The Riftspire Monastery stood like a corpse on the mountain.

Once a place of silence and sacred vows, now it was just a ruin smothered in snow and long-forgotten screams.

Aria stepped through the frost-covered gate, Kael trailing behind her, blade drawn, breath fogging the air.

“This place feels wrong,” he muttered.

“It should,” Aria replied. “The last known system explosion happened here.”

Objective: Retrieve Map Fragment II

Location: Core Chamber – Riftspire Monastery

Status: Unknown

System Energy Detected: Dormant… and watching.

They passed broken pews, shattered relics, walls scorched with old runes.

Then—deep beneath the altar—they found a sealed door.

Aria touched it. The air trembled.

System Interface Detected – Accessing Trial Room: Echo Vault

Warning: Mental Instability Hazard – Enter Alone

A wall of force knocked Kael back. Aria was already inside.

The door sealed behind her.

She stood in darkness.

Then—a voice. Her own voice.

“Finally. I've been so bored waiting for you.”

A figure stepped forward.

Her face. Her hair. Her eyes.

Her smile.

But twisted—too perfect. Too calm. Too clean.

“You think you're strong because you survived?” the mirror-Aria purred.

“I’m what you’d be if you stopped clinging to that weak little rage. I’m the version that wins.”

System Trial Initiated: Internal Combat Simulation – Class: Mirror Manifestation

Target: [You]

Goal: Eliminate the Shadow.

Bonus: Survive without breaking mentally.

Aria laughed. “You talk too much.”

Then charged.

Their blades clashed. Sparks flew. Energy rippled. The mirror-AI used Aria’s exact moves, but faster. Sharper.

She countered every strike with brutal familiarity.

Because she was her.

Warning: Stress Level Exceeded

Suggestion: Disconnect. Retreat. Fail.

Aria gritted her teeth.

“No,” she snarled. “Not again.”

She dove under a sweeping arc, planted her dagger in the shadow’s side—only for it to melt into mist.

“You still hesitate,” it hissed in her ear.

“Still scared to let go. That’s why she beat you. That’s why she’ll do it again.”

Suddenly—flashes.

Her own death. Yvonne’s eyes. Fire. Screams. Silence.

Aria fell to one knee, gasping.

System Lockdown Approaching – 15 seconds until mental fracture

“Get. Out. Of. My. HEAD!”

She reached inward—into the very core of her system.

And she ripped.

Skill Awakening: Soul Override

Effect: Cancel active mental manipulation

Passive Boost: +40% resistance to internal corruption

Bonus: Shadow Entity Absorbed as Sub-System Ghost AI

Light burst from her chest.

The mirror-Aria screamed—then shattered into smoke and static.

When it cleared, Aria stood alone.

Bleeding. Shaking. Smiling.

At her feet, a sealed metal case rose from the floor.

She opened it.

Inside: a folded scroll etched with starlight.

Map Fragment II.

And something else.

A memory shard.

She touched it—and was pulled into a vision.

A field. A burning tower.

A younger Yvonne, crying over a dying girl.

Whispering:

“If I can’t save her... I’ll become the kind of god who doesn’t need to.”

The vision vanished.

Aria staggered back.

Map Fragment II Acquired

System Sync: Yvonne’s Memory Fragment Stored

Optional Path Unlocked: Discover Yvonne’s Origin

Assimilation Progress: 44%

When the vault door opened again, Kael caught her before she collapsed.

“What happened?” he asked.

Aria didn’t answer.

She just looked up at him, her voice low.

“I think I just remembered why I wanted to kill her.”