The world did not fall silent after Aeryn collapsed—if anything, it became louder in unfamiliar ways.
At first, he heard water. No—he felt it. Something warm and soft flowed around his body like a gentle river. Then came voices, muffled, distant, as though spoken from behind a curtain of rainfall.
"…pulse is stabilizing."
"…his mana flow—look at the pattern. It's reshaping itself."
"…Should we wake him?"
Aeryn wanted to speak, but the act of forming thoughts felt like pushing through fog. Eventually, one voice cut through more clearly—recognizable, calming.
"Aeryn. Can you hear me?"
Kaela.
Then another voice entered, steady and mature, with a tone like the rustling leaves of an old forest.
"He will awaken soon. His mind is simply reorganizing itself around the Oracle's influence."
That wasn't Kaela. Not Iris. Not Eloria.
It was Lythrien.
The moment the name surfaced in his mind, Aeryn jolted awake.
His first breath came sharp, almost desperate. His vision blurred with light, and only after several rapid blinks did the world take shape again.
He was lying on a bed carved into the trunk of a gigantic living tree—the room shaped like a hollowed chamber, its walls glowing faintly with natural bioluminescence. Threads of mana drifted in the air like pale wisps.
Kaela sat on his left, her expression soft but obviously relieved. Iris was on his right, arms crossed, pretending she wasn't worried despite the tightness around her eyes. Eloria leaned against the wall, book in hand, though she clearly hadn't been reading it. Near the entrance, Lythrien watched him with calm, ancient eyes—golden, luminous, steady.
Aeryn tried to sit up.
Kaela quickly pressed a hand to his chest. "Slowly."
"I'm fine," he muttered, though the heaviness of his limbs told a different story. "What… happened?"
"You overextended," Iris said bluntly. "Your body wasn't ready for that level of spectral convergence."
Kaela frowned lightly at her. "Iris… maybe don't phrase it like he detonated a mana core."
"I didn't say that," Iris retorted, though her cheeks flushed.
Eloria closed her book and stepped forward. "When the Oracle connected to you, it forced your mana to fluctuate drastically. The impact was too intense for a human body—so you fainted."
Aeryn rubbed his forehead. "Feels like I still might."
Kaela smiled at that, gentler than usual. "At least you're awake. You scared us."
Lythrien finally approached. "Your condition was temporary. The Oracle of Echoes revealed something to you, didn't it?"
The room grew still.
Aeryn remembered.
The vision.
The fractured sky.
The silver chains.
The blackened land beyond the sealed horizon.
The silhouette—that towering, shapeless presence looming behind the world's boundary.
And worst of all…
His own reflection, cracked, distorted, with a second consciousness—no, a second something—peering from behind his eyes.
Aeryn inhaled shakily. "Yeah… it showed me things."
Kaela tensed. Iris uncrossed her arms. Eloria watched him intently. Lythrien observed with an unreadable expression, the way someone watches a story they already know the ending to.
"What did you see?" Kaela asked quietly.
Aeryn hesitated. If he talked about the thing behind the horizon, he might cause panic—or worse, false certainty. If he talked about the shadow inside himself… he wasn't ready to name it.
But he could speak the part that mattered immediately.
"The barrier isn't just holding back Echo corruption," he said. "It's hiding something. Something huge."
Lythrien nodded slowly. Iris inhaled sharply. Kaela bit her lip. Eloria's eyes narrowed as though she had suspected this.
"And," Aeryn continued, "the Oracle said the world's fate is tied to mine. But it didn't explain why."
Kaela squeezed his hand. "We'll figure it out together."
Aeryn's chest loosened a little. Yeah. Together felt real. Solid. Something to hold onto.
Lythrien exhaled, long and weary, as if bearing the weight of centuries.
"Then it is time," he said, "that you hear the truth of the Echo War."
Aeryn blinked. "There was a war?"
Eloria sighed. "More like a massacre."
Iris muttered, "A cover-up with the world as the price."
Kaela simply looked sad.
Lythrien raised his hand, and the living wood of the chamber responded. As if reacting to his mana, the walls dimmed, forming shadows shaped like shifting figures.
Images. Memories. Echoes.
"A thousand years ago," Lythrien began, "we faced a calamity that threatened to consume all life. The Echo Rift—a tear between worlds—opened in the sky, and from it emerged beings without shape, thoughts without form. They devoured mana, memory, identity."
Figures in the projection dissolved into dust with eerie silence.
"Our ancestors, both elves and humans, united to seal the Rift. But the power required was beyond mortal capacity."
A massive silhouette appeared—a figure of blinding light.
"The Oracle of Echoes was not originally an artifact. It was a person. The first Oracle. A convergence of human and elven magic, chosen to weave the world's boundary."
Kaela whispered, "A hybrid…"
Lythrien nodded. "Their sacrifice created the barrier that still protects us. But their body and soul disintegrated, leaving behind only the crystalline core—the Oracle you touched."
Aeryn felt a chill creep up his spine.
Eloria spoke next, voice low. "That explains the power surge. The Oracle responded to Aeryn too strongly… because he shares something with the original Oracle."
Aeryn's heart skipped.
"What do you mean I 'share something'?"
Lythrien clasped his hands behind his back. "The Oracle is reacting to your mana signature as if you are its successor."
Kaela's eyes widened. Iris's jaw dropped slightly. Eloria's brows shot up.
Aeryn felt the room spin. "Successor? I'm not— I didn't— I'm just a random guy who got dragged into—!"
"No," Lythrien said firmly. "You are not random."
Aeryn froze.
"You are connected to the boundary. Perhaps even created for it."
Silence.
Even the tree-room felt like it was holding its breath.
Aeryn stared at the floor, his hands curling. "Created for it…? That sounds like I'm some kind of tool."
Kaela immediately moved closer. "Aeryn, no—"
Eloria stepped forward. "It doesn't mean you were made to be used. It means your existence carries a reason—even if no one yet understands it."
Iris added reluctantly, "You're still you. Annoying, reckless, stubborn—"
Aeryn shot her a glare.
"—but you're you," Iris finished, shrugging. "Not some puppet."
Kaela squeezed his hand harder. "Don't let a prophecy define you. You define you."
Aeryn breathed out slowly, tension leaving his shoulders. Yeah. That sounded right.
Lythrien continued, "There is more. The Oracle's vision—did it show you something within yourself?"
Aeryn went stiff.
Kaela, Iris, and Eloria all noticed his reaction at once.
"Aeryn?" Kaela whispered. "What did you see?"
He swallowed. "Just… a reflection. Nothing important."
The lie tasted bitter, but the truth was heavier.
A voice in his own mind that wasn't his.
A presence lurking in the shadow of his consciousness.
Watching. Waiting.
He couldn't dump that on them—not yet. Not until he understood it himself.
Lythrien watched him knowingly, but didn't press. Instead, he turned toward the window—a large opening formed by the tree branches, overlooking the shimmering expanse of the elven city.
"The world is approaching another convergence," he said. "And the Rift stirs once more."
As if summoned by his words, the ground trembled faintly.
Kaela shot up. "An attack?!"
"No," Lythrien said calmly. "Not here. But something powerful has awakened near the boundary."
Eloria's expression darkened. "Let me guess. An Echo-class beast."
"Worse," Lythrien said quietly. "A Reclaimer."
Even Iris blanched at that. "Those things aren't supposed to appear outside the frontier."
Aeryn frowned. "What's a Reclaimer?"
Eloria explained, voice tight. "Reclaimers are Echo-beings that can consume pure mana sources. They seek out places with high magical concentration. If one appears near the boundary…"
Kaela finished for her. "It's trying to breach the barrier."
Lythrien nodded grimly. "And if the barrier weakens, the Rift will reopen."
Aeryn felt cold.
"How long do we have?"
Lythrien considered. "Perhaps a few days. Perhaps hours. The Reclaimer is moving fast."
Iris summoned her staff. "Then we need to move faster."
Eloria shut her grimoire with a snap. "We should form a strike team."
Kaela looked at Aeryn. "And you?"
Aeryn pushed himself fully upright, ignoring the remnants of dizziness.
"I'm coming," he said. "If this is tied to me—even a little—then I'm not sitting out."
Kaela smiled, proud. Iris rolled her eyes, but not without a tiny smirk. Eloria nodded approvingly.
Lythrien extended a hand toward the entrance.
"Then come. There is someone you must meet before you depart."
Aeryn blinked. "Who?"
Lythrien's expression softened mysteriously.
"My younger sister."
The group's reactions varied:
Kaela: surprised.
Iris: curious.
Eloria: analytical.
Aeryn: confused.
They walked through the living corridors of the giant tree, deeper into its heart, where the air shimmered with denser mana. The chambers here felt older, sacred, almost untouched by time.
Finally, Lythrien stopped before a wide circular doorway carved with runic vines.
He raised his hand, and the door unfurled like petals.
Inside the chamber stood a woman—her hair silver-white, her eyes pale gold like Lythrien's, but softer, warmer. She sat beside a massive crystal suspended in the air, its surface swirling with light.
She looked up and smiled gently.
"You must be Aeryn."
Her voice was like a breeze through autumn leaves.
Kaela whispered, "Who is she…?"
Lythrien answered.
"Lyriel. The Seer of Echoes. And the last living descendant of the first Oracle."
Aeryn felt his breath catch.
Lyriel rose slowly, walked toward him, and extended a hand.
"The Oracle called to you," she said. "Which means our fates are bound."
Aeryn hesitated, then took her hand.
The moment their palms touched, a pulse of mana surged between them—gentle, warm, but immense in depth. Aeryn saw flashes of light, silver trees, ancient battles, and a melody echoing through time.
Lyriel smiled softly.
"Yes," she whispered. "You truly are the next one."
Aeryn froze. "The next what—?"
Lyriel's smile faded, replaced by sorrow.
"The next Oracle."
Kaela's breath hitched. Iris murmured something under her breath. Eloria's eyes widened in shock. Lythrien closed his eyes, as if the truth had finally surfaced.
Aeryn felt his heartbeat hammering painfully.
"W–wait. No. I'm not— I can't—!"
Lyriel raised a finger gently to his lips.
"You are not one yet. But you will be. And if you do not accept that fate…"
Her eyes darkened.
"…the barrier will fall."
Aeryn's world tilted.
Kaela grabbed his arm. "Aeryn— breathe."
Eloria stepped closer. "This doesn't mean you have to become anything right now."
Iris nodded, unusually serious. "Yeah. We're not letting some prophecy control you."
Lyriel watched them all quietly, then spoke.
"Whether Aeryn accepts it or not, the Reclaimer is moving. If it reaches the boundary, every choice will be stripped away."
Aeryn swallowed hard.
"So what do we do?"
Lythrien's voice answered like a hammer.
"You go to the boundary—and stop the Reclaimer."
Aeryn exhaled, tension filling him with something sharper than fear.
Resolve.
He looked at Kaela, Iris, Eloria.
Then he looked at Lyriel.
"Fine," he said. "Then we fight."
Lyriel stepped back.
"Before you leave," she said, "Aeryn, there is something you must understand."
Aeryn faced her.
Lyriel's expression was neither warm nor cold—just honest.
"The Echo within you… is awakening."
Aeryn's pulse spiked.
Kaela's grip on him tightened. Iris' staff crackled. Eloria's gaze sharpened like a blade.
Lyriel continued.
"You are not alone in your body. And soon… it will speak."
Aeryn felt his breath catch.
Because deep inside his mind—
A quiet whisper answered.
"Soon, indeed."
Aeryn froze.
His teammates saw the change in his expression instantly.
Kaela whispered, "Aeryn…?"
He forced himself to breathe.
"We don't have time to panic," he said, voice steadying. "We move now."
Lythrien nodded. "Then may the forest guide you."
Lyriel placed a hand over her heart.
"And may your other self stay asleep a little longer."
Aeryn clenched his fists.
"Let's go."
And with that, the group turned toward the path leading out of the Heartwood Sanctuary—toward the boundary, toward the Reclaimer, toward the truth of Aeryn's fate…
…while the whisper inside him smiled in the dark.