The rift behind Malriva tore wider.
The air itself distorted—sound bent, light froze, and reality stuttered.
From the rift's edge crawled a figure.
Not walking.
Dripping.
A being of shadows dressed in forgotten silk, eyes covered by a veil of flesh stitched shut with gold thread. Its voice echoed without sound—felt in the bone.
"He returns."
Malriva stepped aside, no longer playful.
Velda gripped her staff. "That thing… isn't alive."
Claire couldn't breathe.
Lilith's shadow began to bleed.
Zara took one step forward, then froze, unable to move.
Lucius?
Lucius narrowed his eyes.
---
> [New Faction Encountered: The Slumbering Court]
Entity: ???
Name Spoken: "Sovarion."
Memory Match: 0%
Status: Recognizes you as one of their own.
---
The creature reached out one long finger toward Lucius and whispered with joyless hunger:
"Sovarion, Prince of the Second Light. You have returned to us."
Lucius flinched.
"I don't know that name."
The thing smiled.
"No. But you will."
---
> [System Error Detected]
Hidden Identity Unlocked: ???
Origin: Suppressed
Memory Recovery: Accelerating
---
Ariadne stepped in front of Lucius, blade drawn.
"You will not touch him."
The creature cocked its head. "The sword speaks. The sword remembers. She was the one who burned last."
Velda's eyes widened.
"That thing was there when the girl died," she whispered.
Lucius's fists clenched.
"You were one of the gods who watched."
The being twitched.
"We are what remains after gods rot."
Then it turned its head slowly, looking at Malriva.
"You should not have woken us."
Malriva didn't smile this time.
"Lucius will destroy you."
The creature opened its arms.
"Then let him remember what he was."
And with that—
It dissolved into ash, and the rift snapped shut behind it.
---
> [Quest Unlocked: Memory of Sovarion – The Name You Buried]
Objective: Uncover the truth behind your first incarnation.
Risk: High. Reward: Unknown.
Side Effect: Your allies may not survive what you remember.
---
Silence.
Then Zara muttered, "Okay. That was officially the worst thing we've ever seen."
Claire whispered, "He knew your name before you were ever Lucius."
Lilith stared at Lucius like he was a stranger.
Velda stepped forward.
"…Sovarion?"
Lucius turned to them.
His voice was calm. But something in it cracked.
"I don't know who he was."
He looked down at his hand.
"But he remembers me."