The Guardian's corpse still smoldered, molten cracks cooling into dull, lifeless stone. The air smelled of ash and ozone. Villagers moved cautiously, as if afraid the monster might rise again.
Arlen sat on a broken beam, catching his breath. Every muscle ached. His hands trembled. His vision still flickered from the explosion.
But the countdown had stopped.
The system's final message hovered faintly in the corner of his sight:
World Quest Complete: Defend the Village.
Status: Success.
Rewards Distributed.
Unknown Bonus Granted.
He stared at the last line.
Unknown Bonus.
"What does that even mean?" he muttered.
Mira limped over, leaning heavily on her shield. "You're talking to yourself again."
"Talking to the system," Arlen corrected. "It gave me something. I just… don't know what."
Mira raised an eyebrow. "Is that normal?"
"No. Not even a little."
A New Window Opens
The system chimed softly — a sound unlike any he'd heard before. Not the crisp, neutral tone of notifications. Something… deeper. Resonant.
A new window unfolded in front of him:
Class Fragment Synchronization: 12% → 27%.
New Trait Acquired: Echo of Foresight (Dormant).
Warning: Trait origin unknown.
Arlen blinked. "Foresight?"
Mira frowned. "That sounds… big."
"It sounds impossible," Arlen said. "Traits don't just appear. They're tied to Classes. And I don't even have a full Class yet."
The system chimed again:
Trait Description: Echo of Foresight — Grants momentary glimpses of potential outcomes. Activation conditions undiscovered.
Arlen felt a chill crawl up his spine. "This isn't normal. This isn't part of the Tactician path."
Mira sat beside him. "Then where did it come from?"
Arlen didn't answer.
Because he didn't know.
A Flicker of Something Else
He closed his eyes, trying to focus on the new trait. Maybe he could feel something — a shift, a spark, a hint of—
A flash.
Not a vision. Not a dream. A momentary echo.
He saw the village.
The granary.
The cracked sky above.
And something else — a silhouette standing at the edge of the forest. Watching. Waiting. Cloaked in shadow, face hidden, presence unmistakably wrong.
Then the vision snapped away.
Arlen gasped, nearly falling off the beam.
Mira grabbed his arm. "Arlen! What happened?"
"I… I saw something." He swallowed hard. "Someone."
"Someone?"
He nodded. "A figure. At the treeline. Watching us."
Mira's grip tightened. "Is it still there?"
Arlen looked toward the forest.
Nothing.
Just trees swaying in the fading light.
"No," he said. "But it was real. Or… it will be. Or could be." He rubbed his temples. "I don't know. The trait is dormant. Unstable."
Mira exhaled slowly. "So the system gave you a warning."
"Or a threat," Arlen said quietly.
The Sky Cracks Again
A low rumble rolled across the heavens.
Arlen and Mira both looked up.
The crack in the sky — the jagged wound of white‑blue fire — pulsed. Once. Twice. Like a heartbeat.
The system whispered:
Global Event Detected.
Source: Unknown.
Foresight Trait Resonance increasing.
Arlen felt the echo again — faint, like a whisper behind a door.
Something was coming.
Something worse than the Guardian.
Mira stepped closer. "Arlen… what do we do?"
Arlen stared at the sky, at the widening fracture, at the light bleeding through.
"We prepare," he said softly. "Because whatever that bonus was… it wasn't a reward."
He swallowed.
"It was a warning."