Silence. The Node pulsed.

And in its rhythm beat not only the heart of ancient magic, but also the echo of Cael'Theron's broken heart.

The Node's light dimmed again, leaving only a soft flicker in the heart of the hall. The air grew heavy, as if the very stones absorbed every sound, every thought. But in this silence, one of their breaths grew louder and louder.

He stood silently, but his hands trembled. Fingers clenched into fists, so tightly that his knuckles whitened. His gaze was directed into the void, but his eyes saw something else — betrayal, pain, loneliness.

— "He… was like me," Tarion whispered.

Greet looked back at him.

— "What did you say?"

— "I… I understand him," the young man's voice trembled. — "That look. That… feeling, when you lose… everything you hoped for. When your heart burns so fiercely that only ash remains. And then it seems — it would be better if nothing existed. No memories. No feelings."

He inhaled deeply, as if trying to tear himself away from the poisonous embrace of that memory, but he couldn't.

— "I also thought that if I stopped feeling — it would be easier. After… father. After the loss. I wanted to tear the pain out of myself. But…"

His gaze fell on Laina. Her eyes gleamed — not with magic, but with understanding.

— "But if I had done that, I wouldn't have met you. Wouldn't have met all of you. And I wouldn't be myself."

He moved closer to the Node — to the place where the pulsating "heart" hung.

— "Cael'Theron… He's not a monster. He's — a broken heart searching for silence instead of healing. He believes that destroying Resonance is salvation."

— "But that's just an escape," Laina added. — "And escape always leaves even more pain in its wake."

Lian watched silently, for the first time without his usual cold detachment. Something new appeared in his eyes — perhaps doubt.

— "If we want to stop him," Tarion said, — "we need not only to defeat him… We need to understand why he couldn't cope with the pain. Otherwise, we ourselves will become like him."

The echo of his words hung in the air — and even the Node, it seemed, froze.

Tarion's words hung in the air, as if the very air refused to accept them.

And suddenly — a tremor. Barely audible at first, like the echo of distant thunder, and then — growing stronger. The stones beneath their feet shook, and a low, drawn-out hum erupted from the Node — not just a sound, but an almost living groan, full of pain and anger.

The Node's light began to flicker. Its colors changed from warm amber to dark blue, and then — to swampy green with black streaks twitching in a chaotic dance.

— "Stand back!" Greet shouted, grabbing Tarion by the shoulder and pushing him back.

But Tarion didn't move. He stared directly at the pulsating "heart" of the Node, in which… facial contours began to appear. Blurred. Burning. As if those devoured by memory. They screamed — silently, but all the more terrifyingly.

— "What is this?" Laina whispered, her voice lost in the hum.

— "The Node… wasn't just showing a memory," Lian said, stepping back in disbelief. — "It… connected with what Cael'Theron was. And something remained here. Something dark."

From the "heart" of the Node, threads of black dust suddenly erupted, hanging in the air and beginning to stretch towards Tarion.

— "Get away!" Laina cried, throwing a magical barrier in front of him.

But the black threads weren't attacking — they were reaching for him, as if familiar. As if to an heir.

— "The Node… recognizes something similar in me," Tarion whispered. — "It… is either warning… or inviting."

For a moment, silence fell. And then the stone floor beneath their feet cracked — a small fissure, but black light pulsed within it, like a reverse pulsation of Resonance itself.

— "Something… is sleeping here," Greet said. — "And we woke it up."

Vision

This is the moment when the heroes realize that even memories have power if touched too deeply. The Node is not just an archive. It is a living structure that preserves pain the way a body preserves scars.

They hadn't even had a chance to take a step back when one of the black threads suddenly struck Tarion in the chest. He didn't have time to scream — only his eyes widened, and the whole world around him disappeared.

A dark hall, similar to this one, but empty, like an abandoned temple. Only faint light seeps through cracks in the ceiling.

In the center stands a figure — tall, in a black cloak, but without a mask. A younger Cael'Theron — not yet a traitor, not yet an enemy. His eyes are full of determination… and despair.

— "You don't hear them," he whispers into the void. — "You all teach harmony, Resonance, consonance… But no one listens to those who are lost."

Next to him — a female figure. Her outlines are blurred, like a dream, but she holds Cael'Theron's hand in hers.

— "You must stay. If you abandon the path… you will lose yourself."

— "I have already lost everything," he says. — "And if this world doesn't want to remember pain, I will make it."

He raises his hand. And from his fingers unfolds the first contour of something… new. Dark magic, resembling black geometry. Resonance, broken and rewritten.

— "To forget is to kill a second time," he says. — "I will give them the unforgettable."

The world flashes. The vision changes. Now Tarion sees a field, scorched by black energy. And among the shadows — the silhouette of Cael'Theron. But in this shadow — an echo of pain, not malice.

He stands, holding the woman's body in his arms. The same blurred figure as before.

— "If only you had given me a chance…"

And then Cael'Theron's shadow looks directly at Tarion.

— "You can still choose otherwise. But will you be able to, when you lose everything?"

End of Vision

— "Tarion!" Laina shook him by the shoulders.

He opened his eyes, his vision blurred. The Node no longer glowed — as if it had fallen asleep. But within it remained an echo — not just of memories, but of emotions.

— "He wasn't seeking destruction," Tarion whispered. — "He was seeking… memory. And he couldn't preserve it. So he decided to break everything."

Greet remained silent. Lian only nodded grimly.

— "If that's true…" he began. — "Then our enemy isn't a demon. But someone we lost too soon."

The silence hung heavy until Greet spoke — his voice muffled but resolute:

— "Let's go. If this node showed you something like that… then worse awaits us ahead."

They moved on. The Node, as if sensing their determination, no longer tried to stop them. On the contrary — the darkness slowly receded, revealing a long, twisted corridor before them, resembling an organic vein pulsating with faint light from its inner walls. The floor disappeared — now every step they took echoed as if in an abyss, as if they were walking on a surface of echo-memory.

Laina tried to suppress her apprehension:

— "Tarion, this vision… do you think the woman in it is…"

— "I don't know," he replied. — "But something about it… felt too real. The word 'oblivion' sounded like a curse. And like a promise."

A rustling sound came from ahead. Greet instinctively drew his sword, but even he couldn't precisely pinpoint the source of the sound. In the next moment, another hall emerged from the shadows, filled with dark-grey obelisks.

— "What is this?" Lian asked, frowning.

— "Memories," Laina whispered, touching one of the obelisks.

Her fingers touched the stone, and immediately a wave of shadows erupted from it, rippling in a circle, activating the others. All the halls filled with sighs, whispers… memories.

From each obelisk, scenes from the past began to emerge, but all of them were distorted. Children who didn't remember their mothers. Warriors who forgot what they fought for. Mages who sought Resonance — and found emptiness.

— "It's… like an echo of losses," Tarion whispered.

But among the distorted images, one figure stood out. Tall, with elegant gestures, in a silver-grey cloak. His eyes — full of serenity.

— "Lian?" Laina whispered, surprised. — "Is that… you?"

And indeed, the figure was his. But he didn't answer. He himself looked stunned.

— "I… don't remember this moment," Lian said. — "But I was here. I was in this node. With the Order…"

The vision in the hall with the obelisks began to intensify. From fragments of shadows, another image appeared — Cael'Theron in white robes, saying something to Lian. The words were inaudible, only a tense gaze.

Lian stepped forward, seemingly not understanding why. His touch to his shadowy self activated a new wave of memories, which expanded and drew everyone into the space between reality and memory.

They all suddenly found themselves in a hall full of arches, each showing a different moment — but all related to loss. To erased history. To moments when something was torn from the soul.

In the center of the hall stood Cael'Theron. But this time — in full form, not distorted, not shadowy. His gaze was not evil, not filled with hatred.

He was emotionless.

— "You're still here," he said. — "The Node hasn't broken you. Perhaps that's the problem."

— "Tell us the truth," Tarion said. — "If you want us to understand you — show us."

Cael'Theron inclined his head.

— "Do you truly want to know why I do this?"

They nodded.

— "Then… go further."

He vanished. And another passage opened before them — deeper into the heart of the node, where, as they already sensed, the truth awaited.