Days passed.
Elias remained hidden, coiled in the hollow roots of a dead spirit tree. His wounds healed. His venom evolved. But his mind was restless.
The Wheel had changed.
Before, it was just a tool—a spin of chance. Now… it pulsed with purpose. It whispered fragments of thought at night, like echoes through a tunnel of time.
And one phrase kept repeating, like a scar etched into the walls of his spirit:
> "Find the Core."
Elias didn't know what the Core was.
But the Wheel wanted him to.
---
The Old Wyrm's Warning
He slithered deeper into the forest than ever before, to places even other beasts avoided. Here, the trees were older. Some were fossilized—fused with spirit stones and petrified soul bones.
And here… he met it.
A massive, ancient soul beast lay coiled atop a black crystal slab—half-spirit tortoise, half dragon. Its breath was shallow, and its aura… decaying.
Elias kept his distance. The creature didn't move—but spoke in his mind.
> "Mercury child… wheel-born… why do you come?"
> "The Wheel speaks. It told me to find the Core."
> "Then you are the next."
> "Next what?"
> "Warden of the Spiral. Twister of threads. Do not seek the Core unless you are ready to lose who you were."
> "I already lost who I was," Elias hissed. "Show me."
The great beast was silent a long time. Then, one talon scraped the ground, shifting the soil aside.
> "Then enter. The spiral opens below."
And the earth opened.
---
The Spiral Ruin
The passage led downward—through stone tunnels carved with runes that shimmered when Elias passed. His scales reflected their symbols. Some were familiar, but most were not of this world.
He passed murals: soul beasts worshipping stars, wheels floating above altars, humans kneeling before serpents.
He didn't understand it.
At the base of the ruin, he found it.
A broken altar.
And at its center, floating above cracked stone—was a fragment of a silver wheel, fractured and bleeding spiritual energy.
As he approached, the piece reacted—spinning violently.
Pain stabbed through Elias's head.
> [Wheel of Fate: Synchronizing with Origin Fragment…]
> [New Skill Unlocked – Threadcut]
Effect: Severs the flow of soul energy between a target and their spirit ring or tool for 5 seconds.
Cooldown: 1 hour.
He shuddered.
This wasn't just probability anymore.
This was control over the very fabric of soul connection.
And the whisper returned.
> "The first thread is yours to cut. Choose wisely. The Spiral has opened."
---
Back Above
When Elias emerged from the ruin, he wasn't the same.
His eyes were brighter. His scales carried glowing sigils etched in soft light. And the world felt… thinner. Like one push, one flick, could break things others thought were unbreakable.
Above him, the old dragon-tortoise lay still.
Dead.
The ruin was closing.
> "Whatever this power is," Elias whispered, "it cost him everything."
But the Wheel spun again—this time not by his will.
And a single rune flashed.
> [Next Catalyst: Human Encounter – Lin Yuru]
> [Fate Thread Level: 2 – Trust Forming]
---
Meanwhile… Lin Yuru
Miles away, the young soul master girl sat by a fire, frowning at her trembling hands.
> "The snake spared me," she muttered. "But why?"
Her master—wounded from the failed hunt—warned her to forget it.
> "Soul beasts don't think. They kill. If it hesitated, it was instinct or confusion. Next time, you won't be so lucky."
But she wasn't convinced.
In secret, she pressed her palm to a pendant hidden beneath her robes—a tiny shard of a silver scale. It shimmered faintly with residual soul energy.
> "I don't believe it. He understood me."
She began drawing strange spirals in her journal—compelled, not knowing why.
---