Echo clutched the cracked blade, its etched name—Echo—a weight in their hands as they stood on the Driftmaiden's deck. The wreck's blue vines had stilled after the ghostly guardians fell, but the air buzzed with void echoes, a lingering curse that made the fog feel alive. Raiven scanned the shadows, Chrono Edge glowing faintly, while Veyra's Starfall Veil cast a soft light over the splintered planks. "We're not done here," Veyra warned, her silver hair glinting. "The void's stirring."
The whisper in Echo's mind pulsed, softer now but insistent: "Find the Lost Name." It drew them toward the ship's hold, a gaping maw of darkness below deck. Raiven nodded, his grin tight. "Lead the way, Spark—sorry, Echo. Let's see what this wreck's hiding." They descended, the air growing colder with each step, the blue glow of the vines fading into shadow. The hold was a maze of broken crates and rusted chains, the walls etched with faded runes that pulsed faintly, as if alive.
At the hold's center, a shard of crystal floated above a shattered pedestal, glowing with the same blue as the Driftmaiden's mast. Echo reached for it, and the whisper surged into a scream—"Remember!"—as their fingers brushed the shard. A memory flooded their mind: a storm, a crew, Echo at the helm of this very ship, shouting orders as the sea roared. A woman—the ghost from before—stood beside them, her smile warm. "We'll make it, Captain," she said, before a void wave swallowed the ship, her scream echoing as Echo's blade carved their name in desperation.
The shard shattered, its light seeping into Echo's hand, and a new power surged through them—Memory Slash. Their cracked blade glowed blue, and they swung instinctively as a void echo erupted from the shadows—a wraith-like remnant of the woman, her face twisted in rage. "You failed us!" she shrieked, claws slashing. Echo's Memory Slash cut through her, the blade trailing blue light that burned the wraith away, her final whisper a plea: "Don't forget…"
The hold trembled, vines writhing as more void echoes stirred, their whispers a chorus of pain. Raiven's Eternal Pause slowed the nearest wraith, giving Veyra time to blast it with light, but the wreck was waking. "We've overstayed our welcome!" Raiven shouted, pulling Echo back. They ran, the ship groaning as vines lashed at their heels, the curse fighting to keep its secrets. They burst onto the deck just as The Tidebreaker's rowboat reached them, Zeyn's song a faint beacon through the fog.
As they rowed back, Echo's hand trembled around the blade, the memory lingering like a scar. They'd been a captain, a leader—and they'd failed. "I… I led them to their deaths," they murmured, guilt heavy in their chest. Raiven's hand found their shoulder, his voice steady. "You're here now, Echo. That's what matters. We'll find the rest of your story—together." But the sea hummed louder, the World Eater's shadow circling closer, its white eyes unblinking. The Driftmaiden wasn't done with them yet.
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