As they descended the spiral staircase, the air grew heavier, pressing on their chests like an unseen weight. Sera's hand drifted to the hilt of her jagged black dagger, her eyes scanning the darkness. "Something's _awake_ down here," she whispered.
Ren didn't ask how she knew. He could feel it too – a heartbeat buried beneath the stone, pulsing with an otherworldly energy. The chamber they entered was wide and domed, lined with twelve statues cloaked in crumbling robes, their faces hidden beneath blank, rounded masks.
At the center of the room stood a low altar, covered in dust and dried, rust-brown stains. Above it floated a fragment, pulsing with dense, coiled energy.
The system alert flashed: [GateBearer's-Echo Shard Detected: Whispering Stone] _Warning: Host Guardian Present._
Ren eyes widened at the warning notification as he stepped back instinctively, his eyes fixed on the shard.
Sera muttered, "That's the part I hate."
Sera pointed behind him, and Ren turned to see one of the statues move, its head tilting ever so slightly. Then a second, and a third, until all twelve statues turned to face them.
"No sudden moves," Sera cautioned. "They're Watchers. They don't attack unless provoked."
"What counts as provoking?"
"Trying to take the shard." Sera replied. "We'll have to find a way round it"
As they circled the room, the Watchers didn't move again, their unblinking eyes fixed on the pair. Then Ren heard a voice, soft and whispered: _Take it.
The whisper seemed to come from within his mark, like the spiral had learned to speak.
Sera grabbed his arm as he stepped closer to the altar. "You're hearing it, aren't you?" she whispered. Ren nodded, and Sera's eyes locked onto his. "So was I. That's how it tricks you. But yours should have stopped by no..."
Before she could explain further, one of the statues moved, its body cracking and shifting as stone crumbled away to reveal bone and shadow beneath. The creature stepped down from its pedestal, dragging a massive stone blade behind it.
The system alert flashed: [Echo Beast: Watcher of the Whispering Stone — Tier: Dread Fragment] *Condition: Dormant. Status: Awakened.*
The beast lunged, and Sera shoved Ren aside, the blade slamming into the ground where he'd stood moments before. "MOVE!" she shouted. Ren scrambled to his feet as the other statues began to twitch, two more cracking and shifting as the stone peeled away.
Sera ducked under a second blow, her blade moving like smoke. "They don't all wake at once," she called. "But the more we hesitate, the worse it gets!" Ren gritted his teeth, focusing on the Watcher as it swung again. He used _Shadow Step_, vanishing and reappearing behind the beast.
His shard-etched dagger scraped bone as he slammed it into the Watcher's back, but the beast didn't flinch. It turned, unnaturally fast, and backhanded Ren across the room. Everything went through gray for a second.
Sera caught the beast's attention, her blade flashing in the dim light. "They only bleed when they _remember_ pain!" she shouted. "Force the memory out of the shard! That's what it's guarding!"
Ren head now bleeding watched as the Watcher lunged at Sera, he noticed a pattern in the statues' movements, through his years living as a peasant, had taught him the art of observation.. Realizing that the statues were not completely synchronized, and there was a slight delay between their actions. Ren used this information to his advantage, carefully timing his movements to avoid the Watcher's attacks.
The boy created a distraction by throwing a nearby stone at one of the statues, causing it to twitch and momentarily divert the Watcher's attention. Sera took advantage of the distraction to land a swift kick on the Watcher's knee, momentarily crippling it.
As the Watcher stumbled, Ren spotted an opportunity to reach the shard. He used his agility to dodge the Watcher's slow but powerful swings and made a dash for the altar. Another statue began to twitch, its stone body cracking and shifting as it came to life. Ren knew he had to act fast.
With the Watcher closing in on him, Ren used his knowledge of the chamber's layout to his advantage. He positioned himself near a pillar, using it as cover to avoid the Watcher's attacks. As the Watcher swung its massive stone blade, Ren dodged behind the pillar, using the momentum to propel himself forward.
Ren sprinted towards the altar, the Watcher hot on his heels. He leaped onto the altar, using his momentum to carry him forward, and reached for the shard. The Watcher swung its blade, but Ren was just out of reach. Sera took advantage of the distraction to strike at the Watcher's exposed flank, landing a critical hit that sent it stumbling back.
With the Watcher momentarily stunned, Ren grabbed the shard and touched it, unlocking the memory imprint.
The memory imprint flashed: _You glimpse a warrior kneeling before twelve masks. You hear one word repeated like a prayer: "Obey." Then silence. Then a scream that doesn't end._ the system alert followed: *Skill Acquired: Phantom Bind – Trap one Echo Beast or lesser being in a memory loop for 3 seconds. Cool down: 1 minute.
The system alerted again:
"[You have acquired the complete fragment: Whispering Stone]"
"[Shard Status: Dormant]"
***
The Watchers turned toward Ren, blade raised. He raised his hand, and the air twisted as he used _Phantom Bind_. The beasts froze mid-swing, and Sera dashed forward, her dagger glowing with the light of her own shard. She drove it straight into the Watcher's exposed mask-slits, and the creatures shrieked, convulsed, and shattered into dust.
As they stood there, breathing hard, Sera looked at Ren with a mix of impressions. "You accessed the shard's memory?"
He nodded.
"Most don't unlock a second skill this early,"
"Is that a good thing?" Ren asked, and Sera's gaze drifted to the far wall, where statues stood motionless.
As she took in the room more clearly, a sense of unease settled over her. The host guardians were far too easy to overcome, but what unsettled her more were the three remaining statues that stood steadfast on their pedestals, each bearing a sword pressed to the ground.
As she drew closer, she saw that the stone statues depicted knights, their pitch black eyes under their stone knightly helmet seeming to watch her every move.
"Is something wrong?" Ren asked, his head tilted up to gaze at the statues.
At the far end of the room, an empty throne sat shrouded in dust and cobwebs, its presence seeming to loom over them like a specter. Sera's doubts about their surroundings began to grow – were they truly in a Memory Keep?
She turned her attention to Ren, her hand closing around his marked arm as she examined it.
"Do you still hear it whispering?" she asked, her voice laced with a growing unease.
Ren shook his head, and Sera's grip on his arm tightened.
"What's so bad about Whispering Stones?" Ren asked, his voice echoing off the cold stone walls.
"Whispering Stones are rare shard collections, coveted by few," Sera began, her silence lingering heavily in the air. "And out of all the shards obtained... the Whispering Stone Shards are the only ones Conscious."
'In your case yours is still Dormant.'
The words sent a shiver down Ren's spine, and he swallowed hard, his eyes wide with a mix of fear and fascination.
Before Ren could respond, Sera's gaze shifted, her eyes locking onto something behind him. Ren turned to follow her gaze, and his heart sank as he saw seven burning eyes watching them from the wall, their fiery gaze piercing through the shadows like hot coals.