> Unknown Labyrinth
Depth: Approaching Surface Levels
The battle with The Silencer left the chamber coated in frost-ridden silence. As the creature's form disintegrated into static mist and scattered shards of ice, the room slowly returned to motion.
Among the drops, a single object remained at the center of the cracked, runic floor—an article of clothing folded unnaturally still, untouched by the swirling wind.
Noct knelt and picked it up. The system chimed in his ear, its usual neutral tone now touched by faint distortion.
> [Relic Identified: Shroud of the First Silence]
Epic Relic – Jacket
Outerwear (Armour)
Description:
Woven from shadowed silk and lined with frost-glass thread, this spectral coat shimmers with a dull, pale light. It radiates a cold stillness that quiets the world around the bearer. The back bears faint, ever-shifting frost runes—remnants of the First Voice's final lament. It is said that the silence within the jacket listens.
> Passive Effects:
Aura of Diminished Sound: Muffles all ambient noise within 5 meters. Enemy footsteps, chants, and attacks are harder to perceive.
Cold Veil: Grants resistance to heat and fire. Fire-based spells in proximity weaken slightly.
Ghoststep: Footsteps are rendered soundless. Improves stealth and evasion.
> Active Skill – Echo Null
Cooldown: 3 minutes
For 10 seconds, unleash pure silence:
Mutes all sound-based abilities.
Enemies inside the zone gain Confused or Unnerved status.
Allies are unaffected but cannot use voice-triggered skills.
> Synergy Bonus – Whispering Frost (If user is deemed worthy)
Movement speed increases by 15% in low-noise environments.
Silent takedowns leave Frost Echoes—crystals that lower nearby enemy morale.
Crystals can be shattered to disorient or blind foes (1 use per crystal, max 3 stored).
Noct blinked at the readout, awed by the layers of utility. It's not just armor… it's control.
Mia leaned in, squinting at the shifting frost runes etched across the back. "That's way too fancy to be something you just wear. You sure it's not cursed?"
Ellen tilted her head. "Looks incredibly well-suited to your whole 'ghost with a vendetta' thing. Try not to vanish completely when you wear it."
Noct chuckled, sliding the jacket on. It settled like mist across his frame—weightless, cold, and quiet. Perfect.
As the team resumed their ascent through the remaining floors, the ambient danger waned. Each floor brought easier monsters and fewer traps, the dungeon thinning like a dying breath.
Mia stretched during one of their breaks, grinning ear to ear. "Man, we're almost out. I can smell the sunlight."
"I've stopped dreaming of food and started dreaming of beds," Ellen added. "Clean ones. With pillows."
Noct leaned against a frozen column, silent for a long moment. His eyes tracked the distant stairs spiraling upward.
"I'm almost out. Almost home. But something... still feels wrong."
He thought of his mother. Of a face blurred by time. And then—another name clawed at the edge of memory:
Eira.
The sound of it made his chest tighten. Not from grief—but revulsion. Something buried. Something broken. And he still didn't know why.
> City of Damera — Academy District
Selene stepped off the transport, boots landing softly on familiar stone. The city stretched before her like a half-remembered dream—familiar streets warped by a year of guilt. The last time she walked these paths, she was just a trainee. And now, the memory of Noct clung to her like cold ash.
Her cloak billowed in the breeze as she passed the city gates. Whispers followed her—recognition, admiration. She was a member of one of the Five Guilds, after all. But praise sounded hollow now.
At the academy, clusters of students turned at once, swarming until a familiar voice cut through.
"Instructor Vern!" someone shouted.
The man stepped forward, towering and sharp-eyed as ever. He waved the crowd back with a practiced sweep.
"You've aged," Selene teased, masking her hesitation with a tired smile.
"And you've returned," Vern replied flatly. "Follow me."
He led her into the academy's main tower, halls echoing with old memories and ghosts of laughter. The doors to his office shut behind them with a dull thud.
"You're not just here to visit," Vern said. "Talk."
Selene exhaled. "I came to confirm something."
> Unknown Labyrinth — Final Subfloors
Each step up felt easier.
Noct and his team climbed in silence, the tension thinning with every level. They could feel it—like the sky pressing down from above. They were close.
Mia tapped the hilt of her daggers. "You think people will even recognize us after this? We look like hell."
Ellen smirked. "We are hell. Anyone gives us trouble, we remind them what we walked through."
Noct smiled faintly, but his mind wasn't with them. Not fully. He glanced down at his wrist, where his tablet flickered with fragmented code—still twitching from the last system glitch caused by the sealed item they'd found before. He had since refined a new skill using his fusion modules—Gravity Equation layered with Division Blink.
He had created a personal subspace storage field—a skill that let him hide items in compressed gravity pockets outside linear space.
"Let's see if this holds…" he murmured.
He activated the skill, channeling his aether through the jacket. A ripple of warped light flickered at his fingertips, and the mysterious relic they'd found before vanished into the void with a single pulse.
> [Storage Complete: Spatial Shard Stable]
Warning: Item Signature Anomaly — No Data Match
Advisory: Do Not Use Until Clearance is Verified.
Noct's expression darkened.
"Noted," he muttered, sealing the space.
Behind him, Mia yawned. "Alright boss, next floor's probably just stairs and flowers, right?"
But even as they laughed, the air above began to hum faintly—ancient, pulsing aether.
Their final ascent would not go unanswered.