Chapter 17: The Mask and the Message
Rayden crouched in the ashes of what was once Duskvale, fingers closing around the Pale King's shattered mask fragment. It was still warm. Still humming. A flicker of residual power curled inside it, like an ember refusing to die.
[Relic Obtained: Timebreaker Mask Fragment]
Description: A broken piece of a temporal guardian. Use with caution.
Compatibility: 42% | Integration: Dangerous
Do you wish to attempt merging?
[Yes] [No]
He hovered over the decision. The System had never warned him so bluntly. Not about pain. Not about corruption. But this…
Rayden chose Yes.
The moment he did, his body arched backward. The fragment liquified in his palm and surged into his chest like molten glass. His heart skipped, then screamed. Time convulsed around him. The air thickened. His vision splintered—moments of himself folding over one another.
Rayden saw flashes of a thousand paths.
In one, he was crowned Emperor of Ash.
In another, he wept over the corpse of someone he couldn't yet name.
In another still, his body was no longer human—just rage in a shell.
[Merging Complete]
New Trait Gained: Echo Veil
— Temporarily phase out of current time stream for 3 seconds. Cooldown: 60 seconds.
Corruption: 18%
Warning: Echo Veil may accelerate System instability.
He gasped as the world reformed around him.
No birds. No wind. Just silence—and the faint whisper of the System pulsing in his mind.
> You are changing… and not all change can be undone.
He ignored it.
His hand moved instinctively to the mark burned on his forearm—the twisted eye of the Berserk System. It had begun to bleed black smoke, a sign that something within was awakening.
He stood, brushing soot from his armor. His path was no longer unclear. Whatever the Pale King was guarding… it had been connected to time itself. Guardians like him were not random. They were placed.
Which meant someone—some thing—was orchestrating this.
From the remains of a nearby building, a scrap of cloth fluttered in the wind. Upon it, a sigil: a crowned serpent devouring its own tail.
Rayden narrowed his eyes.
He recognized that symbol. It had appeared once before—in a dream he didn't understand. The Berserk System hadn't just been sealed. It had been hidden—from this very force.
He pocketed the cloth and turned east.
New Quest Unlocked: Path to the Forgotten Citadel
Objective: Reach the ruins beyond the Shatterspine Ridge.
Danger Level: Very High
Note: Expect interference. System anomalies will increase.
Rayden tightened the strap of his cloak and began walking.
The road ahead wouldn't welcome him. But the fire in his blood told him something powerful waited at its end—not peace, not salvation.
But truth.
And maybe… revenge.