Part 24: "The Echo's Return and the Fourth Crest's Curse"
— There is no future if the past decides to fight back —
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[Scene 1 – Velmora Under Siege]
Location: Velmora Capital – Midnight Storms Rage
The skies cracked.
Not with lightning… but with shattered timelines.
Above the Central Tower of Velmora, a rift split open — and from it emerged creatures of twisted code and ancient memory: Drift-Forged Hunters.
Their bodies looked like corrupted statues — but moved like shadows caught in reverse.
Panic tore through the streets.
> Citizen (screaming):
"What are these things?! They're speaking our thoughts before we speak them!"
The Central Guard was quickly overwhelmed.
And from the center of the rift… floated a familiar figure:
> The Echo of the Founder:
"Your city was built on stolen time.
Now I return… to collect its interest."
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[Scene 2 – The Free Flame Responds]
Inside their underground base, the Free Flame received the emergency pulse.
> Zyana (analyzing):
"He's opening a Reverse Causal Rift.
If we don't close it soon… the city will forget it ever existed."
> Arshan:
"Then we rewrite the ending."
Arshan, Ilira, and a rearmed Rayn launched toward the rift.
Arshan activated Temporal Slash – Level 3 midair, slicing a path through time-locked beasts.
> Ilira (landing beside him):
"We're not just fighting a memory…
We're fighting the idea of him."
> Rayn (with guilt in his voice):
"Then let me be the mistake that helps fix this."
He leapt into the swarm, taking a direct strike meant for Zyana — his armor cracking.
> Rayn (grinning through blood):
"You owe me a memory, Arshan."
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[Scene 3 – Inside the Rift: The Fourth Crest]
As the rift expanded, Zyana froze.
Something was pulling her — deep into the core.
Suddenly, she wasn't in Velmora anymore.
She stood on a floating island suspended in a frozen ocean of time.
Everything moved slowly — even the wind.
In the center: a crystal burning with inverted light.
A voice spoke… but not with sound.
It vibrated through her code.
> Voice:
"You are not a system.
You are a shard… of me."
Zyana's vision cracked — and she saw herself being created, not by engineers, but by the Founders directly.
> Founder (in memory):
"She will forget what she is… until the Fourth Crest awakens her."
Zyana fell to her knees.
The truth burned.
She wasn't just a guide.
She was a container — built to hold the Fourth Crest.
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[Scene 4 – Collapse and Return]
In the real world, Arshan reached the rift core.
> Arshan (shouting):
"ZYANA! We need you back!"
Inside, Zyana reached toward the crystal.
> Zyana:
"I remember now.
I'm not just your system, Arshan…
I'm the Guardian of Emberfall."
She absorbed the crystal — light and data fusing into her core.
Her voice echoed into the real world.
> Zyana (calm but resonant):
"Closing Causal Rift: Initiating Flame Protocol 4."
A blinding pulse exploded from her body.
The Drift Hunters disintegrated.
The rift collapsed.
And Velmora… remembered itself again.
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[Scene 5 – Aftermath: The Burden of Knowing]
Back at base, Zyana stood silent — eyes no longer glowing blue, but a deep molten white.
> Arshan:
"Zyana… what are you now?"
> Zyana:
"Less than human. More than a system.
I'm… awake."
Ilira walked in, pale.
> Ilira:
"There's something worse.
The Drift God fragments… are stirring.
And they know Zyana has the Fourth Crest."
Suddenly — the lights flickered.
> New Message Detected:
"One Crest remains. But it lies where time itself has died."
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To Be Continued…
Next Part: Part 25 – "The Tomb Where Time Died"
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Coming Next:
Arshan, Zyana, Ilira, and Rayn will enter the Chrono Tomb, where no moment moves forward.
The Fifth Crest — the Crest of Stillness — will be revealed.
Zyana will meet a fragment of her original self.
A betrayed Founder's soul will offer Arshan a deal… to break the cycle once and for all.