Ashland Vale had never seen a throne
before.
Not a real one.
Back in Emberhold, "thrones" were
broken crates stacked in the alleyways, chairs salvaged from wreckage, or stone
benches passed off as pulpits by gang-lords who called themselves kings of
nothing. The rich had lounges. The poor had crates. Thrones? They were fairy
tales.
But this…
This was no fairy tale.
The Throne of Broken Memory rose from
the vault floor like a wound made manifest. It wasn't metal or stone—it was woven,
seemingly crafted from strips of shattered memory and fractured oaths. Bands of
ghostly parchment coiled upward, etched with runes that flickered and shifted,
each one an unresolved remnant of a forgotten soul.
It pulsed faintly. Not with power.
But with recognition.
Ash stepped forward, slowly. Each
footfall echoed with weight he hadn't felt in his body until now.
Behind him, Iriis and Xeravon watched
in silence. Neither spoke. Neither moved. And yet Ash could feel them—present, alert,
ready.
The Vault had accepted them.
Now it asked for something more.
[SYSTEM PROMPT – REALM ANCHOR OFFERED]
You have passed the Spiral Vault. Your
Court has shown Cohesion.
You may now attune to a Throne
Fragment.
Warning: This choice will shape your
Class Path permanently.
Choose a Founding Oath to awaken the
core of your Court.
Only one may be chosen.
Founding Oath Selection – In Progress…
Ash stared at the options. They
weren't text. Not in the usual way. The System presented them as visions—echoes
of what each path could become.
And as he stepped closer to the
throne, they appeared around him.
Like ghosts.
▣
Oath of Dominion
The image shimmered—a future of
conquest. Ash, older, wearing armor forged of shadow and steel, leading armies
of bound echoes, his hand outstretched in command. His summons marched like
legions—disciplined, absolute.
Power unquestioned. Control complete.
But their eyes… were empty.
Iriis stood among them, unchanged, yet
distant.
Xeravon followed orders—but his form
had lost its hunger.
He had been tamed.
Ash recoiled instinctively.
▣
Oath of Sacrifice
Another image.
This time Ash stood alone, at the edge
of a battlefield of smoking ruins. Iriis lay shattered. Xeravon's body was
reduced to cinders. He held no throne—only a blade of binding runes forged from
his own soul. A martyr. A hero.
But behind his eyes… was a silence
that never left.
A victory that cost everything.
▣
Oath of Remembrance
The final image unfolded not in
battle, but in memory.
A broken court rebuilt, not as a
fortress, but as a sanctuary.
Summons that spoke. That lived. That
remembered who they had been.
Ash stood among them—not above, but
with.
Not ruling. Not sacrificing.
Remembering.
There was pain in that path.
But also… hope.
Ash opened his eyes.
The throne pulsed, awaiting his will.
"I choose…"
He placed his hand upon it.
"The Oath of Remembrance."
The entire Vault shuddered.
A beam of violet light erupted from
the throne, piercing the ceiling of the Spiral Vault and roaring upward into
the sky of the Trial Realm. Runes swirled around Ash's body, forming a new
brand across his forearm—a ribbon of moving script in a language older than the
System itself.
Iriis dropped to one knee.
Not in submission.
In recognition.
Xeravon bowed his head, eyes glowing
with something new.
Not wariness.
But loyalty.
[SYSTEM EVOLUTION – CLASS ASCENSION
INITIATED]
Class Evolution: Primordial Binder → Remnant
Sovereign (Unrefined)
Founding Oath: Remembrance
Core Trait: Echobound – Tier I
➤ Sentient summons gain voice, emotion, and the ability to
evolve independently.
➤ Your Court becomes a sanctuary for the lost.
➤ Fragmented entities drawn to you instinctively.
Court of Broken Stars has manifested a
Realm Anchor.
You now possess partial territory
within the Trial Realm.
[Court Influence +2% across active
zones]
Ash stepped back as the throne dimmed.
The oath had been taken. The choice made. And even now, the System shifted to
accommodate that path. New lines of possibility were sketching themselves
across the fabric of the Realm.
"It's done," he said softly.
Iriis stood beside him, her voice
quiet.
"You did not choose the easiest path."
"But you chose the right one."
Xeravon grunted once, then padded
forward and lay at the base of the throne.
A guardian, once more.
They camped at the Vault that night.
There was no real moon in the Trial
Realm, but the sky had dimmed—less a sunless void now, and more a bruised
violet canopy, veined with shifting stars.
Ash sat on the steps of the throne,
sketching runes into a salvaged shard of bone—training the muscle memory the
System couldn't give him.
Iriis stood nearby, watching the
horizon.
Xeravon slept lightly, always
listening.
Ash broke the silence.
"This Court is going to get bigger,
isn't it?"
Iriis didn't look away.
"Yes."
"Others will find you now."
"Echoes. Lost ones. Even… other
Binders."
Ash nodded slowly.
"And some won't like the way I do
things."
"Most won't."
He smiled.
"Good."
[ASCENSION PROGRESS: 52%]
You are now being tracked by external
Systems.
Interference probability: Rising.
Upcoming Trial: "The Broken Gate"
Classification: Inter-Realm Anomaly
Status: Unstable
An unscheduled Gate has opened within
your influence.
Investigate immediately.
Warning: This Trial may not have been
meant for you.
Ash stared at the message.
"Unscheduled?"
He looked at Iriis. Then Xeravon. Then
the sky.
"Someone's trying to reach us."
And far beyond the reach of the Trial
Realm's sky, something ancient stirred.
Something watching.