The threads twisted.
Not violently.
Elegantly.
Like something had moved through this part of the zone not to kill — but to be seen.
Elian slowed.
The ruins ahead were clean.
Not cleared by collapse. Not emptied by rot.
Cleaned.
Each stone tile was scrubbed of decay. Blood marks traced spirals across the wall — fresh, deliberate, almost ceremonial.
At the center stood a man.
No armor.
No mask.
Just pale skin, bare feet, and a robe stitched with dozens of names in red thread.
He didn't look strong.
He looked empty.
Elian stepped forward. "You watching, or waiting?"
The man didn't move.
Then he spoke.
"You broke the echo."
His voice didn't match his face — too deep, too calm, like someone else was speaking through a borrowed vessel.
"You touched the seed."
Elian raised a hand, just slightly — not as a threat, but a test.
The man didn't flinch.
"I am Namebound. I carry what others discard. Pain. Memory. Identity."
He stepped forward.
Elian's Threadsense screamed.
[High-Risk Entity Detected: Namebound Host]
[Faction Affiliation: Unclear – Possible Subverse Choir]
[Status: Soul-Ridden / Controlled Vessel]
[Warning: This host is not the origin.]
The man extended a hand.
"You are not yet claimed."
Elian smiled coldly. "And you're not walking away."
Then he moved.
Fast.
Not forward.
Through.
Lucid and Threadbreaker surged together. Elian's blade passed straight through the man's chest — but no blood followed.
Instead?
A name.
"Eiran."
The man whispered it, as if tasting it.
Elian froze.
That name didn't belong here.
It belonged to someone he'd buried.
Someone the world wasn't supposed to remember.
The man grinned.
"We know you, Elian."
"Even if you forget yourself."
Elian struck again — this time aiming for the throat.
It hit.
The namebound collapsed, not in pain — but with a laugh.
And a message burned into the threads behind him:
[We wear what you leave behind.]
The body twitched once more… and burned.
[Entity Eliminated: Namebound Host – Thread Echo Residue Absorbed]
[Lucid Trait Sync: 35% → 36%]
[New Mental Flag Added: Suppressed Memory Unstable]
[Author Seed Response: Glimmering]
Elian stood in the silence.
For the first time… unsure.
Not of the path.
But of the things he'd tried to forget.
And what else might come wearing them.