The maintenance gate under Sanctum-9 was older than most of the city. Its bulk bore rune scars and a dozen patched seals; dust had settled in layers like the records of a forgotten time. When Stark and Lira pushed it open, a breath of cold air rolled out—metallic, deep, smelling faintly of ozone and old sorrow.
"Keep close," Lira whispered. The wolf at her side—paler than moonlight—slid forward, nostrils flaring. "The detectors picked unusual spirit noise below. Not normal interference—this is… agitation."
Stark cinched the bandage around his wrist, feeling the faint tremor under the skin where the mark pulsed. It was quieter now, but he could still sense the echo: a pressure, like a distant drumbeat. He swallowed the urge to touch it.
[Mission: Echo of the Calamity — Subtask]
Objective: Investigate Reactor Remnant beneath Sanctum-9.
Compartment: Sub-Level 3 — Access Authorized (Limited).
Warning: High Corruption Levels. Proceed with Caution.
The stairwell spiraled down, the air growing cooler and thinner. Small holoplates on the wall flickered and died as they passed; Lira's wolf emitted a soft blue light to guide them. Here the Spirit Network's signals were coarse and rough—interference from the buried reactor that once powered half the city.
At the third landing a collapsed walkway opened into a cathedral of rusted conduits and broken crystals. A large hemispherical shell lay in the center, half-buried, spider-cracked—and inside it the core still pulsed faintly, like a heart in prolonged illness.
"Reactor Remnant," Stark said. The words felt small in the hollow place. "It shouldn't be active."
Lira crouched beside the shell and ran a hand close to the crack. Her spirit wolf padded along the rim, sniffing. "It's not just active. It's angry. The residual spirit is trying to wake whatever sealed it."
Something moved within the core: a sift of smoke, a hint of shape, then a dozen bright eyes blinking in the dark. A sound like metal grinding under pressure filled the room. The core's pulse quickened.
[Sensor Alert]
Entity Detected: Core Shade (Corrupted Reactor Spirit)
Estimated Level: 20–22
Threat: High — Corruption Aura: causes link instability.
Stark's jaw tightened. Level twenty plus—this was well above his current standing. He glanced at Lira. She did not look surprised; instead, the wolf growled low, hackles lifting.
"We can try to seal it," Lira said. "But if it breaks free it will spread corruption into the Network. We have to stop it now."
They advanced together. Stark kept the Eclipse Soulgun low, blade of spectral light coiled inside its barrel. He could feel the Ash Phantom like a second heartbeat at his shoulder—restless, tasting the core's anger.
A shard of crystal broke away and the Core Shade surged, a wave of inky mist that condensed into a tall shape—limbs composed of jagged metal and coiling black smoke. Its voice was a chorus of alarms, layered and wrong.
"Awaken. Feed. Return."
The corruption crawled over the floor like spilled ink. Lights flickered overhead and then went out, plunging the chamber into a dim, blue gloom. Stark's HUD blinked.
[Combat Readout — Incoming]
Enemy: Core Shade (Corrupted Reactor Spirit) — Lv. 20–22
Player: Stark — Lv. 16 (Provisional)
Allies: Lira Vane — Spirit Summoner (Lv. 17)
Warning: Corruption Aura reduces synchronization by 15% within 10m.
Lira moved first, the wolf launching forward to tear at the shade's lower tendrils. Its teeth passed through smoke but found purchase on glass-like plates; it snapped, ripping a piece free. The Core Shade howled and struck toward the wolf with a whip of shadow.
Stark fired.
[Mode: Spirit Seal — Burst]
[SE Cost: 8 SE]
[Shot: Phantom Bolt — Penetration]
The bolt hit the Shade's shoulder, scattering shards of dark mist. The creature recoiled, but more tendrils rose from the core, each tipped with glints like knives.
Lira called out, voice steady. "Stark—focus on the binding nodes!" She pointed at three glowing fractures along the shell; each fracture was like a wound where spirit seeped outward. "Seal them and the core will weaken!"
He understood. The Eclipse Soulgun could do damage, but its true strength here was to place Spirit Seals—marks that could anchor a spirit or bind its flow. He lined up, feeling the Ash Phantom push at his mind: faster—aim for the seams—
His hand moved on instinct.
[Skill: Spirit Seal — Deploy]
[Target: Fracture Node Alpha]
[Effect: Temporary Binding — Duration 30s]
A ring of cold light slammed into the fracture, knitting it with threads of soul-energy. The core shrilled and sent a shock through the floor. Stark stumbled, every rune along his arm flaring in pain. The mark pulsed loudly, as if angry.
[System Notice]
Corruption Countermeasure: Binding Successful (Alpha)
Core Response: Increased Aggression.
Synchronization Penalty: -10% (temporary).
Lira grinned, throwing another seal from a gloved hand—the wolf coiling through the air to help. Two nodes bound; the core writhed.
[Skill: Soul Reap (Ash Phantom) — Barrage]
[Target: Core Tendrils]
[Effect: Drains residual nodes, converts to SE for Stark.]
The Wraith—the Ash Phantom—unleashed a volley, spectral chains lashing through smoke. Each chain struck a tendril and siphoned off its corruption, the dark mist condensing into glowing motes that floated toward Stark and dissolved into SE.
The chamber flickered in pulses as the core lost ground. But the Shade was not beaten. It surged, collapsing into a spiky mass and then erupting like shattered glass into dozens of smaller shards that flew at them.
Lira rolled through the shards, slashing with an energy blade that severed smoke into fragments. "We're close!" she shouted.
"On it!" Stark bit out, heart pounding. He braced and fired a sequence of Spirit Seals at the remaining fractures while the Ash Phantom absorbed and returned power.
[Combat Log]
Seals Deployed: 3/3 — All Nodes Bound
SE Recovered via Soul Reap: +24 SE
Core Integrity: 28% → 9%
The Core Shade's form began to splinter, its voice breaking into static. A final wave of corruption rolled across the floor—cold and all-consuming.
Stark stepped forward into the wash, eyes burning. He felt the mark on his wrist thrum—hungry—yet he pushed his fear down. He forced the Soulgun to flare once more and aimed at the heart of the core.
[Ultimate Seal — Channeling]
[Duration: 4s]
Warning: High SE Consumption. Risk of Overload.
The seal formed slowly, threads of blue and black braided together. The core screamed—a sound that made metal ripple like cloth—then imploded inward as the binding tightened. Light tore through the shell, and with one last keening cry the Core Shade collapsed into a fine ash that rained like cold snow.
Silence returned, heavy and sudden.
[Combat Report]
Enemy Defeated: Core Shade (Corrupted Reactor Spirit)
EXP Gain: +220 EXP (Split)
SE Gain: +40 SE (via Soul Reap)
Synchronization Impact: Temporary Decrease 10% → Restored by Soul Reap
Status: Mission Objective Complete — Reactor Remnant Stabilized (Temporary).
Stark sank to one knee, chest heaving. Lira's wolf nudged his hand, licking his fingers with a touch that felt like warmth.
"You did well," Lira said, voice soft. "If you hadn't sealed those nodes—" She let the sentence hang.
He looked at the polishing ash on the floor where the Shade had been. "We did it together."
The ash shifted near Stark's boot and a small mote rose, humming with a thin echo. It caught his eye and for an instant he thought he saw a glint of the white-hot eyes from the Synchronization Realm. The mark along his wrist crooned in response.
[System Notice]
Residual Signature Detected: Minor Calamity Echo.
Action: Logged & Flagged for Monitoring.
Stark swallowed. He felt the weight of a hundred small things settling on him: the Academy's interest, Lira's wary trust, Aiden's watchful glance somewhere above.
They walked back up the stairwell beneath the hum of old runes. Outside, Sanctum-9 seemed ordinary again—students idling, markets humming. But Stark knew the city had shifted a little, like a floorboard settling under weight.
Something else had smelled the core's cry and moved. The mark pulsed once, then quieter, like breath held between teeth.
[Mission Update: Echo of the Calamity — Progress 25%]
Next: Trace the Residual Signal to its Source.
Warning: Signal Becoming Active Near Eastern Sector.
Lira glanced at him as the gate closed behind them. "We should tell Vale," she said.
Stark shook his head. "Not yet. If the Academy knows too much, they'll experiment on the core. We stopped it—temporarily. We need to find out who seeded this corruption."
Lira studied him for a long moment, then nodded. "All right. But we be careful. Things below Sanctum-9 still listen to the old gods."
He flexed his hand and felt the faint throb of the mark. It answered one small, silent question inside him: ready or not, whatever lay under the city was waking—and it knew his name.