Chapter III: The First Echo

  The library of House Viremont was older than the city itself.

  Or at least that was what the archivists liked to claim.

  Kael sat alone at a long oak table, surrounded by towers of books that had been opened, cross-referenced, and occasionally dismissed with quiet irritation.

  Mana Theory for Recollection Mages.

  A Treatise on Soul Echo Convergence.

  Entrance Examination Preparations: A Historical Guide.

  He closed the last one.

  "Predictable," he murmured.

  The academy entrance examinations had barely changed in fifty years. Written theory, mana sensitivity tests, and finally a practical evaluation designed to reveal how well a candidate could channel the abilities inherited from their past life.

  Which created a problem.

  Most candidates would rely heavily on memories that were no longer theirs.

  Kael had none.

  He leaned back slightly in his chair.

  "If the exam assumes inherited knowledge," he said quietly, "then approaching it without inherited knowledge may actually be advantageous."

  The door behind him opened.

  Kael did not turn immediately.

  Only one person entered the library without announcing themselves.

  His father stepped inside.

  Adrien Viremont moved through the room with the quiet confidence of someone accustomed to ownership. His gaze briefly swept across the piles of open texts.

  "Studying already?"

  "Statistically speaking, preparation improves outcomes."

  Adrien nodded once.

  "Reasonable."

  He walked to the table and placed a small object beside Kael's books.

  It was a metal disk.

  Roughly the size of a palm. Dark stone set into its center. The surface was carved with faint geometric patterns that looked less like runes and more like… circuitry.

  Kael frowned.

  This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  "What is that?"

  Adrien rested a hand on the back of the chair.

  "Something recovered from a ruin expedition two years ago."

  That word again.

  Ruins.

  Kael looked down at the disk more carefully.

  Ancient artifacts were rare but not unheard of. Most ruins contained broken constructs, fragments of lost spells, or strange tools whose functions had been lost with the civilizations that built them.

  But this one looked different.

  The patterns were precise. Intentional.

  Almost mathematical.

  "Why show me this?"

  Adrien studied him for a moment before answering.

  "Because yesterday, something unusual happened."

  Kael raised an eyebrow.

  "That narrows it down very little."

  "The Resonance Crystal cracked."

  Kael's fingers paused on the edge of the disk.

  Interesting.

  "Cracked?"

  "Split."

  That was not supposed to happen. The crystals were designed to withstand magical pressure far greater than what the ceremony produced.

  Adrien continued.

  "The clergy are pretending it was a minor structural flaw."

  "And you don't believe them."

  "No."

  Kael looked back down at the artifact.

  The patterns along its edge seemed to twist inward toward the stone center.

  Something about it felt…

  Familiar.

  "I assume there is a reason you brought it here."

  Adrien nodded.

  "The scholars who studied this object could not activate it."

  Kael waited.

  Adrien finished the sentence.

  "But when I heard the priests describe what happened during your awakening…"

  Ah.

  Kael rested two fingers lightly against the stone center.

  Nothing happened.

  For three seconds.

  Four.

  Then the disk grew warm.

  Kael frowned slightly.

  "That's unusual."

  Adrien did not move.

  The warmth spread outward through the metal. The geometric patterns began to glow faintly with a deep blue light.

  Kael felt a pressure behind his eyes.

  The same pressure he had felt during the ceremony.

  Except this time it did not stop.

  The light intensified.

  The stone center pulsed once.

  Twice.

  And then—

  Something opened.

  Not in the room.

  Inside his mind.

  A voice, calm and emotionless, spoke directly into his thoughts.

  Echo Network initializing.

  Kael went very still.

  The disk in his hand vibrated faintly.

  Dormant ruin signature detected.

  The voice continued.

  User verification…

  A pause.

  Then,

  Identity confirmed.

  Kael blinked.

  "What."

  New information appeared in his vision.

  Not projected in the air.

  Not visible to anyone else.

  Just there.

  Lines of faint blue text.

  ECHO SYSTEM INTERFACE

  User: Kael Viremont

  Status: Unwritten Soul

  Mana Capacity: 14

  Intelligence: 19

  Physical Stability: 11

  Echo Synchronization: 1%

  Abilities:

  None detected

  Connected Ruins:

  0 Active Nodes

  Kael stared at the information silently.

  Adrien leaned forward slightly.

  "Something happened."

  Kael did not immediately respond.

  "Define 'something,'" his father continued.

  Kael considered several responses.

  Most of them were lies.

  He chose a partial truth.

  "I believe," Kael said slowly, "that I may have accidentally activated an ancient magical network."

  Adrien stared at him.

  "Accidentally."

  "Technically."

  The disk pulsed again.

  The voice returned.

  Ruin Node Detected.

  Kael felt a sharp flicker of images flash through his mind.

  Stone corridors.

  Broken pillars.

  A massive underground structure buried beneath the earth outside the city.

  Then the interface updated.

  Connected Ruins:

  Node 01 Detected

  Synchronization Possible

  The voice spoke one final line.

  First Echo Available.

  Kael leaned back slightly in the chair.

  His heartbeat had accelerated, though his face remained calm.

  Interesting.

  Very interesting.

  Across the table, Adrien Viremont watched his son carefully.

  "What did you find?" he asked.

  Kael looked down at the glowing disk.

  Then he smiled very slightly.

  "I believe," he said, "I just found my entrance exam advantage."