Blissfully unaware of the extent of the chaos the Song announcement had caused in the outside world, Elias walked through the wide expanse filled with statues of Tremors, a frown set firmly on his face.
Elyndra floated above him, her head tilted slightly as she kept silent, leaving him to his thoughts. She could read his mind anyway—she knew he wanted space.
Some of the stone statues towered like behemoths, their massive forms casting long shadows across the ground, swallowing patches of it in darkness even as the sky above burned with crimson flames.
Elias moved along the open path between the Tremors frozen in stone, a storm of emotions churning in his chest like fire.
He was happy.
He truly was.
The title he had just obtained—something he had gained almost too easily—came with benefits so ridiculous they would put him ahead of other Chordbearers without question. Hell, if he had entered that Mirrorth with this title from the start, forget about Berrot—even ordinary Echoforms might have left drops behind.
So why the hell was he still angry?
He raised his head, his gaze landing on the Tremor beside him—a towering figure frozen in stone, three pairs of wings spread behind its back, its hands lifting a massive staff toward the sky.
With a thought, he willed himself upward.
The next moment, he stood atop its shoulders, the Realm stretching out before him like an endless tide of glass.
Beyond the expanse filled with Tremors were massive mountains, surrounding the entire area like a natural boundary. Which they probably were, because the moment Elias stretched his awareness beyond them, he felt nothing. No control. No response. His sphere of influence ended there, confined strictly within those borders.
A few miles ahead stood the withering castle.
It was a beautiful, almost mesmerizing structure, carrying an air of ancient regality that made it impossible to ignore. Its architecture felt surreal, like something taken straight out of a dystopian fantasy.
After all, whoever built it was most likely the Silent God himself.
But time had not been kind to it.
The castle was worn and torn, like something abandoned for ages. Its dark walls had begun to fade and decay, reduced to a shadow of whatever majesty it must have once held.
This was where Elias had first appeared when he entered the black-graded Mirrorth, and somehow, it had become his home—though most of its areas were still closed off to him.
However, the moment he returned from the trial, he had felt a shift in his mind. A faint click, like something unlocking. Like parts of the massive structure had opened up to him.
Even so, he left that for later.
He only had a few hours before he needed to return to the train, and there were more important things to handle right now.
Like checking his rewards.
Elias sighed, the tight feeling in his chest only growing worse as he mentally tried to pull up his profile.
But before he could, Elyndra appeared in front of him.
Her small eyes locked onto him immediately, carrying a faint irritation—like his thoughts alone were personally offensive.
"None of it was your fault," she said, staring at him intently, as if trying to force the words into him. "You couldn't have done better than you already did. Not with what you had at the time. So stop. Just stop cursing yourself in my head. It's irritating having to hear you scowl over and over again. Ugh, it makes me feel like I'm going mad!"
Elias stared at her for a moment.
Then he laughed.
He leaned back against one of the strands of the statue, letting his weight rest there as his expression twisted faintly.
"It was too close, tiny gremlin," he said. "It was too damn close. The number of times I almost died is just ridiculous."
His grin didn't fully hold.
Elias gritted his teeth, his face tightening into a grimace. "In the end, I survived because of nothing but luck. Ironically, I thought luck was the problem—but it turned out to be the only thing saving me from certain death."
He drew his fist back and punched the stone beneath him.
Pain shot through his hand instantly, the impact reddening his skin, but the stone didn't even flinch—unchanged, unmarked, a silent reminder of its overwhelming durability.
"This… this isn't power," Elias said quietly. "At least not the kind I want. I don't want to keep having close calls with death, or that feeling—like one wrong step and I'm gone."
Elyndra shook her head immediately, as if he had said something stupid.
"Stupid. Who the hell just gets strong out of nowhere?" she snapped. "You're weak, so what? Everyone starts the same anyway. And what exactly were you expecting when you walked into a Mirrorth when you hadn't even sensed the Harmonic Core—what, that the Echoforms would politely say hello and go on with their day?"
She scoffed, tilting her tiny head at him. "You know what? It's good you're thinking like this. You've been reckless lately, so it's actually a relief to see you finally have enough sense to at least value your damn life!"
Elias coughed, glaring at her before turning his face away.
She was right.
He had been too eager. Too reckless. Too fixated on obtaining power that he stopped properly accounting for the fact that he was gambling with his life every step of the way.
Even if he had succeeded—even if he had walked out with rewards that would change everything—there were still things he couldn't ignore anymore.
Mistakes.
Risky decisions that should have been handled with more caution, more planning.
What if Bertholt—the Fractured Howler he had fought alone in the darkness of the canyon—hadn't chosen to use the bone blade after he discarded the femur?
Would he have died there?
What if it had flickered from his grip the moment he held it by the hand?
What if his mental strength had collapsed long before Berrot fell—how long could he really have endured those singing, burning flames before they finally consumed him?
Too many what ifs.
Far too many.
And the worst part was simple.
It was a miracle he was even alive.
That was the problem. He hadn't just been pushing himself—he had been blind. So focused on power that he almost failed to see the obvious truth; he could have died at any point.
And then what?
What would happen to Lizzy?
That girl was too naive for this world. It was almost impossible for him to imagine her surviving without him.
And his parents. Who the hell was going to get them back to normal if he somehow died in there?
What would even be the point of getting stronger if he wasn't even alive in the first place?
Elias took a slow breath in, his eyes still burning with emotion as they gradually settled into something calmer.
It doesn't matter anymore.
But from now on, there would be no more throwing his life away.
If he ever made a choice like that again, he would make sure he had an exit. A way out. Not just walking into danger blind, not treating survival like something optional.
It wasn't worth it.
Not even the new title. Not even the rewards.
Not his life.
From now on, he would treat it with the respect it deserved while still doing everything he could to grow stronger.
Because the best way to protect his life… was to be strong enough to protect it himself.
So, steadying himself on the titanic shoulders of the winged Tremor, Elias exhaled and mentally reached out to the Song, his heart picking up pace with quiet anticipation at what was about to appear.
'Open Carrier Profile.'
[Carrier Profile]
Name: Elias Verdan
Echoform Fragments: 344
Amount required to breakthrough: 80
Level: Beginner Novice (F-) (Ready for breakthrough.)
Mental Strength: 455 / 1200
Class: Silent Thread (Ready to advance.)
Description:
You are able to devour minor dissonances—Echoform fragments and Broken Songs—provided the Echoform is not two ranks above you.
Devoured dissonance is stored within your Harmonic Core as a single thread.
Accumulated threads will advance your class rank.
[Threads Devoured: 200/200]
[Weakness: Overeating leads to Echo rejection. Your body will dissolve into sound.]
[Class Rank: Mythic]
[String Type: Solitary]
[Tremors: None]
[Lament:
Veil of Null – A cloak once fashioned by the Silent God to make his mischievous escapades easier.
Grade: Divine
Ability: Wearing this cloak renders you invisible to anyone no more than four ranks above you for two minutes.
Cooldown: 24 hours]
[Sonic Skills:
|Melody of Ash Rain|
One of the children of the Lost, abandoned and left to rot. The child was filled with hatred and died screaming with vengeance.
His screams birthed a phantom, and the phantom embodied avarice. When this phantom learned to sing, rain fell from the skies—but the rain was ash.
Grade: Note
Ability (Effective only for those vexed in the songs of fire): A small circular ring of fire surrounds you when this skill is active. Anything other than you that enters this ring turns to ash within seconds.
Completely effective against those below your stage. Results may vary against equals. Ineffective against higher-ranked opponents.]
[Title(s):
Bone Slayer: Your Song carries an innate dampening force that resonates through the bones of your opponents.
Effects: You can effortlessly fracture and crush bone structures.
Songborn (Special): You are duly loved, blood of the Song.
Effects:
+10% chance of obtaining Tremors
+20% chance of obtaining Laments
+30% chance of obtaining Sonic Skills]
Elias grinned when he saw his profile, especially the new tab showing his Echoform fragments and the total he had accumulated.
The fact that he already had enough to break through was insane—especially considering he had only awakened a few days ago.
But it made sense, in a way.
His class was built differently.
He could absorb Echoform fragments immediately after killing them, while other Chordbearers had to spend hours carefully processing even a single one. That alone gave him an absurd advantage.
So why the hell wouldn't he be breaking through now?
In fact… there was even a chance he could push past two sub-stages and reach Advanced Novice today. An F+ Ranker, just like that.
Ridiculous.
Insane.
And yet, Elias couldn't fully enjoy it.
A flicker of irritation crept in as the realization settled deeper.
If he had actually paid closer attention to his interface earlier, he wouldn't have gone through that close call with Berrot. He could've planned better. Moved differently. Avoided half the risk entirely.
And that tiny, sadistic gremlin—
He shot a glance upward.
She could've told him.
She absolutely could've told him.
But of course she didn't. She probably enjoyed watching him get beaten in the ass!
Above him, Elyndra clicked her tongue with a snort, as if reading his thoughts and finding them annoying.
Elias exhaled and shook his head, choosing to ignore her.
The thread tab was still glowing faintly—completely filled, confirming that his class was ready for advancement.
Still, he couldn't help but wonder.
He couldn't help but wonder, exactly what will such an already broken class even evolve to?!
He was both excited and curious at the thought of it.
However, Elias couldn't help but get confused about how this threads were measured, or how the system quantified it. It didn't behave like Echoform fragments. It felt… abstract. Like something the interface was translating rather than actually defining.
"You don't have to bother with stuff like that," Elyndra said, drifting closer to the glowing tab. She leaned onto the illusory surface as if it was something tangible, cheeks puffed slightly. "Just know that the more you devour broken Songs and Echoform fragments, the threads will start forming in your Harmonic Core."
"So the more I use the Devouring ability of my class, the more these threads begin to appear?"
"Pretty much."
Elias couldn't help but turn his eyes to the part talking about the supposed weakness of devouring too much. He was curious at the thought of his body turning into sound, like… exactly how does that shit even work?
But no matter what, the thought of it was so terrifying that he made a mental note to himself to watch out for how frequently he uses it within an interval of time.
And then there was the newly appearing Sonic Skill in his tab. The sight of it couldn't help but make Elias grin, because he realized that he had gotten the drop from Berrot after all.
Elias couldn't make head or tail of the description, but he had heard that the majority of the drops came with their own little stories from a forgotten civilization that existed millennia ago.
Not that any of that concerned him right now anyway.
The ability of this Sonic Skill was too fearsome for a Note, and you have to know that a Note was the lowest grade of Sonic Skills. After the Note, you get the Score, and after that you get a Crescendo, then the Aria, Symphony, Requiem, and Finale.
It was a pity that he wouldn't be able to utilize it for himself though, so he could only sell it to get some cash. Sonic Skills that were specific for certain people were rare and would fetch a ton of money.
Looking further down at the newly appeared Title tab, Elias's gaze lingered on the description of Bone Slayer.
So that was it.
That was why Echoforms had been falling apart like they were made of brittle glass whenever he touched them—ripped apart with an ease that hadn't made sense at the time.
As for Songborn… he didn't even know where to begin with that one.
No need to overthink it. That alone was easily one of the best rewards he had ever gotten.
With that, Elias stood up, stretching his arms sideways. His clothes were torn and tattered, his body a stinking mess from the battle, to the point that he even felt uncomfortable at the smell of himself.
He needed a shower. A long, scalding hot, soul-cleansing shower.
But before any of that…
Elias cracked his neck, his body thrumming with excitement.
He had to breakthrough first.
"Ha… let's get the party started," he bellowed, giving a mental command for the breakthrough to begin.
Nothing seemed to happen for a second, two… and then…
BOOM