The deeper they moved into the Iron Descent, the more the structure changed.
The steel pathways were no longer broken platforms suspended above an abyss.They became narrow corridors lined with pulsating runes—faint red symbols that whispered strange echoes each time someone stepped too close.
Aria moved ahead, eyes flicking from side to side.
"Stay sharp," she murmured.
Jarek swallowed hard."No more monsters, right?
Maybe this part is easier—"
Kellan snorted.
"Nothing in this place is easy. If it feels easy, it's bait."
Rowan limped several meters behind them, silent, watching—thinking.
Elias walked in the center of the group, feeling the metallic floor beneath his boots vibrate with a faint pulse.
A heartbeat.
His heartbeat?
Or something else?
A cold shiver slid down his spine as the System stirred again.
Threshold Veins: Minor Resonance Triggered
Perception increased for 10 seconds
The world sharpened instantly.
The corridor brightened.
The runes glowed with a deeper, richer red.
And the whispers resolved into words.
Not loud ones.
Soft.
Broken.
Like memories bleeding into the metal.
"…turn back…"
"…too late…"
"…marked one…"
Elias stiffened.
Aria stopped walking immediately.
"Ward," she said, her voice low.
"You sense something."
He didn't answer.
Because the moment he opened his mouth, the runes flared to life.
A metallic screech tore through the corridor.
The ground beneath them shifted.
The walls rotated.
The corridor stretched open like a jaw—and then slammed shut behind them.
Jarek screamed.
Aria cursed.
Kellan planted his staff, steadying himself.
Rowan smirked weakly.
"Seems the real trial begins now."
A large chamber unfolded before them, circular and massive, with shifting metal panels forming a spiraling pattern across the floor.
At the center stood a raised platform with three crystalline pedestals.
Aria approached cautiously.
"What is this?"
Elias scanned the room.
And then the System answered:
Chamber of Shifting Echoes — Puzzle Trial
Objective: Silence the Echo
Failure: Structural Collapse
Jarek nearly fainted.
"Collapse?!"
Kellan rolled his shoulders.
"Good. A simple rule: don't screw up."
Aria examined the three pedestals.
Each crystal glowed faintly with a different color:
Red.
Blue.
White.
She murmured, "These must control the chamber somehow…"
Rowan stepped forward, panting slightly.
"No. They control us."
He pointed at the walls.
At the runes that now pulsed in rhythmic patterns.
"Each color resonates with a different type of echo. Choose wrong, and the entire chamber folds inward."
Jarek stared.
"F-Folds inward?"
"Crushes us," Rowan clarified, far too calmly.
Aria looked at Elias.
"Ward," she said quietly.
"What do you see?"
And this time, Elias answered.
But not in the way she expected.
"I see… movement."
Aria frowned."What movement?"
Kellan glanced around.
"There's nothing moving in here, Ward."
But to Elias, the entire room shifted like a breathing organism.
Panels contracting—
Runes pulsing—
Patterns rising and collapsing—
The extra perception caused by his Threshold Veins didn't just sharpen his senses.
It revealed the truth.
"The room is alive," Elias said softly.
"It's reacting to our presence."
Aria stiffened.
"Can you read the reaction?"
"Partially."
Jarek waved his arms hopelessly.
"Elias—explain in plain words! Are we going to die?!"
Elias approached the pedestals.
The runes on the walls flickered faster as he came closer, syncing with his heartbeat.
Aria noticed instantly.
"They react to you specifically."
Rowan's eyes narrowed.
"Of course they do."
Kellan tightened his grip on his staff.
Rowan stepped closer, voice sharp.
"You're the anomaly. The creature marked you. The System can't scan you. And now even ancient mechanisms are responding to you."
A tense silence filled the chamber.
Then Aria spoke:
"Ward," she said quietly, "you need to choose."
Elias remained still.
The runes pulsed again.
Red.
Blue.
White.
Red burned like anger.
Blue thrummed like a heartbeat.
White pulsed like silence.
The System whispered:
Echo Source: White
Recommendation: Silence through purity of intent
Purity of intent.
What did that even mean?
Elias stepped forward.
Jarek panicked.
"Kellan, stop him! He might trigger the collapse!"
Kellan didn't move.
Aria didn't move.
Rowan stepped backward—ready to run, ready to betray, ready to survive alone.
Only Elias walked.
He placed his hand on the white crystal.
The room froze.
Every rune flared white.
Jarek screamed.
Aria tensed.
Kellan lifted his staff.
Rowan bolted toward the far exit.
The chamber inhaled—
—then exhaled.
Echo Silenced
Trial Completed
A wave of cold air rushed through the chamber, extinguishing every whisper.
The runes dimmed.
The walls softened.
The spiraling floor settled.
Jarek collapsed in relief.
"Oh Ancestors… oh thank the—"
Kellan smirked.
"Not bad, Ward."
Aria stared at Elias—not shocked, not relieved.
Studying him.
"You didn't hesitate," she said.
"No," Elias replied.
"Why?"
He looked at the crystal.
"Because hesitation breaks patterns."
Aria froze.
Her voice dropped.
"And you hate being predictable."
Elias didn't respond.
But she wasn't wrong.
Rowan, meanwhile, stared from the far entrance, face pale, eyes wide with a new understanding.
He whispered to himself:
"Not just marked…Not just strong…But chosen."
He backed away further.
"I need to report this."
But Elias had already noticed the shift in Rowan's breathing.
The intent behind his steps.
The pulse of betrayal waiting to bloom.
Jarek limped toward the exit.
Kellan followed.
Aria lingered just a moment beside Elias.
She whispered:
"You're changing."
He didn't look at her.
"Everything changes," he said.
Her gaze tightened.
"No.
You're awakening."
The chamber door opened.
Elias walked out first.
And deep inside his mind, a new system window unfurled.
Threshold Veins — Fragment Activated
Skill Obtained: White Pulse (Fragment)
- Heightens sensory clarity
- Briefly reveals hidden threats
- Duration: 5 seconds
- Cooldown: 1 hour
- Warning: Continuous use increases spiritual stress
Elias exhaled slowly.
His path was opening wider.Faster.
And every step forward drew more eyes.
More enemies.
More fate.