“The City That Remembers”The storm broke at dawn.Not a natural storm — nothing in this part of the Riftlands had been natural for centuries — but a slow-curling spiral of pale silver clouds, rotating above the group like a great, groaning wheel. Elliott felt the hairs on his forearm lift as static skittered down the air, buzzing like the wings of a thousand mechanical insects.“It knows we’re here,” Vasha murmured, one hand resting on her dagger hilts.“Of course it knows,” Orrin said, leaning heavily on his staff. “Memory constructs are always aware. They’re designed to watch. To wait. To test.”“Test us for what?” Rowan asked.Orrin’s eyes gleamed. “Worthiness… or survival. Sometimes those words mean the same thing.”Ahead, the silver fog parted, revealing the first glimpse of the City That Remembers.It was enormous — far larger than any of them expected — a sprawling, tiered maze of glass-bone towers, bridges suspended in midair, and crystalline spires shaped like tuning forks.

CHAPTER 94 — When the Sigil Sleeps, the City SpeaksThe plaza stayed unnervingly quiet after the Echo King faded—like the whole city was holding its breath.Dust drifted from the dissolving memory-stone.Light shimmered across the carved streets.Nothing moved.Lyra still hadn’t let go of Elliott.Her forehead rested briefly against his shoulder as she whispered, “Don’t scare me like that again.”Elliott nodded into her hair. “I’ll try. But, uh… not making promises I can’t keep.”Gorrun cleared his throat loudly. “Right, feelings later, trauma tour now. I feel the rocks watching me.”Serinda crouched by the cracked stone where the King had stood. “The city’s stabilizing. His presence temporarily anchored the memories.”Elliott rubbed the Sigil on his palm.It felt… quiet.Too quiet.Like a sleeping animal that might wake up hungry.Lyra stepped back finally, hands on her hips. “So what did it do? Did the King unlock something?”Elliott shrugged. “He unlocked nothing except my urge to

CHAPTER 96 — The Other Sigil-BearerThe streets of the Memory City shimmered under the faint glow of the Archive’s energy, but the glow carried a weight now—a quiet, looming threat.Elliott felt it immediately: the Sigil thrummed in his hand, more insistent than ever, as if warning him of something coming. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.“Did you feel that?” Lyra asked, glancing around nervously.Elliott nodded. “Yeah… it’s like someone else is here. Someone powerful.”Gorrun snorted. “Unless it’s another hammer-wielding weirdo, I’m not impressed.”Serinda, however, did not share his humor. She scanned the streets like a hawk. “The city doesn’t tremble for no one. That ‘someone’ isn’t ordinary.”The first sign came as a ripple across the cobbled streets—a distortion, subtle at first, then stronger. Buildings flickered, as if caught between two shapes. The city itself seemed to shiver, and the light bent, warped, then settled again.“Here,” Serinda said sharply, pointin

CHAPTER 98 — Secrets in the Shifting StreetsThe Memory City was alive. Not metaphorically. Not subtly. Every stone, every flicker of light, every whispering alleyway moved and breathed as if the city itself were conscious.Elliott walked cautiously beside Lyra and Serinda, his hand brushing the glowing Sigil. It pulsed softly, as if aware of Cael’s distant presence.Gorrun muttered under his breath, “I don’t know how much longer I can pretend this isn’t terrifying. A city that watches you? I signed up for adventure, not paranoia.”Lyra shot him a sharp look. “You’ll get used to it. Or die.”Elliott, however, was more focused. “Something’s different,” he said quietly. “The city… it isn’t just alive. It’s aware. And it’s aware of both of us—me and Cael.”Serinda’s eyes narrowed. “Which means it’s planning around him as much as you. That can’t be coincidence. The Memory City has always chosen Sigil-bearers carefully. But now… it’s uncertain.”The streets shifted again. An entire bouleva

CHAPTER 100 — The First Trial of MemoryThe chamber of the Memory Nexus stretched infinitely in every direction, walls shimmering like liquid glass, reflecting fragments of countless lives. Every footstep Elliott took echoed not just in sound, but in memory—images of past Sigil-bearers flashing across the walls, their choices, triumphs, and failures unfolding like a never-ending tapestry.Elliott’s hand burned with the Sigil, the violet light flaring and pulsing as if sensing the city’s anticipation. Lyra kept close, knives at the ready, while Serinda and Gorrun scanned every shifting corridor, every reflection.“This place…” Lyra whispered, her eyes wide, “it’s like it’s alive… like it’s judging us.”Elliott nodded, stepping forward. “It is alive. And it’s watching us. The city doesn’t just remember—it tests, it learns, and it reacts. Every step we take here matters.”Serinda’s voice cut through the ambient hum of the Nexus. “And with Cael in the picture, the city’s equilibrium is de