The revelation of his true name echoed like thunder through the astral veil.
Elyos—the Refractor.
A name older than any system, any divine hierarchy. A name forgotten by force.
But names are power.
And that power had begun to stir the world.
---
Riku—no, Elyos—stood quietly under a broken archway of Velmora, his fingers trailing across a moss-covered wall. The glow of his mark had dimmed, replaced now with a subtle pulse that responded more to thought than emotion.
Valen sat beside a scorched tree, watching him. Her daggers lay sheathed. Her armor cracked. Her voice was quiet.
> "So… Elyos. What does that even mean?"
He didn't answer right away.
Instead, he turned to the horizon, where golden spires pierced the sky—distant remnants of a once-glorious empire.
> "It means I was never supposed to be a piece in this game," he said.
"I was the one who wrote the first rule. The one they broke."
---
🌍 World Focus: Velmora, City of Echoes
Velmora had once been a city of music and soulcraft. Reborn often awakened here, where the Veil between worlds was thinnest. The goddess who summoned Riku had hidden him here not out of kindness, but out of necessity.
Rivers of glass once flowed through its streets, powered by ancient harmonics. Now, broken harps and ruined memory stones lay scattered, humming songs of grief.
But deeper underground, untouched, the Veilheart Core still pulsed.
---
As night fell, the stars above began flickering not from natural starlight—but from watchers. Small, winged entities called Drayflins circled the ruins.
Valen noticed first. "They're Soul-Watchers. From the Temple of Ascension."
Elyos didn't flinch.
> "They're not here for me."
He turned behind them.
A rusted sword glowed from beneath the rubble. Valen drew it out—its blade etched with the language of the Old Reborn.
---
> "What is this place?" she asked.
> "A Forge." Elyos replied.
"One of the last soul-forges that existed before the gods restructured the world."
---
⚔️ Character Focus: Valen Rhyne
Former thief.
Half-born from a cursed bloodline.
Valen had never been chosen by a system.
She had survived by instinct, blades, and wit. But her connection to Elyos was growing deeper—more than respect. It was like she remembered him… but from a dream she'd never had.
And when Elyos looked at her, there was a flicker of recognition in his gaze.
---
They camped near the Forge.
In the silence, Valen asked the question she feared most:
> "Why do you still call yourself Riku if you're… Elyos?"
He smiled gently, for the first time.
> "Because Riku is the one who felt pain. Who died and came back again. Who cared."
"Elyos was power. But Riku was human."
She nodded slowly.
Then: "Will you keep being both?"
His voice dropped into a whisper.
> "I have to be. Or I'll become the thing they wanted to erase."
---
Far above, in the sky near the spires of Altira, five towers flared.
A signal.
The rebellion had begun to move.
And one of the five who appeared in the mirror—Kairen, the One of the Storm—was preparing to meet Riku face to face.
But not with welcome.
With a duel.
---
End of Chapter 16