Eris stood alone at the threshold where the vault ended and the living world began. Behind him, the massive stone doors sealed themselves with a slow grinding sound, ancient runes dimming until they vanished completely. For the first time since he entered, the vault felt truly silent… as if it had finished judging him.
His palm still tingled from the moment the Sovereign Sigil appeared—a faint, glowing mark shaped like a fractal sun. It pulsed with a steady rhythm, syncing with his heartbeat. Every pulse made his thoughts sharper, his senses wider, and his destiny heavier.
He walked forward, out of the cavern and into the open plains. The sky was deep purple with streaks of gold—dusk settling across the land. The air was stronger here, filled with distant roars, clashing steel, and the rumbling of something ancient stirring.
Eris stopped.
There—far away—clouds swirled unnaturally. A vertical spiral, like a storm forming in a straight line. Even from this distance, he felt the dread crawling up his spine.
Asmodeus was awake.
And something else was rising with him.
Eris tightened his cloak. Each step felt like walking toward a fate he didn't choose—but one he was born from.
Suddenly, the ground beneath him flickered with golden light. A small orb of condensed energy floated up from the soil. It twisted and formed a shape—a message. A rune-projection, left behind by the Light God.
The projection spoke in a calm, commanding voice:
"Bearer of the Sigil, your wounds are healed.
But your path grows darker.
The Oni you defeated were scouts.
The Demon King has sent his generals.
Seek the Shrine of Echoes.
There, you will meet the one who survived the First War."
The projection shattered into dust.
Eris swallowed hard. Someone survived that war? A war where the Clan of Seven themselves had fallen?
He tightened the straps on his gauntlets and started walking. The wind blew across the plains, swirling dust around his feet.
Above him, lightning cracked across the spiraling clouds.
The storm was no longer waiting.
It was coming for him.
And this time… he wasn't sure if the power in his veins would be enough.