Chapter 45 – Echoes of Bone
They descended slowly.
The spiral stairs beneath the altar groaned underfoot, not with stone, but with memory. With each step, Rael felt his spine tighten, his breath thicken. The further down they went, the colder it became—not the cold of nature, but of silence, waiting to awaken.
Behind him, Yue Qingshi held her saber low, the moonlight of her Qi dulled by the suffocating pressure that bled from the walls.
It wasn't long before they reached the second chamber.
And this one smelled of rot.
---
It was a crypt.
Massive.
Thousands of black coffins lined the walls—stacked one upon another like a library of the dead. Chains dangled from the ceiling, and a broken monument stood in the center: a kneeling statue with its hands nailed together, head bowed, and tongue missing.
Yue's voice was faint. "Why does everything here feel like… a sin preserved in stone?"
Rael didn't answer.
He had spotted something.
An engraving, barely visible on the statue's base. He crouched, brushing ash and dust aside. The characters were ancient, older than standard Tao script. But he recognized the root glyph:
"Remembrance through Bone."
---
As the rest of the disciples filtered into the crypt, many hesitated. There was no altar here. No light. No trial announced itself.
Just dead silence.
Until one of the outer disciples touched a coffin.
A groan split the air. Then the lid shuddered.
Then hundreds moved.
One by one, the coffins opened. And what emerged were not corpses.
They were memories.
Spiritual constructs of the dead—spectral, featureless humanoid figures leaking black mist from gaping wounds. Each one bore weapons of different eras—curved bone spears, crystal bows, clawed gauntlets formed from fused jade and marrow.
They attacked instantly.
---
Rael didn't call out.
He moved.
His hand reached into his robe, withdrawing the small, obsidian dagger he had forged with the bones of the creature in the forest. It shimmered with a low, gray light, responding to his touch like a living thing.
The first memory-being rushed him, two bone sabers swinging low.
Rael didn't block.
He stepped to the side, pivoted, and let the weapon pass by his cheek—so close it drew blood. As the memory-being spun to follow through, Rael struck once, cleanly into the base of its neck.
The dagger passed through like mist.
And the figure froze—then collapsed into ash.
[Memory Cleansed – 1/99]
Progress: 1% – "Hall of Bone Echoes" Trial Initiated.
---
"Hall of Bone Echoes!" Rael called to the others. "This is a cleanse-type trial. Each kill reduces the spiritual burden in the room. Don't let them touch you!"
One of the inner disciples attempted to burn a specter with fire Qi.
The flame hit the figure… and twisted. It turned black, then swallowed the disciple whole.
Only his bones hit the ground.
---
The chamber turned into chaos.
Rael moved like a ghost. Silent. Efficient. Predictive.
He had begun to map the flow of each specter—recognizing their fighting patterns weren't random but echoing past battles. Some formed flanks. Others rotated in formations similar to ancient cavalry drills.
"They're recreating their final war," Rael murmured.
Yue joined his side. "Then we just have to rewrite the ending."
---
Together, they became a storm.
Rael lured, redirected, dismantled.
Yue followed each of his motions with perfect timing—her saber arcing like a river of silver flame, bisecting foes in half-moons of light.
Each kill released fragments—tiny glowing motes that gathered above the statue.
The disciples noticed.
A few rallied.
Most panicked.
Half of them died.
Some weren't killed. Some simply dropped their weapons, fell to their knees, and began sobbing. Their minds couldn't bear the echo-memories pressing down on them.
---
As Rael cut down his twenty-ninth opponent, he felt a shudder.
The statue moved.
No. Unfolded.
The nailed hands broke free, revealing ten long fingers that cracked and twisted. From its chest, a ribcage opened, like a gateway. Inside, a throne.
And in that throne, a single golden eye.
It blinked.
Rael stumbled.
[System Alert: "Eye of Bone Remnant" Awakened]
Final Trial Phase Initiated.
Only one cultivator may ascend the Throne of the Forgotten. Step forward to offer your bones.
---
Rael turned to Yue. "This one's mine."
Yue nodded once. "I'll protect your back."
He ran.
The specters were drawn to him now—dozens shifting, turning, converging like hounds to scent. Rael pushed harder, his breath shallow, the dagger heavier. His body ached from the strain of earlier trials, but he didn't stop.
He leapt onto the statue's back, climbed its folded ribs like ladder rungs, and reached the throne.
Before he sat, he hesitated.
The throne was carved not of stone, but of spines.
And each one pulsed faintly, as though waiting for his blood.
Rael gritted his teeth and sat.
---
Pain bloomed.
White-hot, threading up his spine, tearing through his marrow.
He didn't scream.
He remembered.
A tide of memories slammed into his mind—not his own, but those of the dead buried beneath the crypt. Warriors. Betrayers. Saints. Cowards. Children. Their last thoughts poured into him.
He saw the birth of the Gate.
The fall of the builders.
And something far worse.
A name whispered without sound.
---
When Rael opened his eyes, the golden eye stared into his soul.
Then blinked once—and vanished.
[Trait Acquired: Bone Archive (Fragment)]
Grants limited access to stored martial echoes.
For a short duration, you may replicate a combat technique seen within the Hall of Bone Echoes. Each use consumes marrow force.
Warning: Trait unstable. Will decay in 13 days unless reinforced.
[Bone-Echo Technique Gained: Phantom Spear Form – Wailing Cicada Strike]
---
The throne turned to dust beneath him.
Rael dropped, landing heavily on the chamber floor. Yue caught him.
"Did you win?" she asked.
Rael looked around. The specters were gone. The statue was crumbling. And the passage ahead—now open.
He nodded.
"For now."
Yue gave him a crooked smile. "Then let's see what 'winning' gets us."
Together, they stepped into the next descent—leaving behind the echoes of bone.
–