The sky above Tarrow's Hollow was a pale gray, as if the sun had long forgotten its task of warming the world. Caden sat on the crumbling stone steps of an old temple, a place that had once been the heart of a bustling city, now abandoned and forgotten. The wind carried the scent of earth and decay, stirring loose papers and tattered banners that fluttered around the ruins. He'd been coming here for months now, ever since he found the shard.

He didn't remember the exact moment of discovery—just the soft hum it had given off when he touched it. One moment, he was searching the ruins for scraps of old magic; the next, his fingers were wrapped around something... different. Something that felt ancient, as if it had been hidden there, waiting.

Caden stared at the small crystal in his hand. It was no bigger than a coin, translucent and cracked in places, but when the light hit it just right, faint golden veins pulsed within, like something alive. His heartbeat quickened as he turned it over, tracing the strange symbols etched into its surface.

It was a remnant of something far older, far more powerful than anything he had ever imagined. That much, he knew.

A soft chime echoed in the stillness, so faint it might have been a dream.

[Welcome, User.]

The voice wasn't human. It was mechanical, layered with static and coldness, but somehow... warm, like a distant memory. The words hovered in the air before him, glowing faintly.

Caden stiffened, the crystal vibrating in his palm as if reacting to the voice. His heart skipped. He'd heard that sound before, but only in the ancient texts, in the hushed stories his father once shared.

[You have activated the Echo System.]

The words hung there, floating like an afterimage in his vision, and for a moment, he wondered if he'd imagined it. But when he looked again, they were still there—faint, but undeniable. His breath caught in his throat.

The Echo System. That was what the old texts had called it, the one thing that had supposedly survived the Shattering. He had only ever heard whispers about it—myths, rumors, fragments of knowledge lost to time. But now... now it was speaking to him.

"What... what does that mean?" he muttered, almost to himself.

The voice seemed to pause, as if considering his question.

[This system is incomplete. Its purpose is unclear. However, it has recognized you as its designated user.]

Caden's brow furrowed. "Designated... user?"

There was no response for a long moment, and the air around him seemed to grow colder. His fingers tightened around the shard, and the faint humming grew louder, a vibration that seemed to pulse through his entire body.

[User status: Unconfirmed.]

[Quest unlocked: Rebuild the System.]

The air shifted with a strange tension, and then—something changed.

A golden light burst from the crystal, and for the briefest of moments, the world around Caden seemed to glitch. He blinked, and the ruins around him... didn't look quite right. The stones of the temple shimmered as if they were not solid, not real. The air was too thin, too still. His mind raced.

"What the hell is going on?" Caden whispered, his voice a mix of confusion and fear.

[Warning: Unauthorized interaction detected.]

The ground trembled beneath his feet, and the sky above seemed to darken. A jagged crack appeared in the stone beneath him, splitting open the earth like the wound of a great beast. A sudden surge of energy flooded through him, making his skin tingle, his senses sharpen.

[Quest Objective: Retrieve the First Fragment of the Echo System.]

A strange, magnetic pull tugged at him. It wasn't just in his mind—it was in his bones, a force calling him, urging him toward something. Something... far beyond the ruins, deep in the heart of the dead kingdom.

Caden took a deep breath and stood, looking around with wide eyes. He hadn't asked for this. He hadn't asked for any of it. But he knew one thing for sure: whatever this was, whatever this system was... it had just changed his life forever.

As he looked down at the crystal, the words appeared again, the voice far more insistent this time.

[Objective: Begin your journey, User. Rebuild the system.]

The crack in the ground widened, and from the depths of the ruined city, Caden heard something stir. A low rumble. A growl.

Something was waking up.