Darkness swirled like ink behind his eyes.
Aiden heard whispers — not in the air, but in his mind. Threads brushing against thoughts, asking:
"Who are you now?"
Then light.
---
✦ Waking
He gasped, sitting upright in a small, stone-lit room. Soft orange light from an enchanted lantern glowed against the walls. The scent of herbs. The ache in his shoulder. The humming silence.
He was alive.
Barely.
A voice stirred from the corner.
> "You were gone for two days," Meyric said. "Nearly unravelled yourself."
Aiden touched his chest. His shirt was torn. Scars of glowing thread ran along his veins.
He stared at them. "What… happened?"
---
✦ Lost Pieces
Meyric stepped forward, holding a simple object.
A locket.
> "You were carrying this. Do you know what it is?"
Aiden opened it.
Inside was a photo — him, and a girl.
But her face was blank.
His hand trembled. "I… I should know."
> "The sword," Meyric said. "It didn't just wound your flesh. It severed memory. It took a person from you."
Aiden clenched his jaw. He could remember pain. He could remember joy. But her name… gone. Only a haunting warmth in his chest remained.
---
✦ Fractured Power
He tried to summon his threadlight.
Nothing.
Only flickers.
Meyric looked grim.
> "You drew on something ancient when the Executioner attacked. That level of reweaving should've killed you."
Aiden's breath slowed. "Why didn't it?"
> "Because something else protected you."
"The Kael-thread?"
"No. You. Whatever was taken from you — she mattered. Enough to anchor your soul to this world."
---
✦ Threads in the Dark
That night, Aiden stood outside the temple ruins, watching stars drift in the sky above. He touched the glowing thread-scars on his arm.
Meyric joined him.
> "You need to recover your memories before the next attack."
"How?"
"There's a place… the Vault of Echoes. It stores the threads of forgotten things. Dangerous. Forbidden. Hidden."
Aiden nodded.
> "Then that's where I'm going."
---