The vision beyond the Gate did not fade.
The floating city shimmered with spectral heat—its towers not built but grown from crystal and memory. Arcs of energy tethered the structure to invisible forces in the void, each anchor pulsing with forgotten laws. Souls drifted like fireflies through its corridors, flickering in and out of phase with time itself.
Brent stepped forward, his heart hammering in his chest.
"That's the Throne of Resonance," Rae whispered. "It was only a myth in old Keeper records. They said it held the reflection of the first bond ever formed."
Lysa's flames dimmed as she pressed closer. "That version of Her... she's not corrupted. Not yet."
The younger Her stood, golden hair flowing, eyes closed—but as if aware of their presence, her head turned slowly toward them. Her lips moved.
No voice.
But Brent heard it anyway—within his soul:
"Come and see what you were never meant to find."
Before they could respond, the vision snapped shut like a book slammed shut by unseen hands. The Gate sealed, the red moon's glow vanishing as if it had never existed.
They stood in silence.
[SYSTEM UPDATE COMPLETE]
[Access to Path of Echoes Unlocked]
[New Module Installed: Echo Thread – Time-Locked Memory Keys]
Brent felt it immediately—his Twilight Flame core shimmered with added weight. The shadows within him had grown more still, more aware.
"We have to go there," Brent said.
"We're not ready," Rae replied. "But we will be."
—Meanwhile, in the remnants of the First Gate—
Vaelrick's shattered form hovered above a scorched platform. His eyes, barely human now, were locked on the closing image of the floating city. Smoke coiled from his severed wrist, his body only held together by threads of foreign energy.
And beside him... a second version of Kalen stood. Not twisted or decaying—but untouched. Preserved.
A clone?
No. A backup.
"They're evolving too fast," Kalen said, a strange detachment in his voice. "They've seen the city."
Vaelrick's eyes burned. "Then we'll tear the sky open. We don't need the Gate anymore. We just need her blood. And his Echo."
He held up a shard—black glass, humming with Brent's resonance.
"Soon, the Path of Echoes will be ours to rewrite."
—Elsewhere in Vaelrick's hidden sanctum—
The original Kalen—crippled, scarred from his previous failures—knelt before a radiant sphere suspended in voidglass. Inside it, countless timelines spun like threads.
Vaelrick entered silently, his voice cold. "The clone will serve as a distraction. You, my son, will become more."
Kalen looked up, his eyes hollow. "What's left of me to become?"
Vaelrick raised his palm, embedding a seed of shadowfire directly into Kalen's chest. Kalen screamed—but the sound echoed unnaturally, growing sharper instead of fading.
"A living paradox," Vaelrick said. "You'll house both time-forward and time-reversed Echoes. You will split across the breach. They'll think you died again, while another you kills from the other side."
Kalen gasped, veins blackening with the surge of power.
"And if I fail again?"
Vaelrick's smile was thin and cruel. "Then you'll fail in every world. But if you succeed... Her ascension will collapse, and we will ascend in her place."
—Back at the camp outside the second Gate—
Training resumed with new urgency.
Brent had begun his mastery over the Echo Disruption trait—sparring with Rae in harmonic rhythm battles, forcing his system to adapt his Twilight Flame into more than just a weapon.
With his Flame Resonance at 100%, his merged techniques evolved:
Twilight Guard: A shield that bends sound and light to disrupt tracking spells.
Ashen Stride: Combines flame blink with echo-phase shadowsteps.
Soul Beacon Blade: Amplifies Rae's resonance while creating a harmonic burst.
Shadow Resonance ticked up slowly... now at 56%, increasingly aware of his emotions. It responded not to rage, but clarity.
Rae trained in dreamwalking memory streams, learning to project illusions that could temporarily rewrite battlefield rules—perfect for disrupting powerful foes.
Lysa grew stronger as well. Her Ember Trails could now sync with Brent's Echoes, creating explosive rhythm detonations.
All three were no longer students. They were beginning to resemble legends.
But they knew it wasn't enough.
The City of Chains waited.
And Her younger self had called Brent by name.