The Eastern Sector of Sanctum-9 was quieter than the rest of the city.
No markets, no training halls—only abandoned towers and sealed doors. Most students avoided it. The air there was heavy, stale, filled with static that made the Spirit Network flicker.
Stark and Lira moved through the half-lit corridors of an old transport tunnel.
Their scanners buzzed softly.
[Trace Signal Detected]
Source: Unknown Network Node — Depth: 1.3 km
Residual Type: Calamity Echo
Signal Strength: Increasing
"It's stronger than before," Lira said, glancing at her wrist-pad. "Something's transmitting under the city. Not natural energy flow."
Stark's mark pulsed once beneath his glove, reacting to the signal like a heartbeat answering another.
"I can feel it," he said. "Same tone as the reactor—but deeper."
"The same corruption, different root," the Ash Phantom whispered. "Something ancient sleeps here."
They descended through a service shaft, landing in a vast, circular chamber buried under rubble.
Faded symbols lined the walls—familiar but older than any modern rune.
At the center stood a sealed door, ten meters tall, etched with the logo of the First Spirit Research Division.
Lira's eyes widened. "That's… pre-Collapse tech. These labs were destroyed when the Network fell."
Stark brushed away dust from a metal plaque. The writing beneath was cracked, but one phrase remained readable:
SPIRIT ARCHIVE – ACCESS RESTRICTED
CODE: DOMINION-01
He frowned. "Dominion. Same word from my hidden mission."
Lira knelt beside an ancient console, linking her wrist device to its faintly glowing port. Sparks flared, then the system coughed to life. Lines of static scrolled across the cracked screen.
[Security Override Detected]
[User: Lira Vane — Summoner Affinity Confirmed]
[Access Granted – Auxiliary Mode]
Warning: Energy Core at 3% capacity.
The huge door hissed open a few centimeters—just enough to let a rush of stale air spill out.
Then the whisper came.
"Return… to origin…"
Both of them froze.
The sound wasn't from a speaker. It came from everywhere—the air, the metal, the light. The wolf at Lira's side growled, fur bristling.
"Something's still alive in there," Stark murmured.
"Not alive," the Ash Phantom corrected. "Remembered."
They squeezed through the gap.
Inside lay a wide corridor lined with shattered glass tanks. Faint blue liquid still clung to the floor in frozen pools. Within the walls, runic circuits flickered weakly, still pulsing after centuries.
In the largest chamber beyond, a pillar of crystal rose from the center—dark and cracked.
Data nodes hovered around it like dying stars.
[Object Identified: Spirit Core Archive]
Age: 1000+ Years
Function: Data Preservation of Spirit Entities
Integrity: 6%
Status: Corrupted
Lira stepped closer. "This thing stored spirits. Fragments of consciousness from before the Collapse."
"Then why is it still running?"
As if in answer, the crystal shuddered and glowed faintly red. Runes lit along its base.
[Warning: Containment Failure Imminent]
[Entity Restoring… 0.01%]
A thin crack split open across the crystal, leaking mist. From within, a distorted shape emerged—a human outline made of glitching light and shadow.
[Residual Entity: Prototype Spirit – Designation 'Watcher']
Level: 25
Condition: Corrupted
Objective: Terminate unauthorized access.
The chamber trembled. Panels blew out, scattering sparks.
Stark raised his weapon. "We woke it."
"Then let's put it back to sleep," Lira said.
The Watcher turned its head—its eyes were hollow, twin vortices of red light.
With a metallic shriek, it moved.
[Combat Initiated]
Enemy: Prototype Spirit "Watcher" – Lv.25
Condition: Corrupted
Threat Level: Extreme
Recommendation: Evacuate Immediately.
The creature blurred forward. Stark fired, bolts of spectral light searing its torso, but the shots phased through. It reappeared behind him and struck. Energy flared; Stark slammed into the wall, breath knocked out.
Lira's wolf lunged, intercepting the next attack. It howled, releasing a burst of pure spirit energy that made the air hum. The Watcher staggered—just long enough for Stark to aim again.
[Skill: Spirit Seal – Dual Cast]
[SE Cost: 12]
[Effect: Anchors Target for 3 seconds]
Two glowing rings clamped around the Watcher's limbs. The spirit screamed, flickering violently.
"Now!" Stark shouted.
Lira raised her hand.
[Skill: Spirit Compression]
[Linked Entity: Spirit Wolf "Asha"]
[Effect: Amplified Burst – Spirit Burn]
Her wolf exploded in a sphere of blue fire. The Watcher thrashed, fragments of corrupted code tearing free and disintegrating. When the light faded, it stood half-solid, shivering with static.
It spoke in a broken tone.
"You… carry… the mark…"
The mark under Stark's glove seared with heat. His vision flashed white for a heartbeat—an image of the shattered moon, the same as in his Synchronization Realm.
He steadied his aim.
"Then you already know how this ends," he said and fired a final shot.
The bolt pierced the crystal at the Watcher's core. The spirit screamed once, then shattered into motes of fading light.
[Combat Complete]
EXP Gained: +340
Level Up: 16 → 17
Synchronization: +3%
Loot Acquired: Spirit Fragment – "Watcher's Memory" (Corrupted)
Mission Update: Echo of the Calamity — Progress 40%
The archive went dark.
Only the faint red glow inside the crystal base remained.
Stark approached and placed his hand on it. The mark on his wrist pulsed once—and data scrolled across his HUD.
[Hidden Data Unlocked]
File Name: Dominion-01 – Project Origin
Message Fragment:
"The Calamity was not born… it was built."
He stepped back, heart pounding. "Built…?"
Lira stared at the dying pillar, face pale. "Then someone made it. The Calamity… the thing in your mark—it was man-made."
Before he could answer, the entire facility shuddered. The heavy door behind them began sealing automatically.
[System Alert]
Containment Lockdown Re-engaged
Evacuate Immediately.
"Move!" Stark shouted.
They sprinted for the exit as the floor split apart. Sparks rained from the ceiling; the lights died one by one.
Just as the door slammed shut, they dove through the gap, landing hard on the other side.
The entire tunnel went silent again, save for the hum of the city far above.
Lira sat up, breathing hard. "Next time," she said, "you're explaining what that mark really is."
Stark looked down at his covered wrist. The faint silver glow still leaked through the fabric.
"I will," he said softly. "When I understand it myself."
[System Notice]
Mission Progress: 40%
New Objective: Analyze "Watcher's Memory" Fragment
Warning: Spirit Network Anomalies Rising in Sanctum-9
Next Location: Academy Data Wing – Restricted Access
High above, Instructor Vale watched the surveillance feeds from the Eastern Sector.
Most were static. But one, for a second, showed a flicker of blue and black light where no power existed.
Vale frowned. "So he's already found it…"
In the shadows behind her, Aiden Crest stepped forward. "Then I was right. Stark isn't a Soul Caster."
Vale's voice was calm but sharp. "No. He's something far older."