They continued forward, encountering two more Hollow Ones along the way. Each seemed drawn to Arashi, changing direction when they sensed his presence. Each time, Arashi found himself responding with increasing confidence, the words of power coming more naturally to his lips, as if remembering a language long forgotten rather than learning a new one. Each victory brought a surge of energy that tingled through his limbs and heightened his senses further, leaving him both exhilarated and terrified.
After dispatching the second creature, Arashi noticed his hands were steady despite everything that had happened. There was a rightness to the actions that disturbed him almost as much as the creatures themselves. Was he becoming something else? Or just remembering what he had always been?
Finally, they reached the Echo Chamber. The small stone building hummed with power, responding to the chaos around it. The sound it produced was complex, multidimensional, like hearing an entire orchestra where once there had been only a single instrument. Inside, the single room was empty save for a circular platform in the center, inscribed with symbols similar to those Arashi had seen within the crystal. The air inside smelled faintly of lightning and ancient stone, with underlying notes of incense from past rituals.
"Stand there," Elder Takuma instructed, pointing to the platform. Sweat beaded on his brow, and Arashi noticed a tremor in the old man's hands that hadn't been there before. "I'll activate the Chamber's full potential."
Arashi stepped onto the platform, immediately feeling a resonance with the stone beneath his feet. The symbols began to glow faintly, responding to his presence. The stone felt warm through the soles of his boots, and vibrations traveled up through his body, setting his teeth on edge.
Elder Takuma moved to a small alcove, retrieving a rod of polished metal. The rod rang softly as he lifted it, as if greeting an old friend. "This will help channel and stabilize your awakening," he explained. "Under normal circumstances, this process would take months of preparation and supervision by trained Resonants. We'll have to improvise."
He began to chant in the same ancient language Arashi had found himself speaking, touching the rod to specific points around the edge of the platform. With each touch, the corresponding symbol flared brighter, and Arashi felt a tug inside his chest, as if strings attached to his heart were being plucked one by one. The chamber filled with harmonics that built upon each other, creating a complex wave pattern that Arashi could somehow see as well as hear.
Outside, the sounds of battle grew closer. Through the Chamber's small window, Arashi could see fires breaking out across the village. The baker's shop, Kira's home, had flames licking at its thatched roof. His thoughts turned to Kira, to the villagers he'd grown up with, now fighting for their lives against an enemy they couldn't possibly understand. He thought of stern Captain Hiro who had taught him to fish; of Mei who had tended his childhood fevers; of old Wei who told the best stories on winter nights.
"Elder Takuma," he said, his voice tight with urgency, "we need to help them."
The Elder continued his work, the rod moving in precise patterns that Arashi somehow recognized, as if he'd seen this ritual performed countless times before. "The best help you can offer is to complete your awakening. These Hollow Ones aren't here by chance, they're drawn to your dormant power. Like moths to a flame."
A distant explosion rocked the ground beneath them. Dust sifted down from the ceiling, catching the light in tiny spirals. The vibrations disrupted the harmonics in the chamber momentarily before they realigned themselves.
"That came from the market," Arashi said, his enhanced senses somehow certain of the direction. The market where Kira's family bakery stood. He could almost smell the burning bread and timber, could almost hear the screams.
"Focus," Takuma urged. "Your connection to the Fragment is still unstable. If you leave now, "
But Arashi was already stepping off the platform, the silver light around the dagger pulsing in time with his racing heart. "I can't just stand here while everyone dies." His voice caught on the last word as images flashed through his mind, Kira trapped in the burning bakery, the children huddled in the archive cellar as Hollow Ones broke through the doors.
The Elder moved with surprising speed, blocking the door. His aura flared with determination, threads of red now visible among the silver and gold. "Listen to me," he said, his voice suddenly hard. "This is exactly what they want, to force your awakening in circumstances they can control. An uncontrolled awakening makes you vulnerable to their influence."
"Whose influence?" Arashi demanded. Frustration and fear merged within him, churning his stomach. "You keep talking about 'they' and 'them,' but you won't tell me who!"
Another explosion, closer this time. The Chamber's walls trembled, and a crack appeared in the ceiling, allowing a thin stream of crimson light to pierce the silver glow of the rituals. Outside, someone screamed, a human voice abruptly cut short.
Takuma's expression was grim. "The Void Choir. An entity older than the Seraphim themselves. Some believe it's what the Silent God was protecting us from when he created the divine hierarchy." His voice lowered, as if afraid of being overheard even now. "The fragments of divinity within humans, even the weaker ones that allow for Resonance, are safeguards against its influence. But what's within you... it's more. Much more."
Before Arashi could respond, the door behind Takuma splintered inward. The sound of splintering wood was deafening in the confined space. The Elder was thrown forward, crashing into Arashi as a massive form filled the doorway, a Hollow One larger than any they'd seen yet, its body rippling with crimson energy similar to what had spread through the eastern wall. The smell that accompanied it was overwhelming, not just ozone and decay now, but something deeper, more fundamentally wrong, like reality itself rotting from within.
Takuma recovered quickly, drawing a short sword that glowed with the same silvery-blue of his aura. The blade sang as it left its sheath, a clear note that cut through the cacophony outside. "Stay behind me," he ordered, moving to engage the creature. His stance shifted subtly, revealing training beyond what Arashi had ever seen him demonstrate.