The wind howled as Yeo emerged from the dungeon. The sky was stained with twilight hues, but the peace it offered was a lie. Something had changed. Not in the world—but within him.
His heart still beat to the rhythm of that final battle he'd seen. The Starforged King's voice, the surge of power, the vision of desolation—it all echoed in his mind. The Legacy of the King pulsed faintly within his chest like a second heartbeat, a reminder of the burden he now carried.
Yeo collapsed against a tree at the edge of the forest, his breath heavy. His stamina had returned, but his spirit hadn't. The weight of the vision lingered—not as trauma, but as warning.
> [System Notice: Title Gained – Bearer of the Echo.]
[Your connection to the past has deepened. Echoes may now seek you.]
That last line made his eyes narrow. "Seek me?"
As if in response, a tremor rumbled beneath the earth.
The sky flickered. A crack—a literal tear in space—appeared overhead, just for an instant. From it spilled a chime. Not like a voice or sound, but a resonance. Yeo winced as it scraped across his mind like glass across steel.
And then came the whisper.
"You who bear the Shard… awaken us."
He stood instantly, summoning the Starforged Shard to his palm. The crystal shimmered, vibrating in response to the unseen presence. The forest around him stilled—birds silenced, winds died, leaves froze in mid-sway. The world paused.
Then, a figure emerged from the shadows of the trees.
It wasn't human.
It stood tall, cloaked in robes woven from starlight and dust. Its face was hidden beneath a shattered helm, and its aura pulsed with ancient magic. In its hand was a broken blade glowing with dim lunar light.
"You… are not the King."
Yeo stepped back. "Who are you?"
"An Echo." Its voice was neither male nor female. "One of many. Fragments left behind from the War of the Old. We slumbered. You woke us."
The Shard hummed again. The figure nodded.
"It remembers us. And now… we remember you."
Suddenly, the figure dashed forward with impossible speed. Yeo barely raised his blade in time to block the incoming strike. The shockwave sent him sliding across the dirt, bones rattling. The Echo hadn't moved aggressively—but as a test.
> [System Alert: Challenge Initiated – Echo Duel: First Fragment Guardian.]
[Victory will unlock Echo Resonance and partial memory infusion.]
Yeo cursed under his breath. "You couldn't have picked a better time?!"
The Echo lunged again. This time, Yeo countered—not with Starstrike, but with instinct. The training from his days in the academy—both in the real world and this one—took over. His blade met the broken sword again, sending a blast of mana into the air.
The duel was quick, brutal, and graceful. The Echo was not trying to kill him. It was evaluating.
When Yeo finally parried a heavy strike and delivered a precise slash to the Echo's helm, the duel stopped.
The Echo froze. A single crack ran through its helmet.
It nodded slowly.
"You have passed."
It stepped back and raised its hand.
> [Challenge Complete – First Fragment Guardian Defeated.]
[Reward: Echo Resonance Unlocked.]
[Memory Infusion: The Fall of Asterra – Received.]
Light flooded Yeo's mind.
Flames. Screams. The city of Asterra, floating above the clouds, consumed by arcane fire as flying beasts and shadow soldiers fell from the sky. The Starforged King had fought to protect it. And lost.
The vision faded. The pain remained.
The Echo now bowed before Yeo.
"More will come. You are the key. The War… never ended. It only slept."
And with that, the Echo dissolved into light, absorbed by the Shard. Its power became part of him.
Yeo collapsed to one knee. Not from exhaustion. But from realization.
The Echoes were waking.
And they were calling to him.