The academy fell under a veil of unease. The peaceful rhythm of training and routine was slowly cracking, like a mirror held under pressure. Strange energy readings spiked near the lower grounds. Rumors whispered of a new Gate signature—one too ancient to identify, and too volatile to classify.
And only Jin understood the truth: it had already begun.
---
The Headmaster's Office, Nightfall
Vael stood before a large circular sigil glowing red on the ground. Several staff members surrounded it, casting protective spells and containment wards. The academy's Sealing Division had been dispatched to investigate a sudden anomaly discovered beneath the school—an underground area once thought to be abandoned after a past Gate eruption.
"This isn't just leftover residue," one of the mages muttered. "Something's pulsing from below. It's reacting to... something above."
Vael's gaze sharpened. "No. It's reacting to someone."
He turned, walking toward the window, staring into the forest beyond the courtyard—where a lone figure trained under moonlight.
"Jin."
---
Training Grounds
Jin moved with blinding speed, each slash of his blade accompanied by afterimages and streaks of light. His sword felt different now. The weight. The way it hummed. The artifact he'd recovered from the Rift-Class Gate had bonded with it—changing its core.
It wasn't just a weapon anymore. It was a key.
His vision from the chaos orb kept playing in his mind. The First Gatekeeper's words haunted him:
"The Echoes will awaken."
He paused, feeling something shift beneath his feet—barely a tremor, but enough. The ground under the academy was… alive.
"Soon," he muttered. "I'll need to face it soon."
---
Theo, Kael, and Lira
Across the upper balconies, the three students gathered again, gazing down at the training field.
"You feel it too, right?" Kael asked.
"Yeah," Theo replied. "It's not just him that's changing. The whole academy feels like it's holding its breath."
Lira added, "My family's estate received warnings. They say an ancient dungeon might be surfacing soon. Not a standard one—something uncharted."
"Then we need to be ready," Theo said firmly. "Whatever Jin is preparing for... we'll stand with him."
---
The Hidden Chamber
Jin entered a forbidden section of the academy, long sealed and buried. He followed the pulsing resonance only he could feel—an invisible thread guiding him through moss-covered walls and arcane traps that deactivated at his touch, almost as if they remembered him.
He arrived at a circular chamber, where a massive door lay dormant, covered in ancient markings. His hand reached out, and the runes ignited.
The door trembled.
A whisper escaped the darkness beyond—
"You shouldn't be here, Heir of the Fallen."
Jin drew his sword. "I was never meant to be. That's why I have to be."
The door burst open.
---
Beneath the Academy: The Echo Dungeon
Unlike any Gate before, this place didn't feel like a rift between worlds. It was a world—ancient, broken, and buried under time. The dungeon pulsed with corrupted energy. Walls were carved with murals depicting a great war between sovereigns—monsters that once ruled the realms of chaos.
At the center of the dungeon stood a stone altar.
A single item rested on it: a pendant glowing with deep violet light.
As Jin stepped closer, the dungeon shifted violently. The walls peeled back to reveal an arena. And from the far side… a beast emerged.
Its body was a mass of shadow and bone, stitched together by cursed mana. Six eyes. Four arms. And a roar that shook the earth.
Boss Monster: The Forgotten Warden (Echo-Class)
Jin smirked. "Been a while since I felt this excited."
The beast lunged—and the fight began.
---
The Battle
The Warden moved like a storm, claws sweeping with enough force to shatter steel. Jin ducked low, his blade carving a path of light as it sliced through one of its limbs. Black ichor hissed as it splattered the ground.
The Warden shrieked, regenerating. Chains burst from its back, whipping toward Jin.
He jumped, sword spinning as he used one of the chains as leverage, twisting mid-air and driving his blade straight into the Warden's skull.
It wasn't enough.
The Warden exploded in cursed mist, reforming behind him.
Jin was slammed into a pillar. Bones cracked. Blood spilled.
But he grinned.
"You're strong. I like that."
He activated the pendant from the altar—it fused with his sword, and the blade transformed, absorbing ambient mana like a black hole.
The air turned cold. The runes along his arm—dormant for years—awakened, glowing with ancient light.
Final Phase: Gatebreaker Mode
Jin charged, dodging with precision, unleashing a flurry of strikes. Every hit carved a glowing sigil into the Warden's body. The dungeon began to collapse.
With one final roar, Jin thrust his blade into the Warden's heart. The sigils ignited—and the boss shattered into pieces, its core falling into his hand.
A new item.
Drop Acquired: Soul Core of the Forgotten Warden (Grade: Relic)
Effect: Grants resistance to corrupted mana. Allows communication with sealed Echoes.
---
Aftermath
The dungeon began to crumble. Jin dashed out just in time, the ground sealing behind him as if it had never existed.
He stared at the core in his hand, breath ragged.
Then he felt it—dozens of Gate signatures across the continent pulsing in response.
The Echoes were waking up.
And the world was running out of time.
End of Chapter 14