Prologue: Heartbeat of the King
A heart may not beat… but fear leaves an Echo.
Every soul is born with a Seal, an invisible mark etched deep within the heart, resonating with the first note of fate—sometimes a whisper, sometimes a scream. Once, power was forged by swords, bloodlines, or knowledge. Then hearts began to speak, and the System, the first to hear, ushered in a new era: Heartbeat of the King.
Emotions—love, rage, regret, fear—when deep enough, become Echoes. Each Echo forges a Seal, opening doors to power and rewriting destinies. But every Seal demands a price: a memory, a sense, a fragment of the soul. Rage consumes control; love erodes faith; fear devours courage. And the Void… lies beyond all Echoes, a silence deeper than the System's reach.
In this era, all are summoned to Velheart Sanctum, a sacred chamber where hearts synchronize with the System's rhythm. Its three tiers shape fates:
Surface Academy: For hearts pulsing with hope.
Core Academy: For those who wield their Echoes.
Shadow Academy: Watched by the Silent Eye, a shadow that judges the erased, where the forgotten rise… or vanish forever.
Some Seals never open. Some hearts never beat.
"My heart stopped that day," Riven Kael whispered, a storm-lashed cradle his only memory. Born with a Seal of royal rhythm, he was silenced by a conspiracy he never knew. Branded an Anomaly, the Echo of Silence, he became a void the System could not name. His power stems not from heartbeats but from the Void beyond—a force of suppressed emotions, sealed memories, and a stolen destiny.
With every step, Riven risks his soul. This is not a tale of beating hearts but of a man forged in silence, awakening his Echo to defy the System that cast him out. One day, the System will fall silent. And Silence will rise.