Location: Forgotten Sea – Edge of the Graveplate Expanse
The silence returned after the Hollow Maw's corpse dissolved into starlit seafoam. All that remained was the distant sound of waves licking against stone monoliths that dotted the surface like teeth from a sunken god.
Ankit sat cross-legged on the forward deck, his twin blades planted in the wooden planks beside him. Rain fell lightly—thin, misty, almost reverent.
System Sync Level: 40.9%
Memory Key Resonance: Stable
Stormmarked Thread: Reactivating
He closed his eyes.
And the world changed.
System Space – Relic Memory Chamber
He found himself standing in a vast stone corridor—a corridor without walls, yet lined with doors.
Each door shimmered with a different aura.
One burned. Another sang. A third wept.
But one pulsed faintly in front of him.
The door of Stormmarked Thread I—the vision of the Seven.
He walked toward it. His hand brushed the surface.
Trial Sequence Initiated – Echo Gate Alpha
User: Ankit. Status: Incomplete Stormmark.
Commencing Trial: The Whisper Gate.
Trial Zone – Whisper Gate Nexus
The world bent.
Stone walls melted into ink-like skies.
He now stood inside a realm of flickering mirrors, shattered pathways, and an infinite storm that howled without wind.
At the center stood a stone archway—half-built, glowing with seven-colored veins. But something was wrong.
The gate whispered.
Not in words, but in fragments—like broken thoughts stitched together.
"You're not him."
"You carry his echo."
"Incomplete."
"But perhaps… you can become."
Ankit stepped forward.
Trial Objective: Survive the Gate's Echo and Accept Your Fragment.
From the void, a shadow stepped out.
It looked like him. But older. Armored. Wild-eyed. A scar across the right cheek. Twin blades made of crystal lightning.
The reflection raised its swords.
"Let's see if your resolve matches mine."
Ankit vs. the Echo
The first strike came fast—unnaturally fast.
Ankit barely managed to parry, his arms shaking as the shockwave rolled up his shoulders.
System Note: Echo operates at 63% of historical skill level.
WARNING: User synchronization below optimal match. Caution advised.
The Echo didn't wait. It struck again, spinning both blades inward, chaining into a reverse slash aimed at Ankit's ribs.
Ankit ducked low, countering with his own Twin Flow: Spiral Pulse, forcing the reflection to leap back.
The moment of distance allowed him to breathe.
"Who are you?" Ankit asked.
The Echo didn't answer directly.
Instead, it said:
"I am what you might become… if you survive everything."
Then it charged again.
Round Two – Adapting Under Pressure
This time, Ankit moved faster. He flowed, dodged, and watched.
He noticed small stutters in the Echo's attacks. Not flaws—but old rhythms. Legacy movements.
He began syncing his strikes, echoing the patterns.
Steel clashed. Sparks lit the void. The storm roared louder.
Then—Ankit feinted a vertical strike, slashed low—and finally landed a shallow cut across the Echo's hip.
The figure stepped back and grinned.
"You're learning. But can you carry the weight?"
Back in the Real World – Time Slows
On the ship, Ankit's body remained seated, but his aura began to ripple outward.
Makino, who'd been on watch, froze.
A thin silver aura spread around him like a rotating storm.
Benn Beckman felt it from across the ship and muttered, "He's not dreaming. He's fighting."
Shanks simply watched from the helm, arms crossed, and whispered:
"Let it guide him… or break him."
Trial Finale – The Gate Decides
In the void, the fight reached its peak.
Ankit was bleeding from a cut above his brow. His arms were shaking. His knees nearly buckled.
The Echo raised both swords.
"Final test," it said.
It spun—its blades slicing in a perfect X.
Ankit inhaled sharply—and leapt into the strike.
Twin Flow: Spectral Cross – Tier II Echo Trigger
Both of Ankit's blades sang as they crossed through the air—
—clashing directly into the Echo's strike.
There was a scream—not from either of them—but from the Gate.
The world exploded in light.
Trial Completed
Stormmarked Trial: Echo Gate Alpha – Cleared.
New Trait Unlocked: Resonant Memory Core
– Grants ability to glimpse enemy combat style after sustained clash (5 seconds).
– Temporary 5% combat speed boost after triggering vision resonance.
Fragment Acquired: Echo Blade Shard – 1/7 Stormmark Core Pieces located.
System Sync Increased: +4.0% → Current: 44.9%
Return – Dawn on the Red Blade
Ankit gasped awake.
Rain had stopped.
The sea was still.
Makino was beside him, sword drawn in case he had a seizure. Shanks leaned over the railing nearby.
"You were out for two hours," Makino said.
Ankit sat up. He touched his chest. He could still feel the echo.
"I fought myself," he murmured.
Shanks offered him water. "And who won?"
Ankit drank, wiped his mouth, and gave a faint smile.
"Not sure yet. But I survived."
🔹 SYSTEM PANEL – Ankit 🔹
System Sync: 44.9%
Skill Level (Twin Flow Style): 10.5
Spectral Cut II: Fully operational
New Trait: Resonant Memory Core
After 5 seconds of clash, you can anticipate an opponent's style and tempo.
+5% combat speed boost for 10 seconds after successful vision sync.
Fragment Tracked: 1/7 – Echo Blade Shard
Stormmark Trial Status: Active
Next Gate Awakening: TBD
Final Scene – A Hidden Chamber Beneath Mary Geoise
Five shadows stood before a shattered mural—one that depicted the Seven Stormmarked, long erased from the history of the world.
An Elder pointed at Ankit's name now etched onto a list of anomalies.
"He has acquired the first fragment."
Another replied, "Then the seal of the Second Gate must not be allowed to awaken."
A third whispered, "Dispatch the Judicators."