Darkness swallowed the squad whole.
It wasn't ordinary darkness—this felt thick, alive, pulsing with a strange rhythm, like the inside of a giant creature.
When their vision adjusted, the world had changed.
They were no longer inside the Academy.
They stood on a floating platform suspended in a void of shifting colors—blues, blacks, and crimson streaks swirling like living storms.
Fragments of data drifted like dust, forming and dissolving in midair.
Lira whispered, "This… isn't physical space."
Vale answered calmly, "We've entered the Dominion Node. It's a digital-spiritual layer of the Spirit Network. Be careful—your thoughts may influence what forms."
Aiden clenched his spear. "Great. A battlefield that reads our minds."
Stark remained silent.
The mark on his arm glowed like molten silver, pulsing almost in sync with the massive crystal pieces floating in the void.
The Ash Phantom hovered beside him, its chains tense.
"This place remembers you," it warned. "Or rather—it remembers what you were meant to be."
Stark's breath tightened. "Meaning?"
Before the spirit could answer, the platform shook.
A path of floating tiles materialized ahead—leading deeper into the void.
Vale stepped forward.
"Formation. Stark in the center. No sudden moves."
The Path of Echoes
They began walking.
The tiles beneath their feet glowed with each step, showing flashes of images—memories not belonging to any of them.
A tower collapsing.
A summoner standing at its peak.
Chains of light shattering across the sky.
An enormous shadow falling over a city.
Lira touched one of the tiles gently. "These are… historical records?"
"No," Vale said. "These are warnings."
Aiden muttered, "Or predictions."
Stark felt each flash stab into his skull. The mark heated, reacting violently with every image.
[Sync Spike Detected]
Stark — 90% Synchronization
Caution: Approaching Threshold
Sweat dripped down his neck. He clenched his fist.
Lira noticed. "Stark… you're shaking."
"I can't stop it. The Node is… trying to merge with me."
A sound echoed across the void—a low metallic groan.
The tile path behind them shattered.
The front path extended by force.
"Forward," Vale commanded. "Don't look down."
They quickened their pace as the void churned beneath them.
The Echo Guardians
Halfway across the next platform, they weren't alone anymore.
Shadows rose from the tiles—humanoid shapes made of flickering data and swirling spirit energy. Their bodies twisted like broken reflections.
[Hostile Detected]
Entity: Echo Guardian
Level: 32
Condition: Corrupted
Behavior: Erase Intruders
Aiden stepped forward immediately.
"Finally," he muttered, spear spinning. "Something I can hit."
Three Guardians lunged at once, forming blades out of data-screams.
Aiden met them head-on, his spear bursting into golden arcs.
[Skill: Dawn Sweep]
[Effect: Area-Large Slash]
Two Guardians dissolved into glitching dust.
The third one darted past him—straight at Stark.
The Ash Phantom roared, chains shooting out to block the attack.
Its body flickered, struggling to maintain form in this unstable dimension.
"My form is weaker here," it hissed. "The Node rejects me."
Lira stepped in, her wolf spirit ripping the Guardian apart with a burst of blue fire.
"Stay behind us!" she snapped.
But more Guardians formed—ten, then twenty, emerging from the edges of the platform.
Vale raised her hand.
[Instructor Skill: Suppression Field]
Effect: Halts Spirit Manifestations within 7 meters**
A pulse of white light erupted from her.
Half the Guardians froze in place.
Aiden lunged forward.
Lira defended the flank.
The Ash Phantom pushed back against the remaining enemies, though each strike caused its form to flicker painfully.
Stark tried to focus, raising the Soulgun—
but the moment he aimed, the mark surged.
His vision blurred.
The world twisted sideways—
He wasn't on the platform anymore.
The Architect's Memory
Stark stood in a ruined city of floating rubble. Chains of energy wrapped around skyscrapers.
A giant figure stood at the center—a silhouette taller than mountains.
Its three eyes burned through the haze.
"Summoner…"
"This world erased my name. But you carry my chain."
Stark felt his knees weaken. "What… are you?"
"I am the Architect. Creator of the Summoner Line. Destroyer of the last world."
The giant raised a hand.
Chains burst from its fingers like lightning, wrapping around Stark.
"Break the chain. Free me."
Stark screamed—
but his voice was drowned under the sound of shattering worlds.
Back to Reality
"Stark!" Lira's voice snapped him back.
Aiden grabbed him by the shoulder. "Stay with us!"
Stark gasped for air. The void stopped spinning.
The Guardians had been defeated; the platform was quiet again.
Vale studied him sharply. "You were pulled into a memory."
Stark wiped sweat from his brow. "Not a memory. A message."
"What did it show you?" Aiden demanded.
Stark hesitated.
The Architect's voice still echoed in his head.
Break the chain.
"I saw… the origin of Summoners."
Vale's eyes narrowed. "And?"
Stark swallowed. "…And the being who created them. It wants out."
Silence fell across the platform.
Then Vale exhaled slowly. "We move. Now."
The Core Throne
The path led to a massive chamber.
Suspended at its center was a throne made of broken chains and glowing code.
On the throne sat a figure—shaped like Stark.
Same build.
Same aura.
Same silver mark pulsing across its arm.
But its eyes were hollow white.
[Entity Identified]
Dominion Echo — "The First Summoner"
Status: Manifestation of Architect's Memory
Threat: Severe
Lira whispered, "That… that looks like you."
Aiden raised his spear. "No. It's something wearing his shape."
The Echo stood, chains rattling loosely around its limbs.
It spoke with two voices—Stark's and the Architect's overlayed together.
"Child of the chain… come closer."
"Become what you were meant to be."
Stark took an involuntary step forward.
Aiden grabbed his collar. "Don't even think about it."
The Echo extended a hand.
Chains shot out toward them.
Vale shouted—"Brace!"
Cliffhanger Impact
The chains struck the platform, exploding it into fragments.
The squad fell into the spiraling void—
Stark reached desperately for anything to grab onto—
Lira screamed—
Aiden cursed—
Vale chanted something in ancient code—
But the void swallowed all sound.
And the last thing Stark saw was the Echo falling with him, its chains reaching for his mark.
"Break the chain…"
"Become the key…"
Everything went black.
[System Update]
Mission: Echo of the Calamity — 82%
Status: Team Dispersed
New Objective: Survive the Core Collapse
Warning: Stark's synchronization nearing critical threshold.