The hollow beneath the Starfall Crater pulsed with a heartbeat not its own. Ethereal winds twisted around ancient stones, and the echo of forgotten memories lingered in the air.
At the center stood Eidren, the Echo of Despair—a silver-skinned being with no mouth, hollow eyes, and a soul shattered by time.
Facing him were five young descendants of Kai Dragon, standing in the half-light, weapons drawn, powers humming beneath their skin.
Aurin, Mira, Tyros, Kael, and Iris.
Each of them, carrying the bloodline of gods.
---
The Echo Speaks
"I was the first," Eidren said, though his mouth never moved. His voice echoed directly in their minds like a whisper in a cave. "The first to betray the god-king. The first to lose my form. My name was erased, my memory devoured. All that remains... is despair."
Aurin stepped forward, sparks dancing across his shoulders. "So what? You want revenge?"
"No," Eidren whispered. "I want... release. But not before I see if your generation is worthy to carry his light."
A rumble echoed through the cavern as crystal spikes burst from the ground, circling the five.
"One of you must fall. Or all of you will."
Kael unsheathed his voidbone blade and snarled. "We're not leaving anyone behind."
Eidren raised a hand. "Then you may all die together."
---
The Battle Begins
In an instant, the ground shattered as Eidren launched forward, leaving a ripple of silver energy in his wake.
Aurin reacted first, raising his hand and unleashing a blazing bolt of fire and lightning, a spell he'd inherited from his grandfather—Electricity Water Bolt.
The blast struck Eidren head-on—but phased through him.
"An echo cannot be burned."
Mira reached into her pouch and hurled a spirit bone into the ground. A green shimmer erupted as an ancient soul hound emerged, its spectral jaws snapping.
Eidren swept his hand across the beast—it vanished in a wail of dust.
"He's disrupting summoned magic!" Mira warned.
Tyros activated Future Sight, eyes glowing white as possible futures flickered in his vision. "We've got seven seconds before he targets Iris. Protect her!"
Kael didn't wait. He threw himself in front of his younger cousin, blocking a wave of silver shards with his enchanted armor.
Iris whispered softly behind him, her hands glowing with violet light.
"Creation Magic: Dragon Cage."
Stone twisted upward from the cavern floor, forming a swirling, living dragon-shaped prison around Eidren.
For a moment, it held.
Then Eidren's body cracked—and a burst of anti-magic surged outward, shattering the spell.
"You are strong," he said. "But strength is not unity."
---
Cracks in the Team
Frustration burned in Aurin's chest. "He's playing with us!"
Mira nodded, trying to piece together a plan. "He's an echo, not a real being. Which means... he's tied to something."
"Or someone," Iris said softly.
They all turned to her.
"I saw it when he shattered my spell. There's a shard inside him… of another soul."
Tyros blinked. "You think he's not just an echo—he's a prison?"
Kael gripped his sword tighter. "Then let's break the prison."
Eidren's voice grew sharper. "Enough talking."
He raised both arms and the ground collapsed beneath their feet, throwing them into five separate pockets of illusion—each reliving a fear, a failure, a buried doubt.
---
The Illusions
Aurin saw himself standing before a mirror… and in the reflection, he was Kai. Perfect, powerful… and alone. Forgotten by his friends. Worshiped, but unloved.
Mira stood in a field of ghosts, all crying for her help. Her spirit magic failed to answer them. She was powerless, drowning in echoes.
Tyros saw a future where his every choice led to destruction—each time he acted, someone died. Each time he stood still, worse things happened. Trapped in infinite futures, none without blood.
Kael was surrounded by mages mocking him for his lack of magic. "You're just muscle. Nothing more. You'll never protect them."
Iris stood before a twisted version of herself—older, crueler, her Creation Magic used to conquer, not protect. "You will become me," the mirror-self hissed.
Each of them stood on the edge of breaking.
Until one by one, they remembered Kai's voice:
> "Power means nothing if it's not used to lift others. Protect each other. Trust each other."
Their eyes snapped open—illusions cracked.
And five auras flared to life.
---
Unity Ignites
The illusions shattered. The grandchildren stood in the real cavern again, surrounded by swirling echoes.
Eidren paused.
"You resisted despair."
Kael raised his blade. "We are the light."
Iris took Tyros's hand. "Together."
Mira summoned her spirits again—but this time, infused them with Iris's Creation Magic and Tyros's Gift Magic. The spirits howled with new power.
Aurin conjured Electricity Water Bolt, but passed the charge into Mira's spirits, letting them amplify it tenfold.
Tyros linked their minds through Gift Magic, giving them seamless battle coordination.
Kael took the front, blocking Eidren's strikes with inhuman reflexes and brute force.
And Iris…
Iris reached into her soul and whispered a spell her grandfather had never used in public:
"Divine Evolution: Echo Unbound."
Golden chains burst from her hands and wrapped Eidren's form. The echo screamed—not in rage, but in relief.
> "You... understand," he whispered.
---
The Prison Breaks
The echo cracked. Silver light poured from his chest as a second being emerged—a flickering spirit wrapped in chains of forgotten time.
"I… was once a Demigod… like you. I betrayed Kai… out of fear."
"Fear of what?" Aurin asked softly.
"…Of being left behind."
Mira touched his arm. "No one is left behind. Not in this family."
With a final breath, the spirit's chains shattered. His form faded into light.
"Thank you…"
Eidren—the Echo of Despair—was gone.
---
The Return
The crater no longer pulsed with dark energy. The earth stilled. The five stood victorious, not just because they defeated an ancient being, but because they stood as one.
When they returned to the palace, Kai awaited them with a proud smile.
"I saw everything," he said.
He reached into the air, drawing divine runes.
"Your seals are lifted."
Each grandchild was bathed in radiant light—their true potential now unlocked.
And far above, Lilith—the Goddess of Life—watched with a smile of her own.
The world, for now, was safe.
But across the stars… something else stirred.