> "Not all gifts are given. Some are traded for things you never knew you had." — Whisper Market Axiom
---
[Location: Guildhall - Concord of Bound Realities, Inner Sanctum]
Aric awoke not in bed, but standing, breathless. In his hand shimmered a blade made of silence—a weapon that didn't reflect light, but erased it.
A whisper laced his ear.
> You've received: Dreambound Steel – Tier ??? (Origin: Ruined Cosmos E-9)
> Effect: Can pierce conceptual defenses. Soul-bound. Cost: Memory of Safety.
And just like that, he felt... less safe. The familiar hum of the guildhall no longer comforted him. Every shadow leaned just a little closer.
---
[System Update – Whisper Echo Detected]
> "WARNING: Dreambound Echo Anchor Detected." "Initiating Isolation Protocol – Echo Containment Room Generated."
The room reshaped, folding itself inward. Aric found himself sealed within a hexagonal cocoon of reflective nothingness.
Myra and Caelum's voices buzzed from the outside.
"Echo delivery… unstable."
"Wait, I'm detecting another presence. Aric isn't alone in there."
---
[Inside the Echo Containment Room]
A figure emerged. A boy. His own face. Younger. More afraid. Wearing the same clothes he wore when Earth vanished.
"I'm you, before power."
Aric gripped the Dreambound Steel.
"I don't need you anymore."
The echo smiled.
"That's what makes me stronger."
They clashed. Steel against soul. Echo against ambition. And the system watched, evaluating.
---
[Meanwhile – Riftseed Snarepoint, Edge of Hollow Concourse]
Deraz's interception failed. The Phantom Crate never passed through the expected coordinates.
Instead, the echo anchor destabilized itself, turning into a trap not for Aric, but for those who watched him.
A scream echoed from Deraz's watchtower—one of his spies was reduced to concept ash.
"The boy," Deraz growled, "is learning to trap the traps."
---
[Echo Duel – System Verdict Rendered]
> Winner: Aric Valen Echo Assimilated: Fragment of Fear Converted into Trait – Adaptive Foresight (Rank: A)
Aric exited the room. Sweat clung to him like curses.
Myra handed him a towel.
"You okay?"
"I won." He didn't smile. "But I lost something, too."
Caelum nodded. "Good. That means the trade was real."
---
[System Reward – Echo Chain Progress: 1/7 Awakened]
> "Once all seven Echo Anchors are stabilized, access to Vault: Memory Beyond the End will unlock."
And thus began the Whisper Market Subplot — a trail of echo-bound gifts, trades, and loss.
A way to grow stronger…
...but at what price?
---
[End of Chapter 26]