The night was quiet.
Too quiet.
Raven stood in the candlelight, staring at the map on the table.
The air felt heavy — like the world was holding its breath.
Lyra leaned against the wall. "So, what's the plan? You really want to steal from Kael?"
Raven didn't look up. "I don't steal. I take what's mine."
Selene crossed her arms. "And if it's not yours?"
Raven's voice softened. "Then I'll make it mine."
He tried to focus, but a strange pain started to rise inside him — a deep ache he hadn't felt in a long time.
Then, a soft chime.
> [Host emotional state unstable. Recommend memory sequence.]
Vee's voice was calm, but it made Raven freeze.
Memory sequence.
His hands tightened.
He didn't want to go back there.
Not again.
Lyra frowned. "What's wrong?"
Raven forced a small smile. "Nothing. Just… ghosts."
Light flashed. The room vanished.
---
[Memory Realm Initiated]
Raven opened his eyes.
Steel walls.
Cold air.
The smell of blood and smoke.
He knew this place.
He hated this place.
This was his old world.
The place where they made him a weapon.
Footsteps echoed down the hall.
Men in black armor marched past him, holding rifles.
At the end of the corridor, glass doors led to a lab — the lab where it all began.
Raven's heart pounded.
He saw himself — a younger version, eyes empty, face blank.
A collar glowed on his neck.
Scientists watched from behind the glass.
"Subject 07," one of them said. "Mission complete?"
The young Raven nodded slowly. "Targets… eliminated."
The men clapped like proud masters.
Raven stared. His chest hurt. He whispered, "You turned me into a killer."
A taller man stepped forward — the one with blue eyes, cold as ice. "He's perfect. No heart, no hesitation."
Raven's jaw trembled. He remembered the pain. The orders. The helplessness.
He whispered, "You took everything from me."
The memory flashed.
Gunfire.
Screams.
Smoke rising.
A small girl hid behind broken walls, eyes full of tears.
She looked at him — at the killer they built — and said, "Please… don't."
And for the first time, he didn't.
He lowered his weapon.
A beep came from his collar.
Then—white light.
Pain.
Explosion.
He fell.
And everything went dark.
---
Raven gasped and grabbed his chest.
His eyes burned.
A soft voice spoke behind him.
> "You had a choice. You chose mercy."
He turned. Selene stood there — not real, just a shadow of his heart.
Raven's throat tightened. "Mercy made me weak."
> "No. Mercy made you human."
He looked down at his hands — shaking.
Back then, he thought strength meant killing.
Now… he knew better.
Maybe that's why this world brought him here.
To fix what he couldn't before.
A light wrapped around him.
Vee's voice whispered in his mind.
> [New Skill Unlocked: Shadow Doppel.]
A faint smile touched his lips. "Thanks… Vee."
The memory cracked apart, and the world faded back to light.
---
Raven woke up in the candle room, breathing fast.
Lyra and Selene were there.
Selene touched his shoulder. "You saw it, didn't you?"
Raven nodded slowly. "Yeah. The labs. The chains. The lies."
Lyra frowned. "That's where you came from?"
He met her eyes. "I wasn't born. I was made. But now… I live by my own will."
Selene smiled faintly. "Then let's show them who you are now."
Raven stood. The fire in his eyes was calm — not rage, not sorrow, just purpose.
"We move tonight."
---
Midnight – Valerion's Noble District
The city shimmered under moonlight.
Marble towers.
Iron gates.
Guards everywhere.
Raven crouched on the rooftop, cloak fluttering.
Lyra and Selene crouched beside him.
Below them stood Kael's mansion — large, cold, guarded like a fortress.
Raven whispered, "Positions."
Lyra nodded and vanished into the shadows. "North flank."
Selene whispered, "I'll stop the alarms."
Raven's shadow rippled. "Vee. Doppel."
> [Shadow Doppel active.]
A second Raven stepped out from the darkness, silent and ready.
Selene blinked. "He looks just like you."
Raven smirked. "I'd hope so."
The Doppel leapt forward, drawing the guards' eyes.
Raven dropped down silently. Lyra joined him, blades gleaming.
Two guards turned—too slow.
Lyra moved first. Shhkt. Thud.
Raven struck the third, a clean blow to the neck.
They crept through the garden, moving like whispers.
Inside, the halls gleamed with gold. Portraits of Kael hung on every wall.
Selene traced glowing runes with her hand, muttering softly. "These are strong wards."
Raven whispered back, "Not strong enough."
They reached a stairway leading down. Voices echoed below.
Raven signaled silence.
Three guards patrolled with lanterns.
He moved fast.
One breath, three strikes.
Crack. Thud. Clang.
They fell. Quiet.
Lyra raised a brow. "You're scary when you focus."
He smiled faintly. "I'm always focused."
---
At the bottom, a massive steel vault stood waiting — covered in glowing sigils.
Selene's eyes widened. "Ancient lock magic…"
Raven stepped forward. "Let's open it."
He placed his palm on the door.
Golden energy spread across the metal like fire.
Sparks flew. Gears turned.
Then—CLUNK.
The door opened.
Inside, light filled the chamber — crystals, weapons, gold, and a glowing orb floating in the center.
Raven stepped toward it. "That's the heart of his vault."
Lyra whistled. "That's… beautiful."
Selene hesitated. "Are you sure this is right?"
Raven looked back at her. "This isn't about right. It's about freedom."
He reached out.
The moment he touched the orb—
ALARM!
Red light flashed. The floor cracked open.
Chains of energy wrapped around his arm.
Kael's voice filled the room, cold and mocking.
"Did you really think I wouldn't see you coming, Raven Cross?"
Raven's eyes narrowed. "Kael."
"Welcome to your tomb."
The walls opened — and giant iron golems stepped out, eyes burning red.
Lyra drew her blades. "Oh great, monsters."
Selene's hands lit up. "I'll cover your flank!"
Raven pulled hard — the chain shattered.
"Let's end this fast."
His Doppel rushed forward, tackling a golem.
Raven followed, spear glowing bright.
He spun it once — slashed through steel. Sparks flew.
Lyra leapt up a golem's arm, stabbed both blades in its head, flipped off before it fell.
Selene shouted a spell — light chains wrapped around two golems, freezing them mid-step.
Raven charged, spear piercing straight through another's chest.
BOOM! It burst apart.
The last one swung a massive sword. Raven ducked, slid forward, and drove his spear up into its chest.
It fell.
The room went silent.
Only Raven's heavy breathing filled the air.
Selene lowered her hands. "You're… unstoppable."
Raven looked at her, eyes calm. "No. Just free."
He lifted the glowing orb. "And now Kael owes me everything."
Lyra laughed. "You really like making enemies, huh?"
Raven smirked. "Enemies remind me I'm alive."
----
The vault was silent.
Smoke drifted through the air.
Broken golems lay scattered like fallen statues.
Raven wiped the sweat from his forehead, eyes fixed on the glowing orb in his hand.
Selene stepped closer. "Is it over?"
He shook his head. "No. Kael's not the type to lose quietly."
Lyra crouched by a shattered golem. "We should leave before backup arrives."
Raven nodded. "Right. Vee, prepare extraction—"
Before he could finish, the orb pulsed.
Once. Twice.
Then the light turned blood red.
Selene gasped. "That's not good—"
BOOM!
A shockwave blasted through the vault. Everyone was thrown back. The ground split open. Cracks ran across the walls, glowing with crimson light.
Raven staggered to his feet, clutching his spear.
"Vee, what is this?"
> [Warning. Cursed resonance detected. Artifact linked to host's mana signature.]
Raven's eyes widened. "Linked… to me?"
> [Affirmative. The orb carries fragments of host's original world energy.]
He froze.
"No… that's impossible."
The air shimmered — like glass breaking.
A figure stepped out of the light.
Tall.
Clad in black armor.
Eyes glowing faint blue.
Raven's breath caught.
He knew that face.
It was him — the man he used to be.
The weapon they built.
The soldier who obeyed.
Lyra drew her daggers. "Who— what is that!?"
Selene whispered, "He looks just like…"
Raven raised a hand. "Don't. He's mine."
The figure's voice was cold, robotic.
> "Target confirmed. Subject 07. Rogue detected."
Raven's grip tightened. "You again."
He remembered the days training beside these clones — the endless missions, the orders, the pain.
He'd buried it all.
But it came back — in flesh and steel.
The clone's eyes flickered.
> "Return to command. Resist, and you will be terminated."
Raven smirked. "Try me."
He charged forward, spear glowing gold.
Steel met steel.
The sound rang through the vault like thunder.
The clone blocked, twisted, kicked him back.
Raven hit the ground, rolled, and leapt again, swinging his spear upward.
CLANG! Sparks flew.
Lyra stepped forward, but Raven shouted, "Stay back!"
This was his fight.
His past.
His sin.
The clone struck fast — each move sharp, perfect.
Raven dodged one blow, countered with a spin, slashing across its chest.
The armor cracked. Blue light spilled out.
Raven's eyes narrowed. "You're not real. You're just a shadow."
> "A shadow obeys. You do not."
The clone lunged again.
Raven sidestepped, slammed the butt of his spear into its jaw, then drove the blade into its chest.
The clone grabbed the spear — and smiled.
> "You can't kill what you used to be."
It pulled itself forward, impaling deeper just to reach him.
A hand shot out, grabbing Raven's throat.
He choked, glaring back.
Selene shouted, "Raven!"
But he didn't call for help.
He stared into those cold eyes — his own reflection — and whispered, "You're wrong."
He let go of the spear and thrust his palm against the clone's chest.
Golden energy exploded from his hand.
> [Skill: Soul Burst – activated.]
The light tore through the clone.
For a moment, time stopped.
Then — BOOM!
The clone shattered like glass, pieces of blue light floating away.
Raven fell to one knee, breathing hard.
Selene rushed to him. "Are you okay?"
He nodded weakly. "Yeah. Just… tired."
Lyra looked around. "What even was that?"
Raven stared at the fading lights.
"My past. A piece of the weapon they tried to make me. That orb… woke it up."
Selene frowned. "So it showed you… yourself?"
Raven smiled faintly. "The part I killed long ago."
> [Cursed resonance neutralized. Host mana stable.]
Vee's voice was calm, like always.
> [New passive skill unlocked: Battle Echo — once per day, mirror an enemy's last move instantly.]
Raven exhaled. "Guess pain still pays."
He stood, took one last look at the orb, and tossed it aside. "I've had enough of my past controlling me."
Selene smiled softly. "Then let's move forward — together."
Raven nodded. "Yeah. Together."
He turned to the exit. "Let's go before Kael shows up."
Lyra grinned. "Boss, that was insane."
He smirked. "You haven't seen insane yet."
---
Outside, the sky was starting to lighten — dawn breaking over Valerion.
Raven stepped onto the rooftop, wind brushing his hair, cloak fluttering behind.
He looked at the rising sun — golden light spilling across the city.
For the first time in a long while, he felt… free.
But deep in his chest, a voice whispered —
> The past never dies. It waits.
Raven clenched his fist.
"Then I'll bury it myself."
To be continued...