The Black Spine Mountains had once been a border—between cities, between nations, between wars.
Now they were a grave.
Twisted black stone pierced the sky like broken teeth. Mist never left the peaks, and mana storms rolled through the cliffs in pulses that fried electronics and tore open skin. No Guild had laid claim to the area in years—not since Corruption Gates started appearing there.
Gates with no exits.
Ezra stared out at the distant peaks from the back of a rusted cargo truck as it bounced down a long-dead highway. His hands rested on Hollow Mercy's shaft. The weapon pulsed faintly, like it too recognized where they were headed.
Beside him, Rei sat bundled in a patched jacket, her wounds mostly healed, but her eyes never left the horizon.
"We shouldn't go alone," she said quietly.
"We're not," Ezra replied.
The truck hit a bump, and the man driving let out a deep, rumbling laugh. "Damn right you're not. You've got me."
Ezra eyed their new companion—Kane "Wretch" Mavik, a former A-Rank scavenger turned mountain smuggler. He was built like a tank, half his face was cybernetic, and he wore bone-pierced gloves crafted from monsters he'd apparently killed with his bare hands.
He also had one rule:
"I only go as far as the first scream."
Kane grinned through a broken row of gold teeth. "You sure you're ready for Black Spine? Folks say the mountains don't echo—they listen."
Rei crossed her arms. "We're not here for echoes."
Ezra's voice was soft. "We're here for what eats them."
Black Spine – Outer Ridge
The truck couldn't go farther than the ridge. Past that, the air turned thick with static. Mana flared unnaturally, warping sound and light. Kane parked near an abandoned research tower and lit a hand-rolled smoke.
"Last chance," he said, exhaling smoke that shimmered blue.
Ezra dropped from the truck bed, eyes locked on the jagged valley ahead.
"No more chances," he said. "Just forward."
Kane shrugged and tossed him a small glowing charm. "Mana anchor. Helps with orientation inside corrupted zones. If it starts to hum? Run."
Rei gripped her blade. "Run where?"
He smirked. "Straight into hell, most likely."
They made it half a mile in before the whispers began.
Not voices. Not language.
Just suggestions.
Ezra felt his vision blur. Trees bent sideways. Stone bled. And above it all, the sky had stopped moving—frozen in mid-cloud like a paused video feed.
[Gate Signature Detected – Partial Overlap]
Corruption Level: 78%
Soul Affinity: Active. Gem Signal: Present (3rd Slot – Space)
"It's close," Ezra muttered. "I can feel it."
Kane cocked a brow. "Your scythe's twitching."
Ezra looked down.
Hollow Mercy was glowing—its second Gem Slot pulsing like a heartbeat. That could only mean one thing.
They were being watched.
"Eyes up," he warned.
The fog peeled back to reveal a figure.
It stood in the center of a shattered clearing, surrounded by dead beasts—each one eviscerated, skulls cracked open, mana cores yanked free.
The figure was tall, thin, wrapped in black feathers and grey rags. Its face was covered by a cracked porcelain mask, and its hands were slick with blood.
Then it turned.
[Name: ???]
Title: Echo-Eater
Class: Corruption-Touched / Former B-Rank Awakened
Affiliation: None. Sanity: Fragmented.
Ezra read the system message at the same time the Echo-Eater spoke.
"I know that scythe," the creature rasped.
Rei stepped forward, blade raised. "Identify yourself!"
The Echo-Eater ignored her.
"I tasted Nyra's memory. Burned my tongue. Thought it was gone." His head tilted, twitching. "But there it is again. Bright. Sharp. Hungry."
Ezra stepped in front of Rei.
"What are you?"
The Echo-Eater laughed. "Hungry."
He lifted one hand and snapped his fingers.
Reality buckled.
Battle: Ezra + Rei vs. The Echo-Eater
The trees folded inward.
Not broke—folded. Like pages in a book.
The battlefield became a spiral of shifting terrain, gravity shifting every three seconds. Stone rose, trees sank, and time lagged in pockets around the Echo-Eater.
Ezra's system blared.
[Corruption Zone Entered – Soul Decay at 3% per minute]
[Chrono Rift – Ready]
He summoned his undead—Gravetusk, and two more Bone Walkers he'd reinforced with Reaper soulshards.
The Echo-Eater opened his palm and absorbed a floating Echo that had been hovering beside him. His body convulsed, and a second set of arms burst from his ribs.
[Skill Used: Devour Memory]
Effect: Gains random skill from consumed Echo. Current: Voidstep
Ezra barely dodged the first strike as the Echo-Eater teleported beside him.
Hollow Mercy clashed with inhuman claws.
[Chrono Rift – Activated]
Ezra froze his undead for two seconds.
They passed through the terrain, coming up behind the Echo-Eater.
When the Rift dropped, they struck simultaneously.
[Mark Prey – Activated]
[Chrono Lock – Triggered]
The Echo-Eater jerked mid-teleport—stunned.
Ezra took the opening.
He struck.
The scythe sank deep into the Echo-Eater's back.
It shrieked—not in pain, but in fury.
"You smell like her!" it screamed. "Like Nyra's rage!"
It lashed out with a blast of corrupted mana, throwing everyone back.
The Rift Tear
Suddenly, the air tore.
Not the Gate.
The world.
A crack formed behind the Echo-Eater, spiraling outward. Beyond it was not darkness—but emptiness. Pure void. No stars. No rules. No time.
[Warning: Space Gem Fragment Active]
Name: Shard of Hollow Distance
Function: Short-range Rift Folding – Blink + Phase for Undead or Weapon Only
Ezra's eyes locked on the floating shard above the tear.
The third Gem.
[Claim Gem?]
Ezra charged.
The Echo-Eater moved to intercept—
—but Rei stepped between them, catching a clawed strike that sent her flying.
Ezra didn't look back.
He grabbed the shard.
Pain. Fire. Ice.
And then—
[Soul Slot 3 Unlocked: SPACE – Shard of Hollow Distance]
(Passive: Undead can teleport to targets struck by Hollow Mercy within 5 seconds.)
(Active: Blink to any marked undead within 15m.)
Ezra blinked behind the Echo-Eater.
His scythe moved on instinct.
One clean cut.
The Echo-Eater gasped, staggered.
"I wanted… her voice… again…"
Then he crumbled—bone, feather, shadow—into nothing.
The rift sealed behind him.
Aftermath
Rei groaned from where she lay against a boulder, blood trailing from her temple.
Ezra rushed to her side, helped her sit up.
"You're insane," she muttered, smiling weakly.
He offered her a canteen. "You knew that three cities ago."
She took a sip, then looked at him.
"That's three Gems."
Ezra nodded.
And Hollow Mercy pulsed again.
Three lights.
Two more to go.
But in the sky above them, the clouds were watching.
And somewhere far away, someone was whispering Ezra's name.
Not with fear.
But with hope.