As twilight descended over the city of Eldwyre, the ruins hidden beneath its crust came alive with whispers.
Liam stood at the center of the Echo Chamber, a soft glow pulsing from the ring on his finger. Around him, the air shimmered like heatwaves on desert stone. Mira and Seraphina stood at the edge of the chamber, their figures slightly blurred as if the chamber itself was already pulling away from reality.
"You're sure you're ready?" Seraphina asked, her voice strained.
"No," Liam admitted. "But I'm going in anyway."
With a final nod, he stepped forward.
As soon as his foot touched the central glyph, the ground beneath him vanished.
He didn't fall—but the world around him unraveled.
He found himself standing in his old neighborhood—the one from his forgotten past. The scent of rain and pavement filled his lungs. A child ran past him—a younger version of himself, chasing a black kite with golden ribbons.
Liam's breath hitched.
"What is this?" he muttered.
A woman stepped out from a nearby porch. Her face was warm, her eyes familiar. She wore a jade pendant that shimmered in the dusk light.
"Liam," she said gently. "You were meant to stay hidden."
He stepped toward her. "Do I… know you?"
"You knew me once. Before the Circle sealed your memories. Before your mother paid the price to keep you safe."
Liam froze. "My… mother?"
The woman nodded.
Tears welled in his eyes as memories came crashing in. Her lullabies. The way she used to hum while brushing his hair. The jade pendant she never took off…
He reached out to touch her, but she faded like mist in the wind.
"Only echoes," a voice whispered. "Nothing real remains."
The scene changed.
Now he stood inside a golden hall filled with thirteen thrones. One of them was empty—its surface cracked. Around it, the other twelve figures sat cloaked in various colors, faceless, voiceless, but radiating power.
Then a shadow formed from the center of the hall.
Valen.
Tall. Cloaked in silver, with no face, just two glowing violet eyes.
"Keeper," Valen's voice echoed. "You hold the key, yet refuse the truth."
Liam squared his shoulders. "What truth?"
"That you were never meant to survive. That your awakening is a mistake. That the Vault chose you only because it had no one else left."
"You're lying," Liam growled.
"Am I?" Valen stepped closer. "When you wake, ask your protectors what they did to your father. Ask them how many they sacrificed for the seal."
Before Liam could respond, Valen vanished in a rush of silver mist.
And then—
A blinding light surged through the chamber. The glyphs on the floor ignited, and Liam screamed as a thousand voices rang through his head at once.
Pain.
Memories.
Visions of war, of flames, of a boy standing alone atop a ruined tower.
When it was over, Liam collapsed to his knees.
He was back in the chamber.
Seraphina rushed to him. "Liam! What did you see?"
He looked up, his eyes filled with shadows and newfound clarity.
"I saw everything," he whispered. "And I need answers."
From the corner of the chamber, Mira's expression had shifted—stoic, unreadable. But her eyes narrowed slightly, as if something she feared had just come true.
Outside, the crescent moon hung low.
And in the forgotten city of Arkan Hollow, the Watcher of Thirteen stood before an ancient gate, murmuring—
"He awakens."