeared—a phantom beast shaped like a serpent made of flame and shadow. Its eyes blazed violet. Its mouth opened wide.
"Defeat it," Veyren said. "No soul skills. No Emberfang. Just your instincts."
Kael nodded and rushed forward.
The beast struck fast, but Kael ducked, rolled, and leapt off the wall, bringing his knee down on the serpent's skull. The creature roared, dissolving into ash.
Before he could breathe, two more appeared.
This time, Kael fought smart—using his environment, flipping over broken pillars, slamming his palm into pressure points. His movements were sharp, clean, honed by desperation and rebirth.
He took them down.
Sweat dripped down his back. His knuckles were raw.
Veyren clapped once. "Your form is wild… but efficient. You're not a warrior. You're a weapon being forged."
Kael straightened. "Then forge me."
---
That night, Kael sat alone in the Forbidden Archive, a hidden wing of the academy that only Veyren's chosen could access. Ancient scrolls, relics, and soul containers lined the obsidian shelves.
The system pinged softly.
"New Location Unlocked: Obsidian Depths
Mission Objective: Retrieve Second Soul Node
Status: Active
Estimated Threat Level: Tier 3—Corpseforged Behemoths detected
Recommended Party: 2+
Timer: 72 hours before collapse of passage."
Kael narrowed his eyes. "Collapse?"
Veyren's voice echoed behind him. "The passage shifts every lunar cycle. You wait, you lose your chance."
"I'll go alone," Kael said.
"You'll die alone," Veyren corrected. "Take Elira. She resonates with your path. And take this."
He handed Kael a dark ring pulsing with soul runes.
"Item Acquired: Whispering Ring
Effect: Allows soul-link communication within 1 km."
Kael accepted it. "Why help me?"
Veyren's gaze sharpened. "Because you're more than just potential now. You're proof. The forge responds to you. And if you succeed… you might become something this empire hasn't seen in centuries."
---
The next morning, Kael and Elira stood before the sealed cavern mouth beyond the academy's lower gates—where the veil between this world and the soul remnants below was thinnest.
She glanced at him. "Obsidian Depths… you sure we're ready?"
"No," Kael said. "But that's never stopped me before."
Together, they stepped inside.
---
The descent was harsh. The deeper they went, the more twisted the stone became—veins of black glass pulsed with eerie warmth, and the air buzzed with soul static.
After an hour, they found the first signs of corruption.
A corpse nailed to a wall—still twitching, its eyes glowing green.
Kael stepped forward. The system warned:
*"Soul Echo Detected: Corpseforged Drone. Hostile."*
The corpse lunged.
Kael and Elira fought side by side, her soullight spears slicing through rotten bone while Kael unleashed *Soul Strike: Ash Spiral*, Emberfang cutting through corrupted marrow.
The beast shrieked and fell. Kael absorbed its soul—tainted, but usable.
*"Fragment Gained: Necrotic Carapace. Passive Option: +Defense vs Soulrot."*
The further they moved, the stronger the resistance grew—more drones, malformed beasts, and echoes of ancient wars fought deep beneath the earth.
At last, they reached a massive chamber.
In the center, embedded in a jagged pillar of obsidian, floated the *Second Soul Node*—a sphere of flickering red and gold, pulsing like a heart.
But they weren't alone.
From the darkness emerged a creature unlike the others—a *Corpseforged Behemoth*, armored in bone, with four arms and burning red eyes.
Elira gasped. "It's guarding the Node."
Kael stepped forward, eyes hard.
"Then let's take it."