Chapter 14: Echoes Beneath the Manor
Moonlight seeped through the high windows of Elias's bedchamber, painting silver pools across the obsidian tiles. The stone walls breathed with silence. The torches had long since dimmed, and the maids had been dismissed hours ago. Yet Elias stood before the tall oval mirror in the corner of the chamber, half-dressed, bare from the waist up, his trousers loose about his hips.
A faint pulse glimmered beneath his skin—a line of glowing veins that crawled from the base of his spine to his collarbone.
[System Alert: Latent Power Stirred by Arcane Convergence]
[Seal Status: Weakening – Source Resonance Detected]
His reflection shimmered.
For a brief moment, Elias didn't see himself—he saw an older version, clad in ancient ceremonial robes, holding a blade of light at a battlefield soaked in ash. The image faded just as quickly, leaving only the cold-eyed youth behind.
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Durell Manor – Hidden Stairwell Beneath the Library
The next morning, the air hung thick with mystery. Elias stood before a tall bookcase in the west wing of the manor library. His fingers trailed along the spines of old tomes—histories, bloodline records, House secrets. Yssa stood beside him, dressed in a tight-fitting lavender tunic and leggings designed for stealth rather than court.
"You're sure this is the right book?" she asked.
"Grandmother once told me the founder hid something beneath the stone. The codex of Oathbinding, passed only to the firstborn sons. She said the stair would know when it was time to open."
He pulled an old leather tome: Chronicles of Flame and Fang.
A soft click.
The bookshelf shifted inward with a grinding of gears, revealing a stone staircase that spiraled into darkness. A cold breeze whispered out from below, carrying the scent of dust and something older… something arcane.
"After you," Yssa said with a teasing grin.
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The Catacombs Beneath Durell Manor
The tunnel curved downward, lit only by flickering witchlights Elias conjured with a whispered incantation. The stone was carved with forgotten glyphs, and the walls bore depictions of lions crowned in flame, dragons slain by men with eyes of gold, and gates sealed by runes no longer taught.
Yssa ran her fingers along one image. "These aren't just for show. This is old pact magic—blood oaths from the Mage Wars."
At the base of the tunnel, they found a vault door, sealed by six rings.
[System Alert: Hidden Chamber Detected – Noble Blood Verification Required]
Elias stepped forward, slit his palm with a ceremonial dagger, and pressed it against the seal.
The rings glowed.
[Verification Accepted: Elias von Durell – Lineage Confirmed]
With a sound like a dozen chains being pulled from a well, the door opened.
Beyond lay a vast chamber filled with relics—staves, swords, armor once belonging to House Durell's war-mages. An altar stood in the center, carved from blackened moonstone. Upon it lay a book sealed in silver.
As Elias stepped toward it, his system pulsed violently.
[System Triggered: Founder's Grimoire Detected – Memory Imprint Compatible] [Do you wish to absorb the memory fragment of Duke Aethren the First? Y/N]
He glanced at Yssa, then nodded.
"Yes."
The moment his fingers brushed the tome, the world fractured.
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Memory Fragment – The Founding War
Flames. Screams. The sound of steel and magic tearing the skies apart. Elias stood—no, Aethren stood—atop the broken cliffs of Elaris, blade in hand, a white lion roaring beside him. His body surged with magic not born from systems, but from something older: a pact with the world itself.
"We hold the line! The Gate must never fall!" Aethren roared.
Behind him stood hundreds of warriors, their armor marked by different house sigils. Dragons flew overhead. The air reeked of ash and sulfur. In front of him loomed a creature of shadow, cloaked in ten thousand screaming faces.
A blast of light.
Then—
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Back to Present – Elias Collapses
Yssa caught him before he fell fully.
"Elias!" she gasped.
His eyes flickered gold for a heartbeat before returning to their usual gray-blue.
"I saw… everything. The Gate, the first war, the bargain sealed with blood."
"What does it mean?"
He looked toward the altar.
"It means I'm not just heir to House Durell. I'm heir to something far older. And it's waking."
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Meanwhile – In the Eastern Watchtower of House Moreaux
A woman in a black and crimson robe stood before a mirror of obsidian. Her long crimson hair cascaded over her shoulders, and her eyes were like liquid flame.
"He's found it," she said.
A man beside her bowed. "Then it's time?"
She smiled. "Let the foxes play in the court. We'll strike when he least expects it."
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End of Chapter 14