Ethan stood in the heart of the a chamber, his helmet visor dimming the radiant glow emanating from the bde floating above the pedestal. The dagger appeared to be alive, its carvings pulsating with energy in perfect harmony with the ruins' faint hum. The air was heavy, almost electric, as if the ruins themselves were holding their breath in anticipation of what would e .

  The bde was unlike anythihan had ever seen. It was sleek and smooth, its surface gleaming with an otherworldly light. The edge seemed impossibly sharp, as though it could slice through reality itself. Every inch of it was carved with intricate symbols simir to those that adorhe ruins, and they glowed faintly, pulsating in rhythm with the energy that now thrummed ihan's chest.

  Iris's voice crackled faintly in his ear, her usual precision dulled by the interference from the ruins. "Attempting a s... Results inclusive. Material position is... unknown. This substance does not correspond to any known alloy or mineral in my database."

  "Of course it doesn't," Ethan muttered, his voice barely above a whisper. He stepped closer to the pedestal, his eyes locked on the bde as the glow intensified. His hand twitched slightly, as if his body yearo reach for it, yet something held him back.

  The closer Ethan got, the more he could feel the dagger's prese wasn't just an object, it felt like a liviy. The symbols carved into its surface weren't static. They shifted subtly, rearranging themselves like a nguage trying to unicate with him.

  "What are you?" Ethan asked softly, his voice swallowed by the vastness of the chamber.

  The pedestal was made of the same bck, stone-like material as the ruins, its surface smooth and polished, refleg the dagger's radiahe bde floated an inch above the pedestal, held aloft by some unseen force. Ethaended his gloved hand, hesitating just inches from the on. The air around it crackled with energy, sending faint vibrations up his arm.

  "This thing... it's not just a on," he murmured, a sense of awe creeping into his voice. "It's something more."

  He pulled his hand back slightly and turned his head as Iris spoke again. "The energy signature from the dagger is increasing. It appears to be resonating with your proximity. Caution is advised."

  Ethan gave a dry chuckle. "Thanks, Iris. I hadn't noticed."

  The momehan moved to touch the dagger, the air in the chamber shifted. The hum that had been ever-present grew louder, more insistent, until it became a deep vibration that rattled through his bohe symbols on the walls brighteheir glow pulsating wildly as though reag to his presence.

  A sudden wave of pressure crashed down ohan's mind. It wasn't physical, but it hit him like a freight train. His knees buckled slightly, and he gritted his teeth, steadying himself against the iy of the psychiergy flooding the chamber.

  "What the hell is this?" he growled, clutg his head with one hand as his helmet's HUD flickered chaotically.

  The ruins weren't just testing him physically, they were probing his mind, his very soul. Memories surged to the forefront of his sciousness, fshing like a reel of film running too fast. He saw images of his old life oh: long hours at his desk job, the crushing monotony of endless reports and deadlihe isotion he had felt in a life devoid of purpose.

  Then came the faces of those he had lost. Dax, Lyra and Leena, their ughter eg in his mind before it was repced by their final moments. The guilt hit him like a hammer, threatening to break his resolve.

  But beh the pain and doubt, something else stirred. A fme. A spark of determinatiohan ched his fists, his breathing ragged as he forced himself to focus.

  "I've e too far to give up now," he muttered through gritted teeth. "If you're testihe's get it over with."

  The psychic pressure grew strohe whispers in his mind growing louder, inprehensible yet persistehan dropped to one knee, sweat dripping down his faside his helmet. But he didn't back down.

  He thought of the people who depended on him: the meraries fighting to recim Kynara, the resistance fighters who refused to give up despite the odds, and the is suffering uhe Syndicate's tyranny. He thought of Dax and Leena, of Lyra, of everyone who had fallen along the way.

  "I won't fail them," he said, his voice firm despite the weight pressing down on him. "I'll see this through."

  As if in respoo his resolve, the pressure began to ease. The whispers faded, repced by a low, steady hum. The glow of the symbols on the walls softeheir light no longer blinding but warm and invitihan slowly rose to his feet, his body trembling from the effort.

  The dagger floated before him, its glow steady and unyielding.

  Ethan reached out once more, his hand steady despite the lingeri of the test he had just endured. His fingers closed around the hilt, and the moment he made tact, a surge of energy coursed through him. It wasn't painful, it was exhirating.

  The dagger felt perfe his grip, as though it had been made for him. It was light yet solid, its bance fwless. The carvings on the bde pulsed softly, resonating with the energy now thrumming through Ethan's body. He could feel its power, raw and untamed, yet somehow attuo his own.

  "This... this is something else," he whispered, turning the bde in his hand.

  The symbols on the dagger seemed to shift subtly, aligning themselves in a pattern that felt strangely familiar. Ethan couldn't expin it, but he felt ected to the on, as though it had been waiting for him all along.

  A familiar voice echoed through the chamber, low and haunting. "You have proven yourself worthy."

  Ethan spun around, his grip tightening on the dagger. The pale straood at the edge of the chamber, his hollow eyes glinting faintly in the glow of the ruins. His expression was unreadable, his tattooed face as enigmatic as ever.

  "You," Ethan said, his voice sharp. "What is this pce? What is this dagger?"

  The strailted his head slightly, a ghost of a smile pying on his lips. "This is a fragment of what once was, a legacy left behind by those who uood the power of the mind and the strength of the will. That bde you hold... it is a key."

  "A key to what?" Ethan demanded.

  "To cutting through fate itself," the stranger replied cryptically. "But only if you have the strength to wield it."

  Ethan's frustration fred. "Enough riddles. Why me? What do you want from me?"

  The stranger's smile faded. "You are not the first to walk this path, nor will you be the st. But for now, your journey is your own. Remember this: the bde is not merely a tool, it is a promise. A promise to yourself, to your allies, and to what you seek to protect."

  Before Ethan could respond, the straurned and began walking toward the entrahe sandstorm outside howled louder, the wind whipping through the ruins as the pale figure disappeared into the swirling sands.

  Ethan stood there, the dagger in his hand, his mind rag with questions that had no answers.

  As the chamber grew silent once more, Ethan looked down at the bde, its glow casting faint patterns across his armor. The ruins had tested him, and he had prevailed. But he khis was just the beginning.

  With the dagger in hand and the stranger's cryptic words eg in his mihan turoward the exit, ready to face whatever came .