The Flame That Forgets

Far above the Vault's hidden entrance, atop the shattered cliffs of the Borderlands, flames gathered where no fire had burned for years.

Not natural flame.

Not magical glyphfire.

But the Circle's Cleansing Flame.

A symbol not of purification, but of erasure.

The First Flame stood inside the highest sanctum of the Circle Prime, flanked by high elders wrapped in ceremonial cloaks woven with memory threads. Twelve thrones. Twelve lives of silence. Twelve eyes that now watched the horizon with dread.

"He's activated Lock 6," the First Flame growled, his hand clenched tight enough to fracture stone. "And worse—he survived."

"We should've killed him when the Vault first lit," said the elder known as Writ of Iron.

"You tried," the First Flame snapped. "The tomb selection was tampered with. Someone within our own house wants him alive."

A silence followed.

Not denial.

Fear.

> Order: Omega Class Cleansing Unit Deployed

– Target: Jace, Bearer of the Bloodbound Codex

– Secondary Target: All Vault Entities (Bonded, Defectors, Constructs)

– Authorization: Full Glyphfire Use Approved

Unit Leader: Pyrelian Drae – Tier 7, Level 61

"Send the Flame."

"Bury the Vault."

"Erase the name 'Auren Vey' from this world once and for all."

---

Back inside the Vault, Jace sat alone at the base of Lock 6's arch, chainblade resting across his knees.

Kailen stood watch near the entrance, eyes shadowed and distant.

Violet was crouched beside a makeshift glyphfire pit, sketching protection runes in the air to reinforce their camp.

No one spoke.

The silence after a memory like that couldn't be filled with words.

Not easily.

Finally, Jace broke it. "He… really tried. Didn't he."

Violet nodded.

"He bled for them. And they called him a betrayer anyway."

"They always do," Kailen murmured without turning.

Jace looked up. "You knew?"

"I knew the Circle had secrets," she said. "But not this. Not that the Codex was meant to protect people. To remember what came before. They turned it into a leash."

---

Suddenly, the Vault walls quivered.

A pulse—like a heartbeat skipping.

> Warning: External Glyphfire Signature Detected

– Source: Pyrelian Drae

– Tier: 7

– Level: 61

Intent: System Erasure

Estimated Arrival: 47 Minutes

Jace's breath caught.

"Tier seven? That's Circle-level combat."

Violet stood slowly, eyes darkening. "They're coming to wipe us out."

"They're coming to erase the Vault," Kailen said grimly.

---

> Codex Alert – Scribe-King's System Triggering

– Combat Situation Approaching Critical

– Legacy Reaction Unlocked

New Feature Accessed: Glyph Memory Veins

– Enables:

• Shared Memory Imprint between bonded parties

• Temporary access to legacy combat stances

• Passive Resistance to Glyphfire Erosion

Jace winced as glyphs burned along his arms again—this time not from pain, but from heat. Ancient stances, fighting forms, fragments of memory began to pour into him.

He didn't know them.

But his body did.

The Vault responded in kind.

The air twisted.

A new passage opened—one not shown on any glyph map.

Kailen raised a brow. "That wasn't there before."

Jace stood, his Codex glowing.

"I think the Vault's offering us one last path."

"Where does it lead?" Violet asked.

Jace didn't blink.

"To the Scribe-King's hidden archive."

"The Archive Beneath Ash"

The hidden path spiraled downward through a corridor of silence.

No glyphs glowed along the walls.

No inscriptions hummed with light.

This part of the Vault wasn't designed to test.

It was designed to hide.

Every step Jace took made the air heavier. The silence thicker. But the chainblade at his side responded—its glyph threads glowing faintly, tugging him forward like a compass made of memory.

Behind him, Violet and Kailen followed with quiet tension.

"Where exactly are we going?" Kailen asked.

Jace didn't look back.

"To the place Auren Vey didn't want anyone else to find."

---

They emerged into a vast, hexagonal chamber—its ceiling lost to shadow. Dozens of tall obelisks stood in rows, each wrapped in locked glyph-seals. In the center, a single stone platform hovered, suspended above nothing.

It bore no carvings.

No markings.

Just one name, etched in perfect silence:

Auren Vey.

> You Have Entered: The Memory Archive of the Scribe-King

– Lock Status: Lineage Confirmed

– Vault Override: Approved

Initializing: Archive Awakening

– Legacy Fragments Available: 3

– Warning: Choosing one will overwrite current Glyph Memory allocation until Codex reaches 90% Sync.

A glowing panel unfurled before Jace, listing the fragments:

1. Battle Stance: Glyphstorm Dance

– Auren's original dual-blade movement pattern, designed for overwhelming multiple Tier 6 foes

– Bonus: Increases dodge sync, enhances Glyph Recast

2. System Knowledge: Origin of the Codex

– Reveals the true design blueprints of the Codex and why it was fractured into the modern system

– Passive Bonus: Codex Reconstruction Efficiency +12%

3. Soulbound Link: First Goddess Bond Memory

– Witnesses Auren's first soul-bond with his companion Serai, and unlocks deeper bonding pathways

– Bonus: +0.2 Stat Sync with all bonded partners; unlocks emotion-linked glyph casting

Jace stared, silent.

Each one would change him—permanently.

But only one could be claimed now.

Violet stepped up. "We'll follow whatever you choose."

Kailen raised a brow. "I wouldn't mind knowing how this mess started."

Jace exhaled.

Then reached forward—and touched Soulbound Link: First Goddess Bond Memory.

---

The archive pulsed.

And then—

They weren't in the chamber anymore.

---

They stood in a field of silver fire.

Auren Vey walked beside a woman with hair like starlight and eyes like ancient oceans.

Her name was Serai.

His first bond.

His protector. His conscience. His chosen.

She stood beside him as flames fell from the sky and the world turned on him. And when the Circle rose to depose him, she stood between him and death.

She died shielding him.

He carved her name into the first Codex memory thread with his own blood.

> "They will call me a betrayer."

"Then let them. My memory will protect you. Forever."

---

> Fragment Inherited: Soulbound Link – Origin Memory

– Bonus: Stat Share from bonded partners increased to 0.2

– New Skill: Emotion Triggered Glyph Surge

– Passive Unlocked: Bond Depth Resonance (Cast speed and power increase with emotional intensity of bonded)

Codex Integration: 84% → 88%

Jace dropped to one knee, overwhelmed.

Violet caught him. "What did you see?"

He looked at her.

"I saw what it really means to bond."

---

Suddenly—

A shockwave tore through the Vault.

Glyphfire.

Too close now.

> Alert: Omega Cleansing Unit has breached Lock 1

Estimated Time Until Full Vault Incineration: 18 Minutes

Warning: Archive Cannot Withstand Purge-Class Flame

Kailen turned toward the entrance. "They're here."

Jace stood, chainblade burning again.

"Then let's show them the Scribe-King didn't die with his memory."

"Love That Burns"

The vault shook violently as glyphfire surged through the lower levels—incinerating everything it touched.

Memory threads.

Trial chambers.

Defense constructs.

Even failed students' remains.

The Omega Unit wasn't just here to kill Jace.

It was here to erase his legacy.

---

Jace stood at the edge of the Scribe-King's archive, chainblade pulsing with a new rhythm—one that matched Violet's heartbeat more than his own. It didn't make sense. It shouldn't have worked that way.

And yet…

He felt her.

The flicker of her anxiety as the fire grew closer.

The defiance rising behind her eyes.

The warmth of their bond igniting like an ember struck by wind.

> Bond Depth: Stage 2 Unlocked

– Passive Activated: Emotional Sync

– Effect: Glyph resonance increases with partner's emotional intensity

– New Trigger Available: Surge Glyph – Burn With Me

Skill Description:

– Channel shared rage or pain into a glyph surge, overclocking all offensive abilities for 10 seconds.

– Drawback: Drains bonded Codex stamina to 40%. Cooldown: 2 hours.

Violet stepped beside him, her daggers drawn.

"You felt that?"

"Yeah."

She glanced up at him with a small, broken grin. "Guess we're past the awkward flirting phase."

"Guess so."

Behind them, Kailen rearmed her frost-thread daggers.

"If you two are done glowing and blushing, we have incoming."

---

Footsteps echoed.

Not rushed.

Not stealthy.

Confident.

And then, he appeared.

Pyrelian Drae.

Seven feet tall, armor inscribed with Circle fire-glyphs. His eyes blazed orange from the Codex embedded in his chest—a rare mutation known as the Heartbrand. It made his Codex permanent—uncopyable, unstoppable, and above all, merciless.

He didn't speak as he approached.

Didn't ask questions.

Didn't hesitate.

Just lifted one hand—glowing with erasure-class glyphfire.

> Boss Battle Initiated: Pyrelian Drae

– Tier: 7

– Level: 61

– Codex Class: Heartbrand Executioner

– Special: Glyphfire Purge

Danger Rating: LETHAL

– Objective: Survive for 6 minutes until Archive Escape Protocol completes.

Jace's grip tightened on the chainblade.

"Buy time," he whispered.

Violet nodded. "Buy blood."

---

Pyrelian attacked.

Not with magic. Not with fancy casting.

With presence.

The flames erupted from his feet, devouring the ground as he moved. Kailen moved first, vanishing and reappearing midair to land a frostline across his back—but it melted instantly.

She hit the wall.

Hard.

> Kailen – HP: 100% → 61%

"Glyphfire… eats glyphs," she gasped.

Violet dashed forward, daggers glowing with Surge Glyph: Burn With Me.

Jace's bond activated.

His chainblade ignited—coated in Violet's fury.

For ten seconds, the room burned with love and hate combined.

---

Jace struck first—his blade snapping out like a whip, wrapping around Pyrelian's wrist and slicing through the outer layer of his armor. Violet followed with an upward slash to his throat—blocked by a glyph wall, but still staggered him.

Pyrelian grunted.

Impressed.

Then retaliated.

With a punch made of glyphfire.

Jace's entire left side lit with pain as he was hurled across the chamber.

> Jace – HP: 83% → 42%

Status: Glyph Erosion Spreading

He staggered to his feet.

"Still… not enough."

---

Kailen crawled to her knees and hurled one final dagger—engraved with a borrowed glyph Jace had embedded earlier using his new Memory Chain skill.

It stuck.

Right into Pyrelian's neck.

He froze.

Jace's chainblade glowed.

"Now."

> Memory Chain Triggered – Glyph: Mirror Echo

– Effect: Reflects one ability back at the caster

– Target: Pyrelian Drae

– Reflected: Glyphfire Burst – 20% potency

The fire exploded—inside his armor.

Pyrelian roared in rage, staggering back, smoke and light pouring from his joints.

He dropped to one knee.

"Impossible…"

Jace limped forward, vision blurry.

"We're not done yet."

> Archive Escape Protocol – 100%

Portal Opened: Bloodbrand Echo Gate

A circular ring of light opened behind them.

Jace grabbed Violet.

Kailen stumbled after them.

Pyrelian surged back to his feet, armor cracking. "You'll burn—"

Jace tossed a chain glyph as they leapt through the gate.

It detonated in his face.

---

They landed hard in a new zone.

A ruined landscape of crimson fog, silver spires, and forgotten glyphs that sang with memory.

They weren't safe.

Not yet.

But they were alive.