The deeper I went, the more the cavern system changed.
The tunnels twisted into unnatural angles, narrowing at odd intervals, the walls pulsating with something unseen. There was no life here. No creatures waiting in ambush. Just… silence. A suffocating quiet that gnawed at the edges of my awareness.
Then I remembered.
I had to keep my eyes shut.
Taking a deep breath, I summoned Veil of the Sovereign's Sight. The world went dark, but my other senses sharpened. I was used to fighting blind by now—it had become second nature. Every shift in the air, every vibration in the stone beneath my feet told me a story.
I pressed forward, navigating by instinct and sound alone. That's when I felt them.
The whispers.
Faint, formless movements at the edge of my perception. They didn't touch me, but they were there. Watching. Following. Shadows drifting between the cracks of reality.
A cold realization settled in my chest.
I knew what they were.
The fallen members of the First Cohort.
These were the remnants of those who had died here long ago, the shadows left behind. The same ones that, in the novel, Sunny had absorbed into himself.
They didn't feel hostile. Just… lost. Drifting without a tether. I exhaled, forcing myself to push forward, ignoring the creeping sensation that came with knowing I was walking through a graveyard of those who had come before me.
The maze fought against me.
Tunnels looped back on themselves. Open paths suddenly became sealed walls. Every step felt like a test of will, but I didn't stop. I kept moving, my instincts guiding me where my sight could not.
Then, after what felt like an eternity, the path opened.
I stepped into a vast, cavernous chamber. And there, at the center of it all, was the corpse of the First Lord.
A monolithic figure, frozen in time, kneeling with its head bowed. Its armor was cracked, worn by the ages, but still radiating an undeniable power. And atop its skull, resting like a crown…
The Dawn Shard.
A soft glow pulsed from the fragment, a simple band of metal decorated with a single gem.
I moved carefully, reverence settling in my bones. This wasn't just some treasure. This was the remnant of a king, of a warrior who had fought until the end. I reached out, fingers brushing against the relic.
The moment my hand closed around it, a surge of pure power rushed through me, sinking into my very soul. My body tensed, the energy burning its way into my being.
[You have obtained the Memory: Dawn Shard]
[Rank: Ascended]
[Type: Charm]
I barely had time to register it when—
A ripple.
A shift in the air, so heavy it made my skin crawl.
Something was coming.
Something colossal.
My breath hitched as an overwhelming presence pressed down on the chamber, suffocating in its intensity. It was a sensation I had never felt before.
The Cursed Herald.
It was near.
And it knew I was here.
The chamber trembled.
I clenched my fists, my mind racing.
No time to hesitate.
I had to move.