The forge was still dim when Arin logged in the next morning.
The air shimmered faintly with heat, the same way it did yesterday — heavy, stagnant, and filled with that half-forgotten metallic scent of molten iron.
The difference was subtle: the faint blue ember at the forge's heart glowed just a little brighter.
It was small. Fragile.
But it was there.
"Morning," he said, voice echoing in the quiet hall.
Talking to himself wasn't new. He'd been doing that a lot these days.
The system chimed faintly in response, like it heard him.
[Soulforge Integrity: 2% → 3%]
[Emotional resonance detected: Mild hope.]
Arin chuckled. "So even the forge runs on feelings now? Great. Guess I'm a magical therapist."
He stretched, rolling his shoulders. Even inside a full-dive VR pod, muscle memory kicked in. His body remembered old warm-ups, the way he'd limber up before long raids.
That life felt distant — like someone else's story.
He picked up the broken hammer and inspected the cracked anvil again. Yesterday's hit had awakened something. The air still carried traces of lingering magic.
[Quest: Reignite the Forge of Lorthen]
Objective: Gather 3 Soul Fragments
Progress: 0/3
"Soul fragments, huh?" Arin muttered. "Because of course it's never simple."
He opened the map — and immediately frowned.
The entire area was marked ???
No icons. No towns. Just fog.
He zoomed out, but even the global map was locked, showing only a message blinking faintly:
[Legacy Zone — Restricted Access. Progress to unlock.]
"Well," he said, slipping the hammer into his belt. "I guess we're doing this old-school."
He stepped out of the forge.
The world beyond was breathtaking in a quiet, eerie way.
Rugged mountains stretched into the horizon, their peaks wrapped in clouds.
The ground was littered with remnants of once-great machinery — gears half-buried in the dirt, rusted blades sticking out like grave markers.
The entire valley seemed asleep, waiting for something to wake it up.
He walked carefully, his boots crunching over gravel.
Every few steps, the system pinged faintly, analyzing the environment.
[Environmental Residue Detected: Soul Energy Traces.]
[Proximity Alert: Hostile Entity nearby.]
Arin froze.
The silence around him deepened.
Then, from behind a pile of broken weapons, something moved — slow and scraping, like metal dragged across stone.
A faint shape emerged: a humanoid figure, its body made of blackened armor with nothing inside.
Empty, hollow — just smoke swirling within its chest cavity. Its eyes glowed faintly blue.
[Lv. 3 — Soul Husk]
"Remnant of a fallen warrior. Drawn to emotion and memory."
The thing tilted its head at him. Then it lunged.
Arin barely had time to raise his hammer.
Clang!
The impact rattled through his arms — heavier than it looked. The Soul Husk's movements were jerky, almost mechanical, but strong.
He sidestepped and swung. The hammer connected with a solid thud — not much damage, but the creature staggered back.
[Damage dealt: 8]
[Critical chance: 0%. Your luck is impressive.]
"Really?" Arin muttered. "Thanks, system. I feel motivated already."
The Husk roared, its hollow chest flaring with blue light. It swung again — and this time, Arin didn't block. He ducked under it and struck the joint between its arm and torso. The hammer sparked — faintly, but this time, something else happened.
A ripple of blue flame spread from the impact point, eating through the armor like acid. The Soul Husk screamed — not a sound of pain, but like a memory being erased.
It collapsed into fragments of ash and glowing motes that drifted upward, dissolving into the air.
[Soul Fragment acquired — 1/3]
[Resonance achieved: Determination.]
Arin exhaled, lowering his hammer.
"Right," he said softly. "One down."
He crouched, watching as the last spark vanished.
The ground where it died shimmered faintly — as if it remembered the battle.
He almost didn't notice the voice at first.
Soft. Feminine. Like an echo carried by the wind.
"You struck with intention."
Arin looked up sharply.
No one there.
"Who—?"
Then the forge system pinged faintly.
[Forge Spirit awakening: 1% manifested.]
Light gathered in front of him — threads of pale blue forming a silhouette.
A girl appeared, or something like one. Her body flickered like a hologram — translucent, draped in faint light resembling forge smoke. Her eyes glowed with the same gentle hue as the ember in the forge.
She tilted her head, curious.
"You are... not the previous smith."
Arin blinked. "No. I'm the idiot who hit the anvil yesterday."
Her expression didn't change, but a faint hum vibrated through the air — like a laugh hidden inside static.
"That explains the irregular activation pattern."
He crossed his arms. "And you are...?"
[New Entity Identified: TERA — Forge AI Core Spirit]
[Role: Soulforge Overseer]
[Status: Severely Corrupted / Partial Memory Loss]
The girl flickered again. "I... think my name was Tera. Or maybe... Terra. I do not remember fully. I remember fire. And your name, somehow."
"My name?" Arin frowned. "How would you—"
"You touched the forge with emotion," she said simply. "The system remembered that resonance. I responded."
Arin blinked. "You mean I basically woke you up with a mood swing."
Tera tilted her head again. "That is... an accurate simplification."
He laughed despite himself. "Alright then, Tera. Welcome back to... whatever this mess is."
The AI spirit looked around slowly. "This was once the Forge of Lorthen, heart of creation. It forged heroes, legends, and monsters alike. Now, it sleeps."
Her gaze returned to him. "You wish to restore it."
"I guess so," Arin said. "It's my quest. And… maybe something I needed."
Tera's form brightened faintly. "Then we share a purpose."
A notification blinked.
[New Companion Added: Tera — Forge Spirit (AI Support)]
[Skill Unlocked: Soulvision]
[Effect: You can sense lingering emotions within materials.]
Arin's vision shimmered briefly. The ruins around him lit up in faint hues — blue, orange, green — each pulse like the ghost of a feeling.
He turned slowly, awed. "...That's new."
Tera floated closer, eyes following his. "Every object remembers something. Some memories burn, some fade. You can feel them now."
He tested the ability on a broken sword nearby. The blade glowed faintly red in his vision, pulsing like a heartbeat.
[Emotional Residue: Rage. Incomplete.]
He gripped it — and felt warmth, anger, grief. Not his own. The echo of a warrior long gone.
He set it down gently. "So this is soulcrafting."
"Part of it," Tera said softly. "To forge with soul, one must first listen."
Arin exhaled slowly, staring at the glowing ruins around him. The forge, the valley, even the broken weapons — everything here carried memory, regret, and hope.
Maybe that's why the system gave him this broken class.
Maybe it wasn't punishment. Maybe it was... reflection.
He smiled faintly. "Alright then, Forge Spirit. Let's bring this place back to life."
Tera's eyes brightened. "Then let us begin. I will guide. You will strike."
[Quest Updated: The Forge Breathes Again]
Objective: Restore 3 Soul Tools.
Progress: 0/3
Reward: Unknown.
The forge in the distance pulsed — a faint heartbeat of light.
For the first time since logging back in, Arin didn't feel like he was just revisiting the past.
He was building something again.
He lifted the hammer. "Let's make something worth remembering."