The journey toward the third fragment brought with it an unnatural stillness. Even the spiritway's usual shimmer seemed dimmer, muffled, as if time itself held its breath.
Rei could feel it—the density of silence pressing against his skin like a vice. This wasn't the calm before a storm. It was the quiet aftermath of something broken so deeply it no longer bothered to cry.
"The next echo is Thrael," Mireille murmured.
"Spirit classification: Architect. He engineered the Sovereign Cradle. But when the Cradle collapsed… so did he." Noira frowned.
"I'm guessing we're not talking about a well-adjusted ghost." Eirenne glanced ahead.
"No. We're about to meet the father of fragmentation."
Fracture Point Sigma — Memory Domain of Thrael
They emerged inside a massive steel atrium suspended over a void. Rotating hexagon plates hovered around them, ticking in and out of place with mechanical precision. Across the chamber's core sat a man of wires and bone, his body sewn together by strands of failing code and burnt blueprints.
Thrael.
He did not move. He did not blink.
Only his eyes—glowing circles of white-blue light—stared forward, unblinking.
Rei stepped forward cautiously. "Thrael. We've come to offer restoration."
Thrael did not respond. But a low vibration trembled through the floor.
Karasu hissed. "This place is trapped in a recursive loop. You have sixty seconds before the domain resets."
Suddenly, the walls shimmered, and everything reversed.
Rei and his team were back at the entrance
.
Mireille's voice cracked. "He's stuck in a fail-safe loop. Every time he senses intervention, he reboots reality."
Noira groaned. "We can't talk to someone who resets every time we approach."
Eirenne sheathed her blade. "Then we enter with memory. Not presence."
Rei understood immediately. He summoned Kuralis's flame—not to burn, but to remember.
A flicker of motherly warmth filled the chamber, tinged with the sorrow of unspoken lullabies.
And for the first time, Thrael moved.
"Why… do you bring echoes to a grave?"
His voice was digital static—cracked by logic decay.
Rei stepped forward. "Because it wasn't a grave. It was a seed."
Thrael's eyes flared. "I built futures. I forged timelines. I calibrated hope. They used me until my code cracked. And now you wear fire like forgiveness?"
Rei didn't flinch. "I wear fire because I was chosen by the broken. Not to replace you. But to carry what you couldn't hold alone."
The looping machines stuttered.
Time wavered. Thrael's form trembled.
"I don't trust memory. I erased my own children. They screamed too loudly in the gears."
Rei closed the distance. "Then let them scream. And let me hear it, too."
A moment passed. Then Thrael extended a palm. A gear floated from it—engraved with the names of spirits erased from every registry.
[Integration Request Issued: Thrael. Classification: Sovereign Architect. Mode: Silent Flame.]
Mireille held her breath. "This one could destabilize the entire system."
Rei gripped the gear. Flame met machine.
And silence wept.
[Integration Complete. Slot 7: Thrael Bound. Status: Stabilized via Dual-Anchor (Helvaris/Kuralis). System Integrity: Stable.]
Elsewhere — Vereth's Loom Crypt
Cracks appeared across Vereth's spirit matrix.
"Three echoes?" he whispered, trembling.
"You dare thread the ones who were buried?" He smashed the table.
[Deploy Fragment: Nyssara — Warden of the Void Wombs.]
"Then let's see you pacify the devourer of unborn stars."
Temporary Refuge — Shrine of the North Wind
Rei sat alone for the first time in days. Within his spirit system, the three newly integrated fragments hummed.
Helvaris's sorrow gave him clarity. Kuralis's fire gave him compassion.
Thrael's silence gave him balance. But in the distance, he could feel it. The next echo didn't burn. It hungered.