The sun never fully rose over the Ashen Vale.
The once-lush land had turned to gray centuries ago, burned by divine flame in a forgotten battle between the gods and mortals. The ground was dry, cracked, and laced with veins of scorched crystal. No birds sang. No beasts stirred.
Only the wind whispered—and now, it whispered Yeo's name.
He stood at the edge of the Vale, his cloak fluttering, the Starforged Shard glowing faintly in his palm. Every step he took brought a new chill to his spine. Not from fear. From memory.
[Location Discovered: The Ashen Vale – Grave of Forgotten Vows.]
[Echo Activity: High.]
It had been three days since his battle with the Echo in the forest. Since then, his dreams had changed. No longer just visions of the Starforged King—but of soldiers with no faces, cities reduced to dust, and a black sun hanging in the sky like an omen.
And always… always that whisper:
"Return… awaken… unite…"
His first steps into the Vale triggered a system notification.
[System Alert: Echo Distortion Detected.]
[Warning: Memory Anomalies may affect perception. Proceed with caution.]
The world shifted.
Yeo blinked—and suddenly, the gray desolation transformed.
He stood not in ruin, but in a living city: Varethra, the Vale's capital in its prime. Towers of silver glass pierced the sky, and crowds bustled in the streets. Magic floated like mist in the air.
But it wasn't real. It couldn't be.
A girl passed him, smiling.
"Yeo… don't forget," she whispered.
He turned—but she was already gone.
Then came the roar.
A tear split the sky again—this time wider, louder. From it emerged a creature that defied logic. A Memory Wyrm, formed from broken timelines and corrupted memories. Its body shimmered with shards of past and future, wings of torn pages and eyes like burning clocks.
[Boss Encounter: Echo Beast – The Timewound Wyrm.]
Yeo drew his blade.
The wyrm lunged, and the battle began.
Each strike Yeo landed showed him fragments: a dying queen begging the gods, the Starforged King walking alone into a golden storm, a blade breaking across a crying child's back. The wyrm was a beast of grief—a prison of unresolved stories.
Yeo activated Legacy of the King, just for a moment.
Time slowed.
One strike. One perfect arc.
The wyrm screamed—not in pain, but in relief.
Its form shattered into dust and light. And with it, another vision emerged.
The Ashen Vale, as it truly was. Once the heart of the world, turned to ash not by war—but by betrayal.
> [Memory Unlocked: The Day the Gods Fell Silent.]
Yeo dropped to his knees, breath ragged. The vision had shown him a truth few could bear: the gods were not saviors. They had been afraid. And when they couldn't win… they abandoned the world.
"Cowards," he whispered.
A faint breeze stirred. Then, laughter. Cold. Mocking.
From the far end of the Vale, cloaked figures emerged. Not Echoes.
Real.
Hunters.
Nobals—those blessed by the gods.
"Looks like someone's playing with forbidden memories," their leader said, drawing a spear bathed in celestial flame. "You're coming with us, Fragment Bearer."
Yeo stood slowly, eyes glowing with the Echo's resonance.
"No," he said. "I'm just getting started."