The galaxy of Na'Sharra was silent—eerily so. A forgotten corner of the cosmos where ancient wars had scarred planets into lifeless husks. Amid the drifting wreckage of civilizations lost to time, a temple floated—no engines, no support—just anchored in space by sheer will of the arcane.
Within its heart, in a chamber sealed for ten millennia, something stirred.
Dark mist coiled like smoke made from screams, and a heartbeat echoed—one not of flesh, but of force.
The Fifth Echo was awakening.
A voice, cold and ancient, broke the silence:
"Initiate Phase Null. Release Protocol."
The chamber trembled as runes along the walls ignited in black flame. Chains forged from time itself cracked, and the sarcophagus at the center began to split open.
Inside lay a woman—no, something wearing the semblance of a woman. Her body was a seamless fusion of flesh and machine, bone and stardust. Her eyes opened, revealing no iris or pupil—only endless galaxies spiraling within.
"Designation: Echo V," the system intoned. "Codename: Nyra. Domain: Mind."
She stepped from the tomb with elegance that belied the terror she carried. Her mere presence bent thought. Across the quadrant, psychics screamed and died, overwhelmed by the raw force of her existence.
Nyra tilted her head. "So... the Genesis Core has chosen a vessel."
She raised a hand, and a web of telepathic filaments spread across space—searching, scanning, invading. Billions of minds flickered through her awareness. Most were dismissed. One was marked.
"Jin Long," she whispered. "Your mind is… exquisite. I wonder—what would you sacrifice to keep it intact?"
She vanished.
—
Back on the Celestial Wound, Jin Long gasped, staggering as a sudden pressure gripped his skull.
"Something's… watching me."
Yue Lan rushed to his side. "What do you feel?"
"Not like before. This isn't power. It's… presence. Intelligent. Insidious."
At the helm, Meiko frowned. "We've intercepted an encrypted frequency. A psychic broadcast, pulsing across thousands of systems."
She turned, pale. "It has only two words: 'I'm coming.'"
The ship's lights dimmed as the Core within Jin Long pulsed erratically. For the first time, Jin Long looked afraid.
"We've dealt with shadows," he murmured. "We've fought monsters and ghosts."
He clenched his fists. "But this? This is something worse. A mind that breaks other minds."
Yue Lan stepped forward, her face resolute. "Then we hit first."
He met her gaze—and nodded.
"Set a course for Na'Sharra," he ordered. "It's time we stop waiting for Echos to find us."
—
Far beyond them, Zhan Wuhen smiled in the dark.
Let the dance begin.