The mural watched them.
Faded.
Ancient.
Levi stood before it, fingers tracing the silhouettes etched into stone. Shadows stood in proud formation—wings unfurled wide.
Not broken.
Not blackened.
Aria lingered at his side. Her breathing had steadied, her presence quieter now—anchored. Beneath their feet, the mana vein pulsed faintly, its rhythm slow and deliberate.
Calling.
They followed it.
Through narrow corridors where the ceiling pressed close. Past collapsed arches half-swallowed by shadow. Deeper—until the passage opened into a greater chamber.
Levi stopped.
The walls were covered.
Floor to ceiling.
Murals—unbroken here, untouched by time, preserved by the deep dark where even light feared to linger.
The spear in Levi's hand glowed softly, its runes responding.
Illuminating—
Nine great banners.
Black Fang—tusked warriors roaring into battle, axes raised, dragons coiled at their heels.
Ashen Remnant—winged saints bearing cracked halos, blades of corrupted light poised in judgment.
Void Serpents—hooded figures entwined in coils, daggers dripping venom.
Others followed.
Iron Veil.
Crimson Choir.
Night Lotus.
At the center—
The Shadow Sovereign.
One empire.
United.
Aria's voice fell to a hush.
"This was before the invasion."
"Before the Monarch's light pressed down."
Levi moved along the wall. The story flowed beneath his fingertips.
The fall.
Holy fire tearing through fractures in the ceiling. Shadows scattering. Banners ripping apart as clans splintered.
Resurrection spires rose from the ground—leech-like towers feeding on wounded earth.
Then—
The final panel.
Levi froze.
Beyond the ceiling—beyond the world—loomed a colossal form. Tendrils of light and shadow stretched downward, threading into the spires.
Souls ascended.
Not to peace.
To hunger.
Aria stopped beside him.
Her good eye widened.
"The Devourer."
Levi's chains shifted.
SFX: CREAK—
Pain flared sharp—but he did not flinch.
"What is it?" he asked.
Aria traced the tendrils with trembling fingers.
"Forbidden lore," she whispered.
"The war isn't punishment."
She swallowed.
"It's a farm."
Her words fell like stones.
"Every death. Every resurrection."
"Feeds it."
"Endless souls."
Levi staggered back.
The weight crushed down.
One hundred and fourteen masters.
Countless battles.
Endless deaths.
Fuel.
His knees buckled. He sat on shattered stone, the spear resting across his lap.
It whispered.
Voices rose.
Why fight?
Why die again?
Kargan's rumble: For glory.
The choir: For harmony.
The Knight's lullaby: For tomorrow.
Lies.
All of it.
Fodder.
Aria sat beside him.
Not across.
Close.
"I fell to break it," she said quietly.
"Thought if enough of us questioned… refused…"
Her voice thinned.
"My brother first."
"Then me."
She looked at the mural again.
"It didn't stop."
"Just trapped us deeper."
Levi stared at the Devourer's faceless mass.
"I carried them," he whispered.
"All those memories."
"For nothing."
Aria's hand closed around his.
"No," she said.
"Not nothing."
"You remember."
"That's why you're different."
The spear hummed—agreement, or warning.
They sat in silence.
Hours passed.
Stone listened.
Then—
SFX: LOW GROWL—
Distant.
A shadow beast.
Lone.
Drawn by the mana light.
It emerged from the dark—hulking, many-eyed, claws jagged like broken swords.
Levi rose.
Spear ready.
Aria moved with him.
No roar.
No waste.
Levi struck.
One clean thrust—spear through heart.
The beast dissolved into shadow.
Its essence lingered.
Black mist.
Levi reached out.
Deliberately.
He drew it in.
His first intentional harvest.
Warmth flooded his limbs.
The chains eased.
SFX: SOFT CRACKLE—
Pain dulled.
Notifications flickered.
⊳ Minor Soul Essence Absorbed
⊳ Protocol Strain: 96%
⊳ Physical Refinement Initiated
He felt it.
Cheekbones sharpening.
Edges colder.
Eyes reflecting mana light—icier.
Predatory.
Aria noticed.
She tilted her head.
"You look…"
"Freer," she finished.
A gentle smile touched her lips.
Trust lingered in her eye.
She touched his face—lightly.
"You're changing."
"For the better."
Levi met her gaze.
Didn't correct her.
The spear whispered its approval.
Kargan laughed—faint.
The murals watched.
Whispers on stone.
The farm endured.
But something stirred in the deep.
Levi flexed his fingers.
The strength was small.
But it was his.
The pursuit signals were gone.
For now.
They moved deeper.
Together.
The ruins held more secrets.
And Levi—
Began to listen.