Location: Grave Shrine, Dawnblight Atoll
The words echoed.
"You carry the Stormmark. You were never meant to awaken."
Ankit's hands trembled—not from fear, but from something deeper. Recognition.
The masked man stood with an eerie calm, his cloak unmoving despite the breeze. Behind him, ancient murals of twin-sword warriors crumbled under time's weight.
Benn Beckman stepped in, gun raised.
Shanks followed silently, hand resting casually on his sword—but his eyes locked on the stranger with sharp, focused intensity.
The masked man raised both hands peacefully.
"I mean no harm. But the time for ignorance is gone."
Flashback Projection – Triggered by System Sync
Ankit's vision blurred. The system hummed again.
"System Trigger: Passive Memory Trace – Stormmark Lineage"
He was not seeing the present.
A battlefield. Screams. Seven monoliths sealing something colossal, something shrouded in red fog.
And a warrior in obsidian armor, wielding twin blades that moved like wind and flame.
The system whispered:
"First Bearer of the Stormmark – Unknown. Power was split into seven relics. User shares combat frequency resonance: 67%."
Back in Reality
Ankit gasped, clutching his chest. The masked man knelt beside him.
"You've touched too many relics. The mark is waking in you. But it comes with a price."
Shanks growled, "Enough riddles. Who are you?"
The man stood, eyes flashing behind the mask.
"My name is Aelros. I was once a guardian of the Seal Keepers."
Beckman's eyes narrowed. "Weren't they wiped out during the Fall of Oureval?"
Aelros nodded. "Because we tried to protect knowledge from people like the World Government… and people like you."
He turned to Ankit.
"You were chosen by the Stormmark because you were meant to unlock it. But unlocking is not always victory. Sometimes… it's an execution."
Aelros's Warning
• Seven relics are not keys—they are locks.
• The Stormmark bearer becomes the conduit if all seven are gathered.
• That means death, transformation, or something worse.
• Ankit's system is a resonance tool that adapts him to the relics—but too fast syncing may erase his humanity.
"Slow your path," Aelros said. "Or you'll be just another storm, forgotten in the sea."
He handed Ankit a shard.
System Sync Increased – 22.6%
New Data Acquired: Seal Runes of Oureval
Then vanished into mist.
Later That Night – On the Ship
Ankit sat alone, staring at the shard.
Shanks approached quietly. "What's going on in that head of yours?"
Ankit didn't answer right away.
"I think I'm becoming something I don't understand."
Shanks leaned beside him, staring at the stars. "That makes two of us."
🔹 SYSTEM PANEL – Ankit 🔹
System Sync: 22.6%
Relic Fragments Collected: 5 out of 7
New Data Acquired: Stormmark Lineage (67% Resonance Match)
Status Effect: Mark Instability – Dormant