Stark woke to the smell of machine oil and incense—an odd, clinical mix that had become familiar in the Inner Wing.
Bright light pressed through the slit of the infirmary window. Lira sat on the edge of his bed, the wolf curled at her feet. Aiden stood by the doorway, arms crossed, eyes unreadable. Vale hovered near a holopanel, watching data scroll.
He flexed his fingers. The chains on his wrist glowed faintly, no longer a frantic pulse but a careful cadence. The memory of the First Summoner lingered—its patient voice, the dangling chains, the link the old man had given him. He tasted that chorus in his head like cold iron.
[System Notice]
Residual Trait Activated: Chain Memory Lv.1 — Limited recall of Architect-era bindings.
Effect: +5% synchronization when interacting with pre-Collapse relics.
Warning: Trait attracts Node attention.
Vale looked up the moment he opened his eyes. "Good. You're lucid." Her tone was sharp, then softer. "You made contact."
Stark pushed himself up. "He talked about choices." He tried to say it without sounding small. "Said the chain can learn a new song."
Aiden snorted. "Lovely. Poetic counsel from a hologram." He stepped forward, the warmth of the spear on his back like a promise. "But you were nearly consumed when that thing reached you. You sure this isn't just another echo convincing you to lie down and let the Network finish its work?"
"You saw him too," Vale said quietly. "The First Summoner appeared in the Node before. He is not an echo. He is memory—and memory can be weapon or warning."
Lira's gaze was steady. "He gave Stark something useful," she said. "A tool. A way to translate what the Architect's code says."
Stark felt that like a tether tightened. "What do we do now?"
Vale tapped the holopanel. Schematics unfolded—maps, heat signatures, and a list of active nodes.
[Mission Update]
Echo of the Calamity — 90%
New Objective: Isolate Dominion Nodes within Sanctum-9; suppress Architect resonance.
Priority: High — Immediate Action Required.
"Our window is small," Vale said. "The Architect woke more of the Network last night. Several minor nodes have already responded. If we can't isolate them, the signal will cascade beyond the city."
Aiden's jaw tightened. "So we hunt ghosts. Typical academy work."
"Not ghosts," Vale corrected. "Artifacts and corrupted Nodes. They have cores that the Architect's memory can use as beacons. Destroy the cores, you cut the song."
Lira rose, wolf stretching. "Which nodes?"
Vale pointed to three red blips on the map. "Eastern archive—you already found one. There's a sub-node under the merchant quarter and another in the old research wing. Small, but active. I want Gamma—that's you—on the merchant site. Aiden leads Alpha to the research wing. Lira takes Beta for security and extraction."
Stark swallowed. "Why me? Why not Aiden?"
"Because your Chain Memory lets you understand them," Vale said. "You can translate binding fragments. You can—possibly—undo them without blowing the site into vapor. We need a chance to extract data, not just destroy it."
Aiden's eyes flashed. "So they want the thief, not the spear. Charming."
Vale's look shut him up. "Move. You leave in thirty minutes."
The merchant quarter was a maze of collapsed stalls and tangled runes. The sub-node they tracked flickered beneath a patched sign—an old market sigil half-melted into the wall. Stark felt the mark pull, a slow, rhythmic tug like a hand finding his sleeve.
[Hidden Interface — Chain Memory]
Interaction Available: Translate Node Glyphs
Success Chance: 62% (+5% pre-Collapse relic bonus)
Risk: Resonance Spike → Temporary Sync Increase
Lira signaled and they swept into the stairwell. The runes on the walls shrieked faintly when they approached—as if disturbed from sleep. Dust rose in blue motes.
At the node's chamber, a crystalline lattice hung from the ceiling, threads connecting to a small, humming core on a pedestal. Its glow was sluggish but insistent. Stark's chest tightened.
He stepped forward, palms raised. The Chain Memory thrummed, and images—fractured chants and binding symbols—flashed at the edge of his mind. He reached for the translation like a translator tasting foreign words.
[Chain Memory Active — Translating Glyphs]
Decoding…
Glyph Meaning: "Hold the chorus / Feed the anchor / Bind the return"
Recommended Action: Neutralize anchor, salvage chorus fragment.
He whispered the instructions to Lira. "We bind the anchor, not destroy it. That will sever the Architect's hold without letting the node scream."
Lira nodded, setting up deflector seals. Aiden readied his spear, eyes scanning for ambush.
Stark extended both hands and channeled the faint thread in the core—a single-note binding, ancient and sharp. The core answered with a memory: a thousand hands raised, voices lined in orders, a litany of commands that made Stark's teeth ache.
He wrapped that memory in a new chord—one he'd learned from the First Summoner: a binding that asked, not demanded.
[Skill: Chain Tune — Anchor Script Lv.1]
[Effect: Rewrites local binding from command to lullaby]
[Cost: 18 SE | Risk: Feedback]
The lattice hummed higher, a tone like metal singing. The core's light softened. For a moment, the node resisted—waves of static slashed at Stark's mind.
Aiden shouted, deflecting a flaring shard of corrupted spirit with a wide arc of spear-light. Lira's wolf snapped at a stray tendril that lunged for Stark's head.
Sweat stung Stark's eyes as he pushed the new chord deeper. The shop's walls blurred, and he felt the mark on his wrist press like a palm against a drum. The node answered, not with anger, but with a tired sigh.
The core's light dimmed to an ember and then stilled.
[Node Status: Neutralized (Anchor Converted)]
Data Salvaged: Chorus Fragment #3 — Partial Architecture Log
EXP Gain: +80
Synchronization: +2% (Temporary)
Relief washed through them. Lira let out a long breath. Aiden unclenched his jaw—just enough to show it.
Stark sagged to a nearby crate, panting. "That… was close."
Lira sat beside him. "You did it without eating the node."
"I didn't eat it," he said. "I changed its tune."
[System Notice]
Chain Memory Usage: Successful — Cooldown Initiated (12h)
Trait XP: +12
They carried the chorus fragment back to Vale's lab. The researcher's eyes went distant as she examined the data. "This log… confirms the Architect seeded small beacons to draw Summoners like bait," she muttered. "You neutralized one without causing a flare. That's more valuable than the Council knows."
Aiden leaned in. "So what now? More nodes?"
"More nodes," Vale said. "And containment. But we're close to a real lead—these chorus fragments form a map. If we can stitch them together, we might find the Architect's core."
Stark swallowed. Stitch the chorus—a map to the place that wanted to be free, or to be stopped.
He let his hand rest on his wrist. The mark's glow was steady now, less an alarm than a metronome.
[Mission Update]
Echo of the Calamity — 95%
Objective: Collect remaining chorus fragments. Consolidate into Architect Map.
Warning: Architect Influence escalating. Node reactivity +14%.
Outside the lab, the city hummed like a held breath.
Stark looked at Lira and Aiden—two different songs, both necessary. He thought of the First Summoner's warning: listen, don't answer; choose.
He flexed his fingers and let the chain whisper its new chord. It was not a command. It was an invitation.
He would answer with a song of his own.