Chapter 60: The One Who Remembered Her
They took the mission because it was simple.
D-Rank, quick travel, no complex objectives.
A missing courier. A locked box meant for a minor shrine northeast of Karlune. Likely bandits or beasts. No magical threat flagged.
But Isaac didn't trust it.
And neither did Lira.
Her soul had been pulsing for days now—heat under her ribs, sparks in her breath, and that same sigil flickering behind her eyelids every time she closed them.
Still, they went.
Because waiting wasn't safer anymore.
They found the courier's broken cart just before dusk.
The trail curved into a pine-strewn hollow, half-choked with fog. The mule was dead. Slashed—not clawed. Precise. Surgical.
Isaac drew closer. "This wasn't a beast."
Lira knelt by the broken saddle strap, running her fingers along the edge. "Spell-scored," she said softly. "Deliberate sabotage."
"Which means—"
She stood up abruptly. "We're being watched."
They didn't see him approach.
He was already there.
Standing in the fog just beyond the edge of the cart.
Tall. Hooded. A mask of bone and bronze obscured his face. His robes were plain, but the edges shimmered with script that twisted when the eye tried to read it.
Isaac raised his hand.
Lira's grip tightened on her staff.
The figure spoke.
"Elaraiya," he said, voice deep and cold. "You've awakened."
Lira's breath caught in her throat.
Isaac stepped forward. "You know her?"
"I knew what she was," the figure replied. "Before she was stripped. Before the cult broke her open and called it salvation."
He tilted his head.
"But you remember now, don't you?"
Lira said nothing.
The figure stepped closer.
"I was one of the ones who failed to stop them. One of the ones who saw your sigil burn in their hands and did nothing. I came to finish what was left undone."
Isaac didn't wait.
He moved first.
[Clawing Swipe – Lv. 5] slashed out toward the figure's throat.
But the man vanished.
Reappeared behind Lira.
She spun—too slow.
His hand extended.
A gleam of jagged spellcraft flared toward her chest.
And the fire responded.
[Echobrand – Rank A – Activated (Manual)]Trigger: Target lock + memory resonanceStatus: Stabilized – Cooldown: 30 seconds
Lira didn't flinch.
She lifted her staff and shouted a name she hadn't known until now—
"Elaraiya's Vow!"
Lightning surged—not as a bolt, but a wave—arching through the air in a spiral brand. It struck the masked man full in the chest.
For a moment, the illusion shattered.
Beneath the mask, his face flickered.
Burned.
Ashen.
Familiar.
And then he flew backward, crashing through the treeline and into the mist beyond.
Isaac rushed forward—but Lira stood tall, breathing hard, eyes clear.
"I knew him," she said.
"Who was he?"
"One of the shrineguard. From before."
"Before the Spiral?"
"No," she said. "Before I was Spiral."
The woods quieted again.
No corpse. No trace of the man.
But the System hummed behind her thoughts.
[Soul Resonance Progress: 78%][Skill: Echobrand – Cooldown Now Scaling with Willpower][New Entry Logged: Echo of the Shrineguard – Memory Fragment Stored]
That night, neither of them spoke much.
They walked back to town under moonlight, and when they reached the gates, Isaac touched her shoulder.
"You controlled it this time."
"I think I always could," Lira said. "I just didn't remember how."
She turned to him.
"And tomorrow… I want to know why I was worth breaking."