Derukan sprinted through the cracked earth, his coat flapping behind him, the locket resting heavy against his chest. The monsters ahead roared—lich mages chanting spells, ogres swinging stone clubs, and demon hounds sprinting on all fours.

  But his focus wasn’t just on them.

  It was on the locket.

  It pulsed against his skin… faster… louder… like it was syncing with something inside him.

  > [Warning: Incoming Dimensional Surge]

  [Artifact Response Detected: Echo Locket syncing… 12%]

  Derukan slammed into the first ogre, his mechanical arm glowing bright crimson. With a single punch, he caved in its chest—energy dispersing in a shockwave. A flaming arrow zipped past his head, striking another beast behind him.

  A voice called out from the ridge.

  “You fighting alone, idiot?”

  Derukan glanced up. A squad of Ranked Players had arrived. Warriors in enchanted armor, archers with glowing eyes, and a girl in white who radiated healing energy.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  He scanned them instinctively.

  > [Player Scan: Active]

  Elira – Class: Healer – Rank: A

  Kael – Class: Warrior – Rank: S

  Ryne – Class: Arcane Archer – Rank: B

  ??? – Class: ??? – Rank: Unknown

  [Alert: High-Level Concealment Detected]

  He froze. That unknown figure again. They were watching, hooded… unreadable. The same presence from the last rift.

  Suddenly, the locket burned hot.

  His vision blurred.

  He stumbled—and in the blink of an eye, he was no longer on the battlefield.

  ---

  [System Fragment – Locket Memory Sync Initiated…]

  He stood in a cold, silver corridor. The walls were alive—covered in symbols from an alien language.

  At the center stood the cloaked man.

  "You're inside the Echo Chamber,” he said. “A piece of the past... and a window to the truth."

  Derukan clenched his fist.

  “Who are you?”

  The man didn't answer. Instead, he lifted his hand and showed Derukan something horrifying—a glimpse of a future overrun by a godlike monster, its body made of shattered dimensions, its voice shaking reality itself.

  “You think you're fighting monsters,” the man said, “but they’re just the start. You’re part of a failed experiment… a hybrid system born from both worlds.”

  Derukan’s eyes widened.

  “Failed…?”

  The man’s voice faded.

  “You weren’t supposed to survive.”

  ---

  [System Resync: Complete. Locket Sync 23%. Core Awakening Level: 2/7]

  Derukan snapped back into the real world—just in time to block a lich's death spell with his arm. A red shield burst from the locket and shattered the magic.

  Everyone on the battlefield stopped and stared.

  Elira whispered, “What kind of power… is that?”

  Derukan looked at his hand. The mechanical veins were glowing white now. And beneath them… something else was stirring.

  Something ancient.

  Something he never asked for.

  But it was his now.

  And he would use it…

  To tear open the truth.

  To find his sister.

  To end the monsters.

  To destroy whatever created him.

  ---

  To be continued…