Aethelgard Headquarters was in chaos.
Data from the Sector 7 bunker revealed a network far deeper than anyone had imagined.
Dr. Aris led an emergency meeting, his face pale.
> "The Echo Forcing Project wasn't Klaus's doing," he said, pulling up an organization chart on the giant screen.
"Klaus was just… an escaped experiment. A sacrifice."
The chart showed a secret organization called Echo Catalyst, which had infiltrated multiple research divisions — even Aethelgard itself.
Objective: Build a forced Echo army to take over the Artifact world
Method: Create an Echo Wave — an energy pulse that triggers mass Echo awakenings
Next Target: Lena's oil field (the one once used for Rustbucket research) — now discovered to hold the largest Cipher Stone deposit
Lena froze.
> "My mine? That explains all the strange activity lately!"
---
Meanwhile, in the medical detention ward, Klaus was changing.
After weeks of working with the garden robots, he finally found a small sense of peace.
> "Listen," he whispered to his guard. "I know who's behind all this. And I know how to stop them."
---
Klaus was brought to the conference room under heavy guard.
He looked different now — calm, his eyes no longer filled with madness.
> "Echo Catalyst is led by a former Aethelgard scientist," he said. "She's the one who restarted the Stone Blade tragedy. I was just… the experiment that got away."
> "A former scientist?" Dr. Aris asked carefully.
> "Her name's Dr. Rhea. She was fired years ago for unethical experiments on dead Artifacts."
Everyone was shocked.
Dr. Rhea was practically a legend among the older researchers.
> "But there's something else," Klaus continued. "I'm still linked to the Echoes she forced awake. I can feel them… and I know what they're planning."
He looked around the room.
> "Let me help. I can be your decoy — and your guide."
---
Lena's mining site had turned into a fortress.
Dr. Rhea and her team had activated a massive device radiating dark violet energy.
> "The Echo Wave will trigger every Cipher Stone in this area!" she shouted as the Aethelgard team arrived.
"We'll have the greatest Echo army ever built!"
A battle broke out — but this time, the tide was different.
1. Rustbucket–Yena Fusion: Using their hybrid form to shield the area from the wave, entering Gold Mode to boost everyone nearby — including Klaus.
2. Kora & Klaus: Working together to calm the newly awakened Echoes.
3. The rest of the team: Defending the generators and sabotaging Rhea's device.
Klaus, now with his modified garden robot, proved how much he'd changed.
> "I'm not here to fight you," he told the confused Echoes. "I'm here to help."
To everyone's surprise, he could communicate with the unstable Echoes — soothing them through his own painful memories.
> "Force only brings pain," he whispered to one trembling Echo. "Trust me… I've lived it."
---
As the battle reached its peak, Dr. Rhea screamed,
> "If I can't have the Echo army, then no one can!"
The Echo Wave device began to overload, ready to explode and wipe out the entire region.
> "Warning," Yena reported through Rustbucket. "Blast radius: fifty kilometers. Time: three minutes."
Klaus looked at the device, then at Dr. Rhea.
> "I know how to stop this. Only someone bonded to the forced Echo network can shut it down from inside."
He smiled faintly at Kaelan and Kora.
> "You showed me there's a better path. Let me make things right."
Before anyone could stop him, Klaus leapt into the core of the device.
His body merged with the machine — the very Echo energy that once enslaved him now stabilizing the chain reaction.
> "Goodbye," he whispered. "Take care of them… take care of all the Echoes."
A massive burst of light followed — but instead of destruction, the Echo energy spread gently across the sky like shimmering fireworks.
---
Dr. Rhea was captured.
The threat of Echo Catalyst was finally over.
But victory felt bittersweet.
At the ruins of the mine, a small monument was built for Klaus.
His garden robot stood beside it, quietly radiating calm Echo energy.
> "Klaus's Echo… it's finally at peace," Kora said softly, feeling the harmony around them.
"He's part of nature now."
Rustbucket stood beside her, with Yena now fully integrated.
> "Analysis: Klaus achieved redemption through sacrifice. Efficiency: 100%."
Dr. Aris approached with an announcement.
> "The Aethelgard Council has decided to establish the Echo Sanctuary — a place where humans and Echoes can learn together."
---
After the incident…
1. Echo Research Center became Echo Sanctuary — a refuge, not a lab.
2. Klaus Protocol — a new standard for interacting with Echoes, built on empathy instead of control.
3. Hybrid Technology — Rustbucket became the prototype for Trinity–Echo hybrid units.
Kaelan looked at Rustbucket, feeling Yena's presence inside.
> "We've lost a lot… but we gained something even more valuable."
Kora nodded, watching her Stormdancer shimmer with balanced energy.
> "They're not weapons anymore. They're partners."
Far above them, a soft purple light rippled across the sky —
Echoes, finally free, finding peace at last..