The Titan's Gravestone was the broken spine of a once-majestic world-ship, now home to squirming colonies of Corrupted crustaceans and floating spores that glowed with sickly light. They docked the Wayfarer in a shattered hangar bay, the atmosphere barely held in by flickering containment fields.
Exploring the derelict was like walking through a corpse. They moved as a unit, their bond-links alive. Echo's new Life-Sense painted the world in hues of vitality—the weak, sputtering pulses of Corrupted scavengers appeared as ugly violet smudges. He could also feel the faint, fading echo of the millions who died here centuries ago—a background whisper of sorrow.
They cleared several nests of Tier 4 Scuttlers, their tactics now so seamless they barely needed to speak. Leyla's phasing, Mira's spatial tricks, Ryn's pinpoint disruption, and Echo's blood command made them a devastatingly efficient team.
In the depths of the engineering section, they found something unexpected. Not Corrupted. Not Order.
A garden.
In a sealed environmental chamber, protected by failing but persistent shields, a small ecosystem flourished. Strange, bioluminescent moss covered the floor. Crystal trees with leaves of condensed light grew from nutrient solutions fed by leaking pipes. In the center stood a stone plinth, and on it rested a single, perfect fruit—a Starlight Pomegranate, a legendary fruit said to contain concentrated, neutral life-energy.
"This… shouldn't be here," Mira breathed. "This is a creation of the Druidic Paragons, a sect that believed in balance above all. They were declared heretics and purged millennia ago."
Echo's Life-Sense sang as he looked at the fruit. It glowed with a pure, potent, and incredibly dense vitality. It was exactly the kind of energy the Vitalis Core needed.
As he reached for it, the shadows in the chamber moved.
Not Corrupted shadows. These were deeper, quieter. From them emerged three figures. They were humanoid, but their forms were wrapped in cloaks of living vine and shimmering bark. Their eyes glowed with soft, green light.
"The Sovereign approaches the Last Orchard," the lead figure said, its voice the rustle of leaves. "We are the Keepers of the Gloom, the remnants of the Balance. We have watched your journey, Echo of the Bloodline."
Echo tensed. "What do you want?"
"The fruit is a key. It can accelerate the growth of your core. It can also be a trap, for it attunes you to the Song of Life, making you more visible to… certain listeners. We offer it to you. In return, we ask for a promise."
"What promise?"
"That when you have the power, you will remember that true strength lies not in dominating Order or Corruption, but in holding the space between. That you will be a wall, not a sword." The Keeper's glowing eyes held his. "The final war is not between Order and Corruption. It is between Stasis and Change. You must choose what kind of change you will bring."
The Keeper placed the Starlight Pomegranate in Echo's hands. It was warm, and its energy pulsed in time with his heartbeat.
"The Gloom holds many secrets, Sovereign. Many paths. Yours is but one. Tread carefully."
The Keepers melted back into the shadows, leaving them alone with the glowing fruit and a new, profound mystery.