Chapter 42: Whispers Within the Hollow Tower
A thick veil of silence loomed as Elias and the other Keepers of the Echo approached the looming structure in the distance—the Hollow Tower, shrouded in drifting mist and rising from the dead land like the skeleton of a forgotten god.
Their boots crunched on brittle earth, the occasional gust of wind fluttering Elias's cloak and sweeping dust across the path. The tower loomed ever larger, impossible in scale, ancient in design, yet humming with an energy so alien it unsettled the soul. The sky above seemed grayer here. Almost reluctant to shine.
Alecto, whose mark had begun to softly pulse since sunrise, muttered to himself, eyes darting up to the spires. "This place... it shouldn't exist anymore. We read about it in fragments. A relic that should've fallen into the ocean of time."
"Yet here we are," murmured Kael, the quiet one, gloved fingers grazing the obsidian bricks of the outer wall. "I can feel it… something's inside. Watching us."
Elias stepped forward, the mark on his hand glowing a soft, ceremonial blue. The sigil burned a pattern into the atmosphere—runes danced in the air briefly before vanishing. The entrance groaned open, stone grinding stone, revealing a cavernous interior.
The team hesitated.
Sera, gripping her twin shortblades, exhaled. "Let's do this. One echo at a time."
Inside, the Hollow Tower was far from hollow. Spirals of crystal twisted through the air like vines of light. Strange orbs hovered at varying heights, whispering unintelligible phrases in lost languages. With each level they ascended, the air grew heavier, their memories foggier, time itself less certain.
Elias paused on the third level, his foot faltering. A ghost of a memory passed through him—a garden, his mother's laughter, her hand wiping dust from his cheek. It was vivid. Real.
"Are we still in the same moment?" Elias asked, confused.
The others turned. Alecto clutched his head. "No... the tower distorts time. It uses what we remember against us."
Suddenly, Sera screamed.
A figure had emerged from the shadows—a version of herself, older, wounded, eyes devoid of hope. It vanished as quickly as it appeared.
"These are warnings," whispered Kael. "Visions of what could be. Or what has been."
As they reached the central chamber, the mark on Elias's hand burst into searing light. A dais rose from the ground, and from it, a voice spoke. Not loud, but inside their minds.
"You are now chosen. The Keepers of the Echo. Names are more than titles; they are promises to time.""
Symbols spun around each of them.
Elias, Keeper of Resolve. Sera, Keeper of Blades. Alecto, Keeper of Memory. Kael, Keeper of Silence.
Their marks branded these titles into existence.
As the light faded, Elias fell to one knee, gasping. Something had entered him. A deeper power, perhaps. Or a seed of something darker.
The tower began to rumble.
Outside, the skies cracked with violet lightning. The ground trembled. A figure watched from a cliff far away, robes fluttering like ink in water.
"It begins now," the figure murmured. "The Echoes awaken, and with them, the path to the Forbidden Era reopens."
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