The room was cold and barely lit. Along the old, decaying walls, fire lamps burned with dim blue flames, each one giving off a chill that seemed to sink straight into the bones.
Alcoves were carved into those walls at regular intervals. Inside them stood statues—some so large they felt more like structures than sculptures.
One of them was a knight, his body encased in heavy stone armor. He stood as if marching into war, a massive rapier raised mid-strike. Even in stillness, there was a sense of motion to him, like he had been frozen in the middle of cutting something down.
There was something unsettling about it. You could almost imagine the kind of destruction he left behind—every step taken over fallen bodies, every swing ending in blood. His expression, carved into the stone, carried no hint of doubt. It looked like defeat had never once been part of his existence.
Another statue took the form of a winged serpent. Its body coiled tightly, its stone eyes glinting with something sharp and calculating. It didn't feel powerful in the same way as the knight.
It felt dangerous.
Like something that survived not through strength, but through patience, poison, and careful, deliberate strikes.
Another statue resembled a dragon, its surface so dark it looked almost like obsidian. Three large, twisted horns rose from its head, and its mouth was open in a silent roar.
It carried a presence that felt almost arrogant.
Like it was declaring, 'the world is filth... and I am untainted.'
And there were more. Far more than he could take in at once.
Seated at a bench in the middle of the room, Elias looked around in quiet fascination, his fingers tapping idly against the rusty iron table in front of him.
Ever since he had taken control of the realm, he'd become aware of this place through his perception. The whole structure felt like an ancient, worn-down castle—something that had existed long before him. But only certain parts of it were accessible.
The rest felt... distant.
Out of reach.
If he had to guess, more of it would open up as he grew stronger. That, at least, made sense.
"You're not wrong, dummy," Elyndra said, her voice edged with irritation. She sat cross-legged on the table, her eyebrow twitching.
"Ugh... you are so annoying! Do you even realize you have a very real chance of dying where you're about to go?"
Elias rolled his eyes.
The tiny gremlin had been at it for the past five hours, trying to get him to sense his Harmonic Core—something she insisted was hidden somewhere inside his body.
He had spent the first two hours meditating.
Nothing.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't feel a damn thing.
If the Song hadn't already confirmed that he possessed a Harmonic Core, he would've assumed the whole thing was a joke.
The next hour had been Elyndra going on and on about his "restless mind," complaining that he wasn't focused enough.
Which was complete bullshit.
Elias was sure he had never focused this hard on anything in his life. And still—nothing.
After that, he went back to meditating again.
Still nothing.
Absolutely, infuriatingly nothing.
Now, all he could do was sit there, staring at the statues lining the alcoves, trying to figure out if he was just talentless... or if there was something he was missing.
Because the truth was simple—if he couldn't find the Harmonic Core, then none of it mattered.
His class, his abilities... all of it started there. Without it, he couldn't even activate the devouring ability he'd been given.
At best, he could hope that facing an Echoform might trigger something on instinct.
But that brought up a bigger question.
Was he really willing to take that kind of risk?
Was he willing to gamble his life on something that might not even work?
The truth was, this wasn't the first time he had tried to find it.
Ever since his awakening, he had been searching for it without even realizing—reaching inward, again and again, only to come up empty.
The difference now was that he had actually tried.
And still failed.
At this point, Elias had no choice but to accept it.
He wasn't going to find his Harmonic Core through normal means.
Deep down... he had always known it would come to this.
And his answer—his answer never changed.
Would he gamble his life on it?
Yes.
He would.
Because if he ended up stuck like this, too afraid to take a step forward, even with all these chances in front of him—then what was the point? With everything he'd been given, all that potential... if fear was what stopped him, then he might as well just fall off a cliff and be done with it.
Elyndra lifted her tiny face toward him, her expression furious as she got to her feet and stomped against the table. "You're insane, do you hear me? That kind of stupid plan is going to get you killed, asshole!"
Elias scoffed as he stood, his gaze drifting toward the side of the room where an old, worn fireplace burned with cold blue flames.
His father sat in one of the iron chairs beside it, one leg thrown over the armrest. His shirt was torn, his hair a mess, his head tilted at an unnatural angle. His eyes followed Elias, wide and unhinged, a warped grin stretched across his face.
His mother crawled across the floor nearby, her nose close to the ground as if she were sniffing for something, her nails scraping harshly against the stone.
Elias looked at them.
Then he looked away.
'Do you see that, you little fiend? Maybe if you had a heart—real emotions—you'd understand how heartbreaking it is to see my parents reduced to this. And how horrible it feels to be so helpless that all I can do is watch.'
Elyndra opened her mouth to respond, but the words didn't come. She closed it again with a small sigh.
Elias disappeared.
When he appeared again, he was seated on the dark throne at the top of the familiar seven steps, one leg crossed over the other as he looked out across the vast space filled with towering, monstrous Echoforms.
Above him, the sky burned red, flaring in controlled bursts like distant explosions. The heat rolled through the air, washing over everything below.
Thousands of Mirroths drifted through the air, each pulsing with shifting colors.