Threads that Pulled

The morning light didn't feel like victory.

It felt like a question.

Kaiden sat cross-legged outside the tent, Spider's Ichor resting in his palm. No pulses. No flickers. Just the faintest warmth where his skin met its blackened surface. Yet his HEART interface confirmed it:

[ HEART STATUS – Trait Active ]

Echo-Bound Observer – Linked Object Detected

Passive Status: Dormant (Building Echo)

No stat gains. No flickers of power.

Just that slow, deliberate sense of being watched.

[ Kaiden ]

"So this is what it means..."

"...to be seen."

Nik's voice was calm behind him, rhythmically scraping his boot-knife.

[ Niklaus ]

"You get used to it."

"That weight in the air."

"It's not pressure."

"It's pull."

[ Kaiden ]

"Pull?"

Nik looked up, eyes darker than the firelight.

[ Niklaus ]

"Every story leaves threads behind."

"Some people follow them by accident."

"Some yank without knowing."

"And some..."

"...Get chosen by the thread itself."

He caught the blade. Perfect spin. Zero effort.

[ Niklaus ]

"And it usually ends in trouble."

[ Kaiden ]

"Good."

"I'd hate to be bored."

By midday, Kaiden tried testing the trait. He grabbed his oldest gear — the wooden dagger Nik gave him. Blunt. Scarred, worn smooth by his drills.

He sat with it in his lap.

Waited.

Nothing happened.

After ten minutes, he sighed. But just as he went to put it away, the edge shimmered.

Barely.

[ HEART ]

[ Wooden Dagger ]

[ Damage: 1-2 ]

[ Durability: 20/20 ]

[ Echo-Bound Value: Minimal ]

[ Engram Response: Memory-Linked (Faint) ]

[ Voidsync: Locked ]

[ Kaiden ]

"So it is real... just slow."

It wasn't flashy. It wasn't broken.

It was earned.

And it wanted time.

Later that afternoon, as Kaiden prepared rations, a presence approached the clearing. Not a monster. Not a beast.

A man in Concordium gray.

His sigil marked him as a Heartwarden: Scout-Class.

[ ??? ]

"Hello there..."

"Apologies for the intrusion."

"There were minor system fluctuations logged in this quadrant."

"Protocol requires inspection."

Nik didn't even blink.

[ Niklaus ]

"We saw some flickering, too."

"Solar haze, probably."

The scout's eyes were sharp.

[ ??? ]

"Wait..."

"You're Niklaus Stagin."

"Former Concordium official."

[ Niklaus ]

"That was a long time ago."

"Now I'm just a retired cook with a lame leg."

[ ??? ]

"And the boy?"

Kaiden froze.

Nik leaned forward, face calm, voice like velvet.

[ Niklaus ]

"That boy is my grandson."

"He likes bugs, books, and swinging sticks at trees."

The scout hesitated. Then nodded slowly.

[ ??? ]

"Let me check my HEART Reader..."

"Just to be safe."

[ HEART STATUS ]

Name: Kaiden Stagin

Health: 50/50

Energy: 50/50

Attributes: [ STR: 1 | AGI: 2 | INT: 1 ]

"...Unusual baseline."

"We'll be running comparative scans next cycle."

"Stay within range, please."

"If any system anomalies escalate, you're required to report."

[ Niklaus ]

"Of course. We're very law-abiding."

[ ??? ]

"As you were then..."

[ Niklaus ]

"Glad we could help."

The man disappeared into the woods. Kaiden exhaled.

[ Kaiden ]

"Think he knew?"

[ Niklaus ]

"He suspects."

"But suspicion without proof is just paranoia."

[ Kaiden ]

"What if he comes back?"

Nik smiled faintly.

[ Niklaus ]

"Then we give him something else to chase."

◈◈◈

That night, Kaiden sat by the fire. The Spider's Ichor rested beside him.

For a moment, nothing moved.

Then, the faintest flicker.

Warm.

Not system-logged.

Just a feeling.

A whisper only felt by skin.

Remember.

Kaiden looked toward the north.

A new ping.

[ HEART ]

[ Subsystem Alert! ]

► Voidspace Fluctuation Detected

► Direction: Southeast

► Distance: 2.1 km → Approaching

He stood. Turned to Nik.

[ Kaiden ]

"Pops."

"Another one."

[ Niklaus ]

"Yeah..."

"I saw."

Nik was already packing.

"This time, we go together."

"Twice in a short time is somewhat..."

"Peculiar."

Kaiden nodded.

And in the quiet that followed, no one spoke.

Because some threads weren't meant to be followed alone.

The fire hissed low as Nik stomped out the embers.

Not in panic, but with precision.

Whatever approaching wasn't something to greet with light.

[ Kaiden ]

"Do you think it's the Concordium again?"

[ Niklaus ]

"If it is, they're not walking."

Nik's tone had shifted — softened at the edges but tightened at the center. Alert.

He slung the old pack over his shoulder, the one with hidden compartments. A quiet nod between them. Kaiden secured the Spider's Ichor inside his inner sash, close to his ribs. Close to his center.

[ HEART ]

[ Subsystem Interface – Tracking Active ]

► Voidspace Fluctuation: Mobile Signature

► Type: Indeterminate

► Distance: 1.9 km → Approaching

► Pattern: Spiral Drift

► Trajectory: Non-linear – Adaptive Sweep

► Motive Signature: Absent

► Threat Level: Unknown

Kaiden tapped the interface and whispered.

[ Kaiden ]

"Spiral..."

"It's not headed straight."

"It's... searching."

Nik grunted.

[ Niklaus ]

"Then, whatever it is, it's for sure not Concordium."

They moved westward, toward the dried creekbed they'd scouted weeks ago. No trail. No footprints. Just silence and packed earth. Safe for lying low.

Kaiden followed Nik's steps precisely. No questions. Not now.

Because Nik had switched masks.

The mask he hadn't worn since the day Kaiden was cursed.

[ Niklaus ]

"If it's looking, let it not find."

Kaiden opened his mouth to ask what exactly it was, but Nik beat him to it.

[ Niklaus ]

"Have you ever heard the old myth about wandering æsther?"

"The kind that isn't cast or carved?"

"The kind that's leftover from something forgotten?"

Kaiden shook his head.

[ Niklaus ]

"Not all energy returns to the system."

"Some linger."

"Some..."

"Remembers its last wielder."

"And some..."

"Gets curious."

They crouched at the edge of the creekbed. Nik laid down a spread of dried moss, motioned for Kaiden to sit low.

[ Kaiden ]

"So what do we do?"

"Wait?"

Nik reached into his coat, pulled out a thin strip of bloodroot parchment, rolled it into a triangle, and tucked it into the ground.

[ Niklaus ]

"No..."

"We leave an echo."

Kaiden blinked.

[ Kaiden ]

"Like the Voidspace trait?"

[ Niklaus ]

"Not system-sanctioned."

"Older."

"Cruder."

Nik cut a thin line across his finger and let the blood drip onto the parchment.

The earth shimmered faintly.

[ Kaiden ]

"That's not æsther…"

[ Niklaus ]

"It's memory..."

"Written in blood."

"In presence."

Then he handed Kaiden a pinch of ash.

[ Niklaus ]

"Your turn."

Kaiden didn't hesitate. He pressed his finger against the dagger's hilt — his old wooden one — and scraped off a layer of skin worn thin from drills.

He let it fall.

The paper pulsed once. Then darkened.

[ Niklaus ]

"Now we move."

"Quickly..."

They didn't look back.

Behind them, the creekbed rippled.

And something arrived.

Not Concordium. Not a beast.

Something unclassified.

The earth didn't tremble. The trees didn't cry. But the ash from their offering rose.

Like breath being inhaled.

And far away, the Spider's Ichor against Kaiden's ribs warmed, just once.

By sunrise, they'd set camp deeper in the hills. Far enough that even the birdsong felt unfamiliar.

Kaiden laid the dagger flat across a stone. Closed his eyes. Waited.

A flicker.

A heartbeat.

[ HEART ]

[ Wooden Dagger ]

[ Damage: 2-3 ]

[ Durability: 30/30 ]

[ Echo-Bound Value: Shifted ]

[ Engram Reaction: Drilled Intent – Trace Memory Logged ]

[ Passive ] +1 STR

[ Voidsync: Locked ]

[ Kaiden ]

"...No way."

He almost dropped it.

His chest tightened. Not fear. Not shock.

Recognition.

This was proof that the forest remembered him.

[ Kaiden ]

"That's..."

"Real stat gain."

"Even from this?"

Nik leaned over, sipped from his canteen.

[ Niklaus ]

"Doesn't matter what it is."

"Matters how you used it."

"And how long it watched."

Kaiden sat back, stunned.

For the first time in weeks, he felt something more than possibility.

Proof.

[ Kaiden ]

"It really is listening."

[ Niklaus ]

"What do you think?"

"The whole damn forest might be."

"Haha..."

He nodded toward the trees beyond.

Then his voice dropped.

"And someone else is listening too."

"It seems..."

Kaiden followed his gaze.

A figure.

This time, not Concordium.

Smaller frame. Lighter steps. Female.

She wore no sigil.

But the way she walked — purposefully, like she knew where the traps were — meant one thing:

She'd been watching longer than just tonight.

And as she stepped into view, her voice was calm. Curious.

[ ??? ]

"You left an echo back there."

She stepped closer.

"Sloppy..."

"Might leave different impressions."

Kaiden stood, eyes narrowing.

[ Kaiden ]

"You followed it?"

The woman smiled faintly.

[ ??? ]

"No."

"I heard it sing."

She extended a palm, fingers calloused from bladework.

"My name is Connie."

"And I think the system likes you."

Kaiden didn't shake the hand.

"And hates you..."

He just said:

[ Kaiden ]

"Then what do you want?"

Serei tilted her head.

[ Connie ]

"To see if you're worth pulling."

Nik's hand hovered near his belt.

Connie laughed.

"Relax, fine sir."

"If I meant harm, you'd already be echoing."

She turned.

"You're not the only thread being followed, Kaiden."

"And sooner than you think..."

"The threads will start pulling back.

A smirk.

"Be sure to look before you leap."

"And remember..."

"It's not nice to peek at girls' underwear."

[ Kaiden ]

"Say what?"

Then, just like that, she walked away.

No sound. No system ping.

Nothing.

Just threads... unraveling.

"Who was that, pops?"

[ Niklaus ]

"Beats me."

"But by the looks of it..."

"Surely someone who knew about what we were doing."

Kaiden watched the clearing long after she'd gone.

He felt the Spider's Ichor warm against his ribs.

Felt the worn dagger hum faintly in his palm.

Felt the threads, all of them, stretching out beyond the trees — waiting to be yanked, or to yank him.

And he decided, quietly:

[ * Kaiden (internally) * ]

"If they're going to pull…"

"…then I'll learn to pull back."