It started with a knock.
Not a real one — a pulse against the edge of the grove, sensed by the Dream-Seers before it was seen.
A lone figure emerged from the west, walking upright with both hands raised, bearing no weapons and no tribe-markings. Human. Thin. Tattered cloak. Sun-burned cheeks.
And wearing a starter pack satchel.
He was one of the summoned — but not a Sovereign anymore.
He was alone.
The Lorian were tense. Some assumed he was a spy. Others assumed he was bait.
But Riku saw something else: survival.
This man had lived without a tribe, without protection, through storms and bloodmoons and roving monsters.
He asked only for three things:
"A bed not crawling, food not moving, and somewhere to talk without being watched."
His name was Junpei. Early twenties. Former schoolteacher. Had led a tribe of treefolk for six days before they poisoned his rations and voted to exile him.
He hadn't spoken to another human in weeks.
Riku let him stay.
Not inside the grove — beneath it.
He cleared a dry cavern beneath the root hall, fed him broth, and let him sleep for a full day. Junpei awoke clearer, sharper. Full of questions. Riku gave few answers.
But that night, when the stars were low and the forest breath slowed, Riku sat in the armory den to take stock.
The system pulsed.
Not visually.
Emotionally.
A sense of attention. Incoming logic.
And then—
[FOLD TRIGGERED – AUTO SYNC EVENT]
Target: Inventory Object – Forged Obsidian Dagger (x1)
Fold Type: QUALITY MULTIPLIER – 3x Enhancement
Result:
– Edge retention increased by 300%
– Blade now resistant to mana distortion
– Gain passive trait: "Wound Echo" – slashes cause delayed phantom pain for 24h
Status: Now classified as [Tier-2 Weapon: Folded Dagger]
Riku stared at the dagger in his hand.
Nothing had changed… except everything. It felt alive. Balanced like water. He tested the blade against a block of shellroot — it carved through in one motion.
No glow. No hum. Just effect.
And still, no one noticed.
The Fold came without choice. It decided the target. It chose the reward. It worked only on what was his.
And that made every piece of gear, every soldier, every owned object, a potential timebomb of growth.
He looked down the inventory list.
Eligible for Fold Queue (Untriggered)
– Bonefire Arrows (x56)
– Patrol Boots, Emberfront Model (x11)
– Guardpost Tower: Southern Rise
– Dreamsewn Cloak (Thalya)
That last one made him pause.
Could it trigger on people's items? Would they change? Would they notice?
He didn't get to ask.
Because above, a scream rang out.
He sprinted up the slope and found Juran and two Emberfronts surrounding something just outside the barrier vines.
A feral bear-spawn — at least three meters tall — claws soaked in gore, frothing at the mouth.
Riku drew the dagger instinctively.
Juran shouted, "Sovereign, step back!"
Riku didn't.
He stepped in.
The dagger moved too fast.
It slid across the beast's side before Riku even realized he'd struck.
Then the Wound Echo triggered — and the beast howled, collapsing as if hit by a second blade from within.
Juran stared. "That shouldn't have worked."
Riku wiped the blade clean. "It did."
No one asked how.
No one asked why.
But that night, patrols doubled, and Emberfront warriors requested to train with "whatever that dagger is."
Riku said it was "a gift from the woods."
And the Fold, waiting unseen, pulsed quietly beneath the roots.