Chapter 26: “Echoes of the First”
Three Days After Myra's Arrival
The dungeon was quieter.
Not in silence—but in respect.
Wordless shifts. Glowing cores in the stone. Monsters that once snarled now bowed their heads when Leo walked past.
He hadn't ordered it.
But they felt it.
A shift.
Their master… wasn't just surviving anymore.
He was commanding.
Central Core – Command Platform
Leo sat with Myra to his right.
Naelia, Elias, and Cael stood across the table of flowing map-runes.
Leo's voice was steady.
"We're changing strategy."
"No more hiding."
"We grow. We evolve. But we control the pace."
Cael raised an eyebrow.
"So we're not staying low anymore?"
"You want the kingdoms to see us?"
Leo nodded.
"Let them see."
"Let them wonder."
"But let them be afraid to act."
Myra spoke next—softer than expected.
"I felt something last night."
"It wasn't Elara. It was older."
Everyone tensed.
Elias spoke first.
"What do you mean, older?"
Myra tapped her temple.
"Like a memory... that wasn't mine."
"It whispered to me. Just a name."
"A throne made of glass and flame."
"And a crown held by the First Born."
Naelia froze.
"You're saying he's awake?"
Leo's voice darkened.
"He's watching."
Far North – A Ruined Sky Temple
Chains drifted in the air like spider silk.
Broken statues wept black sap.
And in the center of a collapsed divine hall… a throne stood untouched.
Upon it sat a figure.
Pale.
Sharp.
And unblinking.
"So the Fourth binds the Eleventh…"
"The chain rattles."
"The song begins again."
His voice echoed across the void like glass grinding against teeth.
"I was the first…"
"And I will be the last."
Back in the Dungeon – Lower Hallways
Myra wandered alone.
Even now, days later, the walls adapted to her soulprint hesitantly. Doors opened slower. Lights flickered red before settling to green.
She didn't mind.
"I'm used to being rejected."
She whispered it to no one.
Until Naelia spoke behind her.
"You don't have to be anymore."
Myra didn't turn around.
"You hated me once."
"You all did."
Naelia sighed.
"Yeah."
"But I also understand you now."
Myra looked over her shoulder, her voice low.
"Understanding doesn't fix what I broke."
Naelia stepped beside her.
"No."
"But it means you don't have to break more to be heard."
Leo – Meditation Chamber
He floated slightly above the dungeon core.
His mind inside the system.
Beyond it.
System Update: Sibling Thread Level 2 Unlocked.
New Feature: "Shared Core Expansion" Available.
Choose:
A. Expand Dungeon Territory
B. Unlock Faction-Based Summoning
C. Seed New Mini-Core (In Undiscovered Zone)
Leo stared at the options.
He didn't choose immediately.
He whispered aloud.
"...What would you pick, Elara?"
And for the first time in days—
Her voice returned, soft as dusk.
"What does your heart tell you, Leo?"
He didn't blink.
"That I need to build beyond."
He chose C.
[System: New Mini-Core Created – Eastern Sunkravine][Status: Dormant | Awaiting Guardian Imprint]
Somewhere in the Eastern Sunkravine
A flicker of blue light appeared in the sky.
A small child awoke in a tree, blinking up at the stars.
No memory. No name.
Just one word, planted in her head like a seed.
"Brother."
Back in the Core Room
Myra jerked upright.
Elias flinched.
"What was that?!"
She grabbed Leo's shoulder, eyes wide.
"She's awake."
Leo narrowed his eyes.
"Who?"
Myra's voice was shaking now—not in fear.
But in awe.
"The Twelfth."
"The last of us."
First Born – On the Throne
He grinned.
Not with joy.
With expectation.
"All pieces now fall."
"Let the Second move next."
"And let the world burn before they rise."