All systems resist change. Even gods. Especially gods.
—Lucien
The Soulforge creaked.
The stone shattered under the weight of the giant obsidian creature. Its body glowed with ancient symbols, pulsing like a sick heart. A warhammer, fused to one hand, dragged along like a death bell.
The Warden of the Forge.
A guardian left behind by the Architect's creators. It was set to wake if anyone—especially a Codeheart—touched the heart of the Soulforge.
It spotted me.
And I felt it recognize me.
"You," it growled in a harsh voice. "You changed the Architect's equation."
Its voice didn't just sound; it felt like raw data echoing in my head like shattered glass.
Mio stood next to me, her eyes wide, hand shaking toward her blade.
"Leonhart… we shouldn't have come here alone."
"I know."
"Should we run?"
I took a breath.
The altar behind us lit up with red pulses. The Soul-Sleeper's body stirred, sinking deeper into a dream.
"No. If that thing gets out—your kingdom is doomed."
Codeheart: Initiate Combat Sync
I focused.
The Codeheart class activated. Blue sigils swirled around me—runes I earned after rewriting the Worldseed. The code flickered at my fingertips like digital fire.
[Skill Unlocked: Reality Thread – Isolate Subroutine]
I shot a line of shining code directly at the Warden's warhammer arm, trying to cut off its movement.
But the Warden simply turned and absorbed the blow.
"I was made in the original Forge. You can't undo me."
With a roar that shook the ruins, it lunged forward—swinging its hammer down like a god's judgment.
The Fall and Fire
I barely yanked Mio out of the way.
The hammer smashed the altar, splintering it into shards of stone and bits of code.
The Soul-Sleeper screamed—a psychic wail that sent ripples through the room. The pulse of decaying dreams surged through the floor.
"It's connected to them," Mio gasped. "The Warden draws power from the same dreamflow sustaining our kingdom!"
"That means taking it down could ruin everything your father built."
"I don't care!" she shouted. "We're crumbling from within already!"
The Warden turned toward her.
"Daughter of the Blood Pact. You aren't spared."
It raised its warhammer again.
I moved faster than I thought possible.
New Power: Code Fragment—Guardian Link
The Codeheart in me shifted.
For a moment, I saw two paths: one where I hesitated, one where I acted.
I chose to act.
A barrier shot out from my arm—clear and lined with mirror runes. It caught the blow just inches above Mio's head.
She looked up at me, breathing hard. "You can protect memories now?"
"I can protect people."
We pushed back together.
Mio Awakens
She pulled out her dagger—not a sword, not a relic.
But it gleamed now. Responding to the Forge.
"The Soulforge is a part of me too," she said. "That's why I hear it. Why I dream it."
The Warden faltered.
"You are a Carrier."
"What?"
"You have the blood of a Soulweaver. Your blood… is incomplete."
She froze.
"My father said I wasn't strong enough to take the throne. That I was cursed—"
"He lied."
Something changed in her demeanor.
Then her blade ignited with violet fire.
[Mio unlocked Trait: Inherited Flame – Soulweaver Echo]
She stepped forward, eyes blazing.
"For my people, for my truth… I reject your judgment."
The Final Stand
We fought side by side.
She was like fire. I was like lightning.
Every hit we landed shook the Forge's foundation. The Warden slowed—its core briefly exposed.
"Now!" I yelled. "The thread—it's coming apart at the middle!"
Mio threw her dagger. I fired a piece of the rewritten code behind it to boost her strike.
The blade plunged into the Warden's chest, right through a crack of glowing red.
Time stopped.
Then:
BOOM.
The Warden roared—a death knell that shattered the balance of the room. Its warhammer fell. Its eyes dimmed.
And the ruins began to crumble.
Escape
We ran—dodging falling debris and rupturing veins of rotting memory.
The entrance above was caving in. I summoned a system path—an emergency exit pulse—barely managing it with my Codeheart before it sealed behind us.
When we burst back into the cold night, both of us collapsed in the snow.
Breathing. Alive.
Changed.
Aftermath
Later that night, in a hidden spot overlooking the cursed valley, we stood quietly.
Mio gazed at the stars, but her mind was somewhere deeper.
"You heard what the Warden said. My father made a pact with ancient forces. The Soulforge isn't just a relic—it's a throne built on suffering."
I nodded. "And now he's losing control of it."
Her hand brushed against mine.
"This war won't just be against invaders or monsters. It'll be against the past. Against everything we thought was holy."
"Then we burn the past," I said.
"And what if I burn too?"
I turned to her.
"You won't. Because I'm not leaving your side."
She didn't smile.
But she rested her head on my shoulder, eyes closed.
"You're nothing like the hero in my childhood stories, Leonhart. You're better. Because you're not perfect."
And I realized, in that moment—
Mio didn't need a savior.
She needed a partner.
To be continued...