The Fragment Vault
Long before the Nine Domains were carved from blood and betrayal, there was only one throne—and one ruler.
The First Ancient.
Neither man nor god, the First carved the laws of magic into the bones of the world. It was he who created the Nine and then sealed them when they grew too ambitious. When his power began to fade, he scattered fragments of his essence across the land, hiding them in places no living thing would dare tread.
The vault Marcel entered is one such place: a Fragment Vault, sealed beneath layers of stone, ash, and time.
Originally a sanctum for failed successors, the Vault was never meant to be found again. Within it lie the echoes of half-chosen hunters—those who once touched the system but were deemed unworthy. Their trials broke them. Their remains fed the roots of the obsidian chamber, which now feeds the guardian Marcel fought.
Each Fragment Vault is alive, bound to the will of the First Ancient, and capable of rewriting fate itself—for a price. Only a bearer of no rank and no past can bypass its corruption, and even then… survival is not guaranteed.
The last time a Vault was opened, a kingdom fell within weeks. No survivors. No records.
Until now.