The fog came down thicker east of Kireth Vale.
It coiled around crumbled arches and broken statues, swallowing the old stone path in silence. Trees leaned inward like conspirators. Even the wind seemed to avoid this place.
Lumen stood at the edge of the ruin, staring at the cracked archway barely visible through the mist. Rin had one hand on her sword hilt. Gilger just smirked.
"Charming spot," he said. "Smells like old socks and worse decisions."
"You said this ruin was sealed," Rin muttered. "Doesn't look sealed."
Gilger winked. "That's the trick. Look again."
She narrowed her eyes.
Lumen's threads quivered faintly in his palm. There was something. A shimmer just past the stones — not visible, but felt. A pressure, like walking into a thick curtain.
Gilger stepped forward and pressed his palm flat against the air.
"A sigil illusion," he said, satisfied. "Old but clever. Meant to fool everyone except someone like me."
He made a twisting motion with his fingers. The air shimmered, then ripped, revealing a staircase carved into the earth below.
"After you, brave heroes."
They descended slowly. The air turned cold and dry, like the breath of a long-dead thing. The walls bore ancient carvings — lines and threads coiling around humanoid shapes, some caught in flame, others bound in knots. One showed a scarecrow-like mask above a kneeling figure.
Rin shivered. "You see that?"
Lumen nodded.
He didn't know why, but the air felt heavier now.
The first chamber was wide, circular, and lined with pillars. Dust cloaked the floor. At the center, a broken dais sat under a ring of dim light seeping from above.
As they stepped closer, the shadows moved.
Rin raised her sword. Lumen felt his threads tighten.
Figures stepped free from the murals. Not alive. Not truly dead. Threadbound Shadows — stitched forms of dust and memory, their joints dangling like puppets.
Gilger hissed. "Ah. Lovely."
One lunged. Rin ducked under it, her Weightstep kicking in. She flipped behind it, blade slicing through air — but hitting only threads. Lumen caught another with a snap of his Snarehold, binding its arms. It screeched, twitching in his grip.
"Gilger! Distract the others!"
"On it!"
Gilger made a sweeping gesture, and three false versions of himself appeared, running in different directions. Two shadows chased them without hesitation.
Rin cut down her target with a shimmering Echoguard counter, the blow echoing twice in the air. It unraveled in dust.
Lumen spun and launched a Threadshot at the last attacker. It tore through its chest, and the creature dissolved.
Silence returned.
Then came a sharp, vibrating pulse.
[System Upgrade: Core Level 1 Achieved]
→ Sigil:Threadbinder (Reactive Control Class)
→ Rank:F+
→ Emotional Sync:43%
→ Known Skills:
• Snarehold: D-
• Lineflow: D
• Threadshot: C → Next Unlock: Threadbend (Tier Skill)
→ Echo Sync:Rin, Gilger, Unknown [Masked]
→ Fusion Status:Emberbrand Fragment: 12%
[Display Limited to: User]
Lumen staggered.
Rin caught his shoulder. "You okay?"
He nodded quickly. "Just... tired."
He wasn't. But how could he explain that?
They pressed deeper into the ruin. The final corridor ended in a vaulted chamber, domed and cracked with age. Roots pierced the ceiling. At the center lay a circular seal half-buried in moss, scorched and worn.
Lumen stepped forward, staring down.
The seal bore a burnt scarecrow symbol and jagged ancient letters circling the edge. At its side, an old leather scroll sat beneath shattered glass. A map.
Gilger picked it up. "Still warm. That's not normal."
He unfurled the map slowly, scanning the strange language. His brow furrowed.
"Can you read it?" Rin asked.
"Some of it. Old Kingdom tongue. Poetic trash mostly. Listen:—"
Where threads fall silent and fire does weep,
The warrior waits — not dead, but deep.
He kneels beneath the mask he wore,
Guarding still the rusted door.
Gilger's smirk faded.
Lumen crouched beside the seal, eyes narrowing.
[System Entry Updated]
→ Objective:Locate Burial of Bram (Emberbrand)
→ Entry Coordinates:Acquired
→ Thread Signature:Active — Beneath Kireth Vale
Rin stared. "Who's Bram?"
Gilger exhaled. "Someone old. And dangerous. And probably pissed."
No one laughed.
Lumen felt his mask vibrate gently at his hip.
░ The mask is not for hiding.
It is for choosing what to remember. ░
The three of them stood together,
staring at the map and the door beneath.
Whatever waited below Kireth Vale... wasn't just history.
It was unfinished business.