Ever since the Trial Mirror shattered, Erik hadn't slept peacefully.
The vision of the dark version of himself still burned in his mind. But something else haunted him more...
The sword.
That golden-black blade — the one the soul warned him about.He'd never seen it before.And yet, somehow… it felt like it was his.
"You felt it too," Erik whispered in his mind.
"Yes," the soul replied, quieter than usual. "That sword is not just a weapon… it's a memory."
📚 The Forbidden Floor
The Azure Tower had hundreds of levels — but not all were open to initiates.
Level -9 was sealed.
Or at least… it should have been.
Late at night, while most initiates were asleep and the main wards cycled, Erik used a fading Soul Thread to mimic the rune of a passing scribe and slipped through a hidden lift.
The floor beneath Level -8 felt colder. Ancient. The walls weren't crystal or marble, but raw obsidian, marked with glowing runes in a language he didn't recognize.
At the end of the corridor stood a door without a handle. Just a single symbol:
𓂀
The moment Erik touched it, the door opened.
⚔️ The Weapon Vault
Inside the vault: relics.
Weapons sealed in floating cases. Scrolls that bled light. Armor too heavy for a normal man to lift.
And there — at the very center — the sword.
Exactly like his dream.
Black and gold. Floating above a stone pedestal. Its edge hummed with a low, ancient frequency that rattled Erik's bones.
He approached.
"That's mine,"the soul whispered."Or rather… it was."
Erik stared.
"Its name is... Veyrion."
🌌 Soul's Revelation
Erik asked aloud, "What is it?"
"It was forged in the dying breath of a Primordial Star,"the soul explained."Used to slay both angels and archfiends. I called it the Blade of Balance. Others called it... The Devourer of Endings."
"Because every time it was drawn… something ancient died."
Erik's hand hovered above it.
"Be warned,"the soul said sharply. "Draw it… and the world will feel you."
"Even those who should remain asleep."
Erik clenched his jaw.
"I don't care."
"If this blade can help me protect them… I'll wield it."
He grabbed the hilt.
A flash of black light surged through the chamber. Symbols ignited across the vault, alarms screaming in ancient tongues.
Erik dropped to one knee, the blade now in his hand — pulsing, alive.
But something was wrong.
"Erik — someone else felt that.""Someone who should not be awake."
Suddenly, the shadows in the room shifted.
And a voice echoed behind him:
"You finally touched it."
🕵️ The First Betrayal
Erik turned, blade in hand.
From the vault entrance, a familiar figure stepped in — hood down, face revealed.
It was Instructor Thevar.One of the outer circle mentors. Trusted. Kind.
But now… his eyes were pitch-black.
"You were never supposed to get this far," he said calmly. "But perhaps fate can still be rewritten."
Erik pointed the blade at him. "You're the traitor."
Thevar smiled. "No, Erik. I'm just the beginning."
He raised a hand — and from behind him, two more cloaked figures appeared.
One of them was another initiate.
Erik's eyes widened.
"You…"
⚔️ The Trap
Thevar snapped his fingers — the vault door slammed shut behind them.
No escape.
One of the cloaked men lunged at Erik with a chain-blade. Erik deflected with Veyrion, the ancient sword shrieking as it met modern steel.
The impact shook the room — a pulse of energy blasted the nearest relics into sparks.
But Erik was outnumbered.
He blocked another strike — barely — and rolled behind a pillar.
Breathing hard, he whispered, "You awake?"
"I never sleep in a room with traitors,"the soul growled."Let's end this."
Erik stood tall — golden marks blazing again.
Then, Thevar drew a blade — shaped exactly like Erik's Trial Mirror version.
"Let's see if you really chose the right self," he said.
⛓️ Cliffhanger Ending
The fight resumed — blades clashing, the air full of soul-cracks and magic distortions.
Just as Erik gained the upper hand, slashing through one of the cloaked attacker's chest — the vault shook violently.
A presence far darker than Thevar's entered the room.
A mirror on the far wall cracked open.
And from it stepped…
The exact same version of Erik from the Trial Mirror.Dark armor. Golden eyes. Same smirk.
Only this time…
he was real.
"Didn't think I'd let you walk away without meeting me again, did you?"