The door opened without a sound.
Not with force.
Not with magic.
But with recognition.
Kael stepped through first.
The others hesitated.
The room beyond wasn't a room at all.
It was a world.
A floating expanse of shattered geometry, suspended over an abyss of thought. Books hovered in orbit around islands of memory-stone. Bridges made of light stretched between monoliths engraved with living code. Time… pulsed here. Not forward. Not backward. Just present.
Tessia whispered, "What is this place?"
Kael's eyes didn't blink. "The inner mind of the ruin. A record. A seed. And now… ours."
Sera moved beside him, blades still drawn. "Why did it let us in?"
Kael replied, "Because I passed the Trial."
He didn't mention the true reason.
Because it remembered him.
A voice stirred the light.
"Welcome, Dominant Anchor."
Kael turned. From one of the floating monoliths descended a humanoid projection—half-data, half-dust, clad in ancient robes made of sigils. Its face was blank, but its tone held respect.
"You are granted Archive Touch. You may request three records. Knowledge beyond this number will incur cost."
"Define cost," Kael said immediately.
"Reality distortion. Local mental degradation. Fractured identity."
Zarith winced behind him. "That's one hell of a library fine."
Kael smirked.
"Then I'll choose carefully."
He raised one hand.
"First: the origin of this ruin."
The projection flared.
A map unfolded in air—stars, ley-lines, continents beneath different names.
"This ruin was part of the First Layer Cognitive Network, built during the Apex Era. Originally designed as a memory repository for the Administrator Class, it became unstable after the Karmic Collapse."
Sera frowned. "Administrator? Collapse?"
Kael's pulse ticked upward.
Administrator. That word again.
The one Whisper used.
He waved his hand. "Second request: the nature of 'Administrator Echoes.'"
The room dimmed.
"Administrator Echoes are splinters of hyper-conscious entities seeded into strategic ruins. They monitor mental resonance patterns for anomalies—like you."
Tessia tensed. "Like Kael?"
Kael said nothing.
Because this confirmed it.
This ruin… wasn't just testing him.
It was searching for something. Or someone. And it had found a match.
Him.
Or… who he used to be.
He stared at his hand. His old life—Caelum Veras—was supposed to be dead.
But what if fragments of that mind still existed in this world?
Kael stepped forward. "Final request."
Everyone held their breath.
He spoke slowly.
"Reveal… the next ruin."
Silence.
The Archive flickered.
"Access granted."
[ Ruin Site: Delta-9 / Fracture Bloom ]
[ Classification: Martial-Class | Sub-Type: Kinetic Will ]
[ Location: Region of Thareth Reach – Conflict Zone Active. Hostile Forces Approaching. ]
A projection appeared—massive, with curved terrain and glowing storm-fronts over red earth. A battlefield already brewing.
Kael's eyes narrowed.
That zone hadn't even been active in historical records. This was new. Someone—or something—was preparing for his next step.
The projection vanished.
The Archive dimmed.
"Session complete. Exceeding access will trigger neural backlash. Leave while stability remains."
Kael turned back to the team.
"Let's move."
As they crossed the Archive's edge, light rippled beneath their feet. The moment Kael passed through, the room collapsed behind them—folding itself into silence.
And outside… the world had changed.
Literally.
The terrain of the ruin was no longer desert. Now it was fractured mesa, warped by time—glass trees, inverted rivers, red sun. Reality had shifted.
Dren stumbled. "What in the seven hells—this isn't the same ruin!"
Kael's voice was flat. "The ruin moved."
Zarith clutched his head. "Not just the ruin. The land. It's repositioning to avoid detection."
Tessia growled softly. "Too late."
Kael followed her gaze.
On the cliff edge: shadows.
Armored silhouettes, cloaked in desert gear but bearing polished plate beneath. Runeblade Academy scouts.
To the right—another group. Crimson Vulture scouts with dune-sabers drawn.
And behind them, rising like teeth from the rock—sky skiffs bearing House Veinhold banners.
Kael stepped forward, wind tearing at his coat.
"They moved fast," Sera muttered.
"No," Kael said. "They didn't move."
"They were already coming."
Above them, in the clouds, distant lightning sparked.
Not weather.
Magic storms—controlled by airships.
And on the far southern ridge, the first war-beast cry echoed across the valley.
Kael's team readied weapons.
"Should we fall back?" Dren asked.
"No," Kael said, his eyes fixed on the canyon ahead where the ruin's memory still pulsed faintly in his skin.
"We bait them. And then we go to Delta-9."
Tessia cracked her neck. "You're insane."
"Correct," Kael replied.
Then he turned, rune-glow still burning in his eyes.
"Let's see what they've brought."
[ END OF CHAPTER 9 ]