Chapter 24 – The Cradle of Rebellion
Time bled strangely in the Architect's Domain.
One moment, Erevan was clashing blades with twisted echoes of himself—half-formed, half-forgotten relics of lives he never lived. The next, he stood still in a collapsing corridor, the ground cracking with memory and heat.
The Ashbrand pulsed with strange energy—burning not with fire, but with the weight of remembrance. Every soul he struck down whispered fragments into his mind.
> Remembrance +3
Echo Unlocked: The First Rebellion – Seed of the Towerbreaker
And through those fragments, something old stirred within him.
Not just anger.
Conviction.
---
As the final clone dissolved into ash, Erevan staggered to one knee. The Architect's Aspect had retreated, but the battle had left a wound in more than just the floor. The Tower was... reacting.
The capsules cracked.
The air buzzed with heat.
And then—voices.
Not spoken.
Remembered.
> "You were the one who lit the spark."
"He wasn't the first rebel. He was the first mistake."
"Erevan... still dares to resist?"
The ground shattered as a glowing rune circle erupted beneath him, binding his limbs mid-air.
Another system window blinked open.
> Hidden Path Triggered: Cradle of Rebellion (LOCKED)
Requirement: True Remembrance 10
Progress: 7/10
Sub-Quest Unlocked: Face the Echo of the First Uprising
The world flickered.
And changed.
---
He fell.
Through layers of light and shadow, until the Tower reshaped itself into something far older.
He landed in a ruined hall—stone and blood, firelight dancing over broken banners. It wasn't a level. It was a memory. His memory.
Soldiers in ragged armor.
A woman screaming. Her eyes glowing with system scripts. Implanted.
And at the center—himself, standing among the rebels.
No adaptations. No powers. Just a mortal with fire in his chest.
He was watching the moment he betrayed them.
---
> "You promised we'd end it together!" she screamed, blood on her face.
The memory-Erevan stood tall, calm, blade lowered. "I saw the truth. We can't destroy the Tower. Not yet. We must survive it."
"But you sold us out—!"
He turned.
Walked away.
The memory froze in that exact second.
And present-Erevan stood in front of it, fists clenched.
---
"…So that's why they called you the Betrayer," a voice said behind him.
He turned.
It was her—the woman from the memory. But not as she was. This one stood strong, ethereal, formed from light and data. An Echo, preserved by the system.
> Echo of Kaelyn Vire – Rebel Commander
Classification: Emotionally Bound Remnant
Hostile: Unknown
"I did what I had to," Erevan said, voice low.
"And so did we," Kaelyn replied. Her blade glowed with memory, not malice. "This is not vengeance, Erevan. This is understanding."
They clashed—not in rage, but in memory.
Each strike tore open a wound of the past.
Each word shared between blades added color to a picture long buried.
---
"You thought sacrificing us would buy time," she hissed.
"It did."
"At what cost?!"
"At the cost of becoming something I hate. But now I remember. And I choose differently."
---
Their swords locked. Her eyes searched his, glowing with fragments of pain—and trust.
The system chimed softly.
> Remembrance +3
Memory Restored: Kaelyn's Last Stand
Unlock Progress: 10/10
Hidden Path Activated: Cradle of Rebellion (UNLOCKED)
---
The Echo of Kaelyn faded with a nod.
Not defeated. Accepted.
> "You may walk it again, Erevan. But this time… don't forget us."
The Tower trembled.
The illusion shattered.
---
He returned to the Architect's Domain—but it was crumbling. Symbols unraveling, walls peeling back to reveal raw data and chaotic code.
The Architect's voice echoed through the dissolving chamber.
"So… even now, your past clings to you. How poetic."
"I am my past," Erevan replied, stepping forward. The Ashbrand in his hand glowed brighter than ever—now wrapped in chains of red and silver, each one etched with the names of the fallen.
"I walk not as your weapon…"
"…but as the one who remembers why I started climbing."
---
> New Path Unlocked: Cradle of Rebellion
Unique Effect: Converts regret into power. Grants damage scaling based on remembered losses.
Passive Bonus: Every life remembered strengthens your resistance to system corruption.
And somewhere deep within the Tower, a forgotten protocol stirred awake.
> Remembrance Threshold Reached. Awakening Hidden Protocol: System Layer EX—Towerbreaker.
The Tower had noticed.
And for the first time in centuries—
It was afraid.
---
Next: Chapter 25 – The Towerbreaker Protocol