The train to Kaliningrad was empty.
It wasn't scheduled. It wasn't charted. And yet, it moved through the icy plains of former East Prussia like a ghost carrying the echoes of war.
Rei stood by the window, arms crossed, eyes sharp as they scanned the snow-covered trees rushing past. Every few seconds, he would catch a flicker of an image—shadows dancing at the corner of his vision, whispers of soldiers who never returned.
Noira sat across from him, quietly oiling her blade. "So this is where it began?"
Mireille nodded. "Königsberg. The Forgotten Siege. A convergence site buried beneath history itself."
Eirenne tapped her datapad, frowning. "This whole region radiates anomalous entropy. The leyline collapse here predates even the Vatican archives."
Karasu perched above them, quiet for once. "Something old sleeps here. Older than the Flame, older than Sovereigns."
Rei's fingers twitched. "Then we'll wake it gently."
Königsberg Ruins – Twilight Descent
The city that awaited them was only a ruin in name. Physically, it had long been absorbed by Kaliningrad's urban sprawl. But in the spirit world—it remained frozen in its final hour.
Bombed-out buildings, shattered clock towers, melted statues. Time itself seemed hesitant to proceed here.
They passed through layers of ambient memory—the screams of citizens, the thunder of artillery, the final song of a dying violinist.
Eirenne muttered, "It's all still here."
Rei's flame pulsed. "And someone is feeding on it."
The Forgotten Bastion
Deep beneath what had once been the Teutonic Castle, they found it:
A vault of obsidian and bone, guarded by echoes of Wehrmacht and Red Army alike. Spirits locked in eternal battle.
System Prompt:
[Memory War Zone Detected]
[Hazard Rating: Sovereign Class – Composite Echo Host Detected]
Rei stepped forward. "Let me through."
The soldiers paused.
Then bowed.
The air parted.
And there she stood.
A woman clad in an officer's uniform from no known army. Her left eye glowed gold; her right was missing, replaced by a spiraling void.
"I am Ilsa von Reiter. Flame of Reclamation. Last Warden of Königsberg."
Mireille stepped back. "That's a name from ghost registries."
Ilsa extended her hand. "I remember my city. And I refuse to let history forget it."
System Prompt:
[Sovereign Flame Recognized – Category: Mnemosovereign]
[Alignment: Bound Neutral / Status: Grieving]
Rei approached. "You're holding a convergence point hostage."
She nodded. "Because it holds my people. Their pain, their songs, their last breaths. I will not surrender them to oblivion."
Noira stepped forward. "There's another way. Come with us. Preserve it in resonance, not recursion."
Ilsa hesitated.
Then the sky cracked.
A black flame descended—writhing, screaming, alive.
System Alert:
[External Intrusion – Entity: Forgotten Sovereign / Tag: Vorkrieg]
[Intent: Subsumption of Historical Echo]
Ilsa's face turned pale. "He's come to erase the siege entirely."
Rei drew his blade. "Then let's rewrite the ending."
Boss Encounter: Vorkrieg – The Flame That Devours Memory
Vorkrieg was not solid. He was emotion, warped into entropy. Each attack removed not just memory—but legacy.
Eirenne nearly forgot her own name.
Mireille forgot how her magic worked.
Karasu dissolved into feathers that remembered flight but not form.
Only Rei held the flame steady. The Chronomnemesis module flared, anchoring them.
"Anchor point established," he shouted. "Ilsa! Bind the memory to me!"
She hesitated.
Then extended her flame.
Together, they created a shield of remembrance.
Rei stepped through it.
And struck.
The moment his blade passed through Vorkrieg's core, the entity screamed—not in pain, but in remorse.
"I only wanted… to be remembered…"
And then, silence.
Königsberg, Dusk
The echoes quieted.
Ilsa knelt, tears falling. "They're free now."
Rei helped her stand. "And so are you."
System Prompt:
[Memory Convergence Stabilized]
[Ilsa von Reiter Added to Spirit Resonance Registry — Class: Sovereign Memory Anchor]
As they emerged from the ruins, the snow stopped.
And for the first time in centuries, the bells of Königsberg rang again.