The stairwell wound downward into heat and pressure, the kind of oppressive atmosphere that suggested more than temperature—it suggested something ancient breathing beneath the surface of the world. Kieran Vale felt it in the soles of his feet, in the marrow of his bones. Every step downward pulled him deeper into the Codex's domain, and every pulse of blood in his chest seemed to echo off the walls like a whispered promise.
Or a warning.
The path behind him had vanished the moment he, Riven, and Ashen stepped into the descent. There was no turning back now.
The air thickened.
Crimson light spilled through narrow, vein-like cracks in the stone walls. The further they went, the less it resembled carved architecture and more something grown—like the inside of a great beast, pulsing and warm.
Then the stairs ended.
And the chamber opened up.
It was vast, easily the size of a cathedral, though it bore no hallmarks of worship. The floor was made of obsidian-glass, smooth yet slightly warm beneath their boots, drinking in all light rather than reflecting it. At the center pulsed a massive crystal—roughly three meters tall, partially submerged in a stone pedestal, and glowing with a deep, slow heartbeat of red light.
The Codex Core.
Its presence wasn't passive.
It was aware.
The moment Kieran stepped within ten meters of it, a ripple passed across the floor, as if the structure recognized him. Text unfurled across his vision in clean, silken lines.
[Crimson Depths: Core Chamber Access Granted]Phase Two Trial: The Heart of Blood has begun.
Trial Type: Cooperative SurvivalTrial Objective: Defend the Codex Core until internal synchronization completes.
Restrictions: Core cannot be moved. Core must remain intact above 50% integrity.
Additional Parameters:
Allies may synchronize skills during this phase.
All participants benefit from 'Shared Will' (+10% stat efficiency while near allied Codex users).
Duration: Unknown – until Core stabilization complete.
Kieran turned to the others. "This is a hold-and-survive test. They want us to protect the Core from waves. It's not about killing everything—it's about enduring."
"Standard pressure evaluation," Ashen murmured, eyeing the glowing channels that split outward from the Core like bloodstreams. "But with the Codex involved, 'standard' doesn't mean safe."
Riven rolled her shoulders, her spear already in hand. "Just tell me where to stand and what to kill."
Kieran moved to the Core and placed his hand against the stone. It was warm—too warm—and beneath his palm, the light pulsed faster, syncing with his heartbeat. The Codex vibrated against his spine, resonating harder than it had in the Ravenspire trial.
[Codex Core Stabilization: 0%]Initiating hostile engagement sequence in 30 seconds.
"Take positions," Kieran ordered, voice firm. "Riven, left flank. Ashen, right. I'll hold the center."
Riven nodded once and jogged to her position with a professional grace that betrayed how many times she'd had to fight for her life. Ashen moved silently, placing thin rune stones behind her as she moved—preparation, Kieran assumed, for traps.
The countdown in his HUD ticked down.
The Core throbbed louder.
The temperature dropped—then spiked.
The Codex whispered.
And the floor fractured.
They came without form—at first.
Tattered silhouettes rose from the crimson lines etched into the obsidian, pulling themselves from the blood-channels like memories clawing their way into the present. They didn't shimmer. They didn't scream. They existed, and that was threat enough.
Kieran recognized them from the database.
[Enemies Identified: Blood Revenants – Tier I]Characteristics: Semi-corporeal, aggressive, fast.Weakness: Sustained attacks.Resistance: High to single-strike frontal damage.Additional Note: Shadows do not match real movement—visual trickery expected.
"Don't trust their angles," he shouted. "Watch for shadow displacement!"
Riven met her first revenant with a clean side-step and a spinning arc that bisected the entity at the waist. It dissolved into mist.
Ashen baited two at once, activating one of her earlier traps with a whisper. Bloodline runes lit beneath her feet, and red spears of energy erupted upward, skewering both before they had time to react.
Kieran surged forward to intercept three coming toward the Core directly. He spun his blade once, casting Blood Bind mid-swing. Threads of crimson lashed out, entangling the legs of one and slicing through the second's midsection. The third ducked beneath the whip—but ran directly into Kieran's fist.
He felt the crack in his knuckles, the sensation of something not-quite-solid giving way.
They fought as a unit.
And the Core responded.
[Core Stability: 22%]
Kieran felt the push in the Codex—momentum building, that faint click of a system being satisfied. But it wasn't over.
Another ripple tore through the ground.
This one hurt.
The air shimmered, and four larger entities emerged from the eastern line.
Clad in bone. Wielding Codex-forged limbs. Eyes burning with artificial awareness.
[Enemies Identified: Boneweavers – Tier I.5 Elites]Characteristics: Codex logic constructs. Capable of spell-based disruption.Abilities:
Splinter Bolts (ranged bleed projectiles)
Codex Field Suppression (random skill nullification)
Warning: Targets prioritize support units and Core structures.
"They're gunning for Ashen!" Riven shouted.
"I see them!" Kieran replied.
One Boneweaver raised its skeletal arm and fired a bolt—three shards split midair, angling for Ashen from impossible vectors.
She ducked one, batted away the second with a glyph-shield, and took the third in her shoulder.
Blood sprayed, and she staggered back.
[-18 HP | Ashen Status: Bleed (Moderate)]
Kieran's grip tightened.
No time to waste.
He threw out a command.
"Fall back behind the Core! Riven—cover left, I'll clear right!"
He activated Blood Vortex without hesitation, drawing every ounce of mana he could pull and compacting it into a drill of coiled energy. The vortex screeched as it tore across the obsidian floor, slamming into two Boneweavers and shredding their armor to pulp.
[Critical Hit – Boneweaver Destroyed]
Riven leapt into the fray, executing a clean upward thrust through another elite's jaw.
Ashen, recovering fast, laid her hand to the floor again. Runes flared. The last Boneweaver stepped into her trap—and imploded in a rush of red light.
[Core Stability: 58%]
But the Core didn't pulse with relief.
It screamed.
The world fractured.
The floor became mist. The chamber dissolved.
And the Codex pulled them inward.
Kieran staggered as the environment shifted—not physically, but mentally. One moment he stood in the trial; the next, he stood in the past.
No—not quite.
He stood in Liana's room.
Not just a memory.
A reconstruction.
She sat on the bed, eyes bright, swinging her legs as she looked up at him.
"You left me, Kieran."
He stepped back.
"This isn't real."
She smiled, gently. "But it was. You forgot to call back."
"I tried—"
"You didn't try hard enough."
[Codex Phase Three – Memory Collapse]
Personal Phantoms Initiated. Trial now psychological. Resist or break.
Across the false space, Riven stood in the field of corpses she never wanted to see again. The little girl she failed knelt beside a twisted tree, staring at her.
"You ran."
"I didn't," Riven whispered. "I just... couldn't move."
"You froze," the child echoed.
Ashen stood before a black mirror.
In it, her reflection smiled.
"You always knew this power came with a price," the reflection said. "But you begged for it anyway."
"I didn't beg," Ashen whispered.
"You inherited your mother's blood. And still ran."
Kieran gritted his teeth.
"No more," he growled.
He activated Crimson Reflection, forcing Codex power to surge through his chest, amplifying pain into momentum. Red light bled from his eyes. His blade formed without conscious thought.
He charged the illusion and cut through it.
[Trial Passed – Personal Phantom Resisted]
Riven wiped tears from her cheek, inhaled sharply, and lunged.
Her phantom shattered in two.
Ashen didn't speak.
She simply raised her hand, and the mirror turned to dust.
The world reassembled.
The chamber returned.
And the Codex Core pulsed with finality.
[Core Stabilized – 100%]
[Phase Two Trial Complete – Crimson Depths Cleared]
Kieran Vale has acquired Fragment 4/7
Skill Gained: Crimson Pulse (Lv. 1)– Unleashes a radial wave of concussive blood force. Knocks back and weakens enemies. AoE radius: 10m. Cooldown: 45s
Title Gained: Depthwalker– First to complete the Crimson Depths. Blood skill cost reduced by 5%. Minor mental resistance gained.
Codex Affinity: 30%
Ashen collapsed to one knee.
Riven sat, exhausted, head bowed.
Kieran stood over the Core, chest heaving, blood drying on his blade.
"It's done," he whispered.
But somewhere far to the north, through the storm and the dark—
Kael Draven smiled.
His Codex had just reacted.
Another rival fragment… had awakened.