There was silence as the descent to Layer Eight started. Something deeper—like sound itself—refused to exist there, instead of the Abyss's typical weight.
There was no echo when Raen's boots hit the pale ground. Ember Vow, her flame-muted armor glowing dimly in the darkness, stepped lightly behind him. Even the tapping of Hollowfang's claws on the stone was absorbed by the emptiness.
Hopelessness With a low rumble in its throat, Maw paused and then stepped down. Ever the idiot, Jester Wyrm muttered, "Ah, the bone yard of forgotten memories," as he floated past them all. I adore this location. It has the smell of unresolved trauma.
Raen looked at him.
Spinning upside-down in midair, Jester smirked and added, "I'm not wrong."
There was a cemetery on the eighth layer. Of identities, not of bodies. Like fallen gods, ruined statues of people who didn't belong to any known race were scattered everywhere. Massive ribs—beasts too big to name—were found beneath them. Rune-etched fossils that whispered languages that the system was unable to decipher.
Raen caught glimpses of something at the very edge of his vision every few steps: a hand reaching up from under rubble, a soldier holding a dying friend, a boy kneeling in blood.
His recollections.
Not a trace of his soul.
He tightened his jaw. "We are being read by the layer."
[Note: Layer Eight is an echo field that is adaptive and emotional.]
[Identity collapse and memory corruption are the main threats.]
[Achieve Clarity of Purpose.]
Clarity, correct?
However, Raen's thoughts grew icier as they went deeper. Sharper. Old questions resurfaced: what if the connections he formed were merely control disguised as something else? What if he was being shaped by the Abyss, rather than the other way around?
Then he saw him.
A body rested against the skeletal arch of a long-dead beast. thin body. silvery-pale hair. Sharp, unreadable, haunting eyes—familiar.
Raen stopped. "Kael."
Ember Vow blinked. "Are you familiar with him?"
Raen gave a slow nod. He used to be my second-in-command. The only man who ever confronted me in front of a council and spared my life for it.
Kael took a step forward. No weapons are displayed. No sense of danger.
"Raen," he murmured. "Are you still rescuing monsters?"
Raen remained silent. Not just yet.
Kael glanced around. "They pursue you. Even that one. He gestured toward Despair Maw. "Is it talking yet?"
Despair Maw snarled as the surrounding air froze.
Kael grinned. "I didn't believe so. The most hurtful people are always the ones who remain silent.
Raen's eyes narrowed. "What brings you here?"
Kael gave a shrug. After the Empire left us, the Abyss came across me. after you left us.
In Kael's hand, a blade of ice flickered. Not called. formed.
Raen stiffened.
Kael said softly, "I didn't come to fight you." However, the layer will insist on an explanation. Not because we despise one another. However, I must break you because you are a reflection.
He lifted the blade.
The system made a chime.
[Detection of the New Beast: Wraithhowl Seraphim]
[To: Kael Terenis]
[Key Skills: Emotion Looping, Memory Erasure]
Behind Kael, a long, sleek shadow with wings made of stitched memories slithered, half serpent, half angel. There were a thousand frozen screams in its eyes.
Raen called forth nothing.
He took a step forward.
"You hold me responsible for your suffering. You ought to.
Kael winced.
However, I am not the same commander who abandoned you. I passed away. I was bleeding. I broke. And the Abyss offered me the option to either rebuild or stay broken.
Kael's blade fell 0.5 inches. "What did you rebuild into?"
Raen spoke softly. "A man who will never run again."
The Wraithhowl let out a shriek. It was a chorus of all the unfulfilled promises Raen had ever made, not a cry of a beast. He was surrounded by echoes.
"You misled them."
"Yes, I did."
"You allowed them to perish."
"Yes, I did."
"You desired to be a deity."
"I didn't want to be just a pawn."
Silently, Kael watched as the Wraithhowl circled Raen, forcing his memories into agony.
Raen didn't fight back.
They belonged to him.
The memories ceased to hurt the instant he did.
since he stopped denying them.
since he was different.
There was a pulse in the layer.
Kael's eyes were moist as she gazed at him.
"You really think you can fix what we broke?" he whispered.
"No," Raen replied. "However, I can stop breaking more."
The Wraithhowl hesitated. and slithered over to Raen.
Kael stumbled.
[Forming a New Emotional Bond: Wraithhowl Seraphim → Request for Partial Transfer]
[Due to resonance collapse, Kael Terenis has released his emotional claim.]
[Beast Identifies Raen Tiberis as the Alternate Anchor]
Kael fell to his knees.
"I no longer despise you," he declared. "But I can't follow you once more."
Raen put a hand on his shoulder and said, "You don't have to." But rest. Additionally, if the Abyss offers you another chance, seize it.
Kael disappeared—possibly teleported to another mirror by the layer itself.
Raen looked at his group. Now the Wraithhowl hung behind him, lowering its head and folding its wings.
Hollowfang gave one howl. The shadows of Despair Maw huddled in defense. "That was… more than power," Ember Vow said in a whisper as she moved closer.
Raen answered, "It was truth."
And it was accepted by the layer.
[The eighth layer was cleared. Integrity of Emotion: 94% → 97%
[State: Dormant; Beast Acquired: Wraithhowl Seraphim]
[New Route Unlocked: descent to the Crownless Flame Layer]
Jester Wyrm laughed as they moved forward. "Well, by the time we get to the bottom, you'll have a zoo if every former friend drops a beast off."
Unaware that he was holding a breath, Raen released it.
"No," he replied. It's not a zoo. a household.
And with approval, rather than warning, the Abyss rumbled.
........................................
next: What doesn't produce ash when it burns? Who is in charge but never occupies a throne? Every bond and every flame will be put to the test as Raen goes deeper—not by opponents, but by the fire inside.