Sun sat thinking about something he noticed recently.
Mortals say things like ignore what others think of you, live freely, do not let society control you, but from everything he has observed, society always wins in the end.
It did not matter how smart you were, it did not matter how right you were, if everyone around you understood each other and only you understood yourself, you were already losing before you even opened your mouth, to them you were not different, you were just confusing, and confusing and wrong looked exactly the same from the outside.
Sun tried going against society once, a long time ago, in a different existence, and they called him a rogue, a madman, not because he was wrong but because nobody understood what he was fighting for, so it looked like nothing at all.
The smart move he decided, was to join them, learn their patterns, use what you knew quietly, and wait, because overwhelming power was the only other option and he did not have that yet.
He also remembered his last conversation with Kael, he asked whether there was a god of doubt or whether anyone followed a path built around it, and Kael went quiet in a way that was different from his usual quiet, not careful, actually uncertain, like the question reached somewhere his preparation had not covered.
He said he would look into it.
Sun filed that reaction with the others.
As for the investigation itself, Kael's movements were almost unremarkable, morning lessons until evening, then the bar, then home, nothing strange on the surface.
The almost was the part Sun kept returning to.
He convinced his parents to move the lessons to a small building nearby used as a shared classroom, telling them it would be good for him to be around other children, that part was true, it also gave him a better spot to watch Kael's arrivals and departures without being obvious about it.
Sun said nothing.
Kael placed something on the table, wrapped in cloth, small but heavy in the way certain things felt heavy before you even touched them.
Today, he said, we are talking about Echoes.
Sun looked at it but did not reach for it, Artifacts? he asked.
Kael shook his head, No, people call them that because they do not understand what they are, their real name is Echoes.
Sun kept his eyes on the object, thinking that there was nothing like this before his time, so he settled in to listen.
What are they?
Kael rested his hand lightly on the cloth, They are unfinished things, dreams, desires, things that were never completed.
Sun frowned slightly, "They became objects?
Yes, Kael said, their will holds them together, not matter, not energy alone, will.
Sun thought about that for a moment then asked, What happens when the desire is fulfilled?
Kael looked at him, They disappear.
Sun blinked once, No matter the rank?
No matter the rank, Kael replied, once the desire is complete the Echo has no reason to exist.
Sun leaned back slightly still watching it, So they are incomplete by nature.
Yes, Kael said, and that is what makes them dangerous.
He unwrapped the cloth slightly but did not fully reveal what was inside, Echoes are not random objects, they are built from something stolen.
Sun's attention sharpened, Stolen?
Kael nodded, From the gods, small pieces of what they are, their ability to see, their desire, their knowledge, their ability to think, to move forward.
Sun's fingers shifted slightly, So every Echo contains part of a god.
A broken part, Kael corrected, a piece, not whole, never whole.
Sun looked at the cloth again, And if that piece stays too long?
Kael's expression did not change, It begins to rot.
Sun understood immediately.
Corruption ?.
Yes, Kael said, the longer the desire inside an Echo stays unfinished the worse it gets, some last longer depending on their grade but all of them break eventually.
Sun shifted in his seat, Instructor, I need to step out for a moment.
Kael glanced at him then raised his hand, thumb pointing up.
Sun paused.
He stared at the gesture.
One finger raised, the rest closed, shown on purpose.
He studied it carefully.
One finger up, a clear signal, possibly a number, possibly a rank marker, possibly a sign that Kael had just claimed ownership of the surrounding area.
He nodded once and left.
When he returned Kael was still at the table.
Sun sat back down, then after a moment raised his own hand, thumb up, and held it there.
Kael looked at him, Yes?
Sun did not lower it, I am confirming that I have returned successfully.
Kael blinked, You do not need to-
Sun slowly turned his hand so the thumb pointed more directly at Kael, I am also recognizing your authority in this space.
There was a pause.
Kael stared at him, It just means okay.
Sun processed this, "Okay, he repeated quietly.
A word with no clear size, no fixed meaning, used in at least fourteen different situations depending on the mood of the person saying it.
Not very useful as a word.
He lowered his hand, I see.
He did not.
Kael exhaled and continued, Echoes are graded E to SS but they do not grow in rank.
Sun tilted his head, Then why are higher ones stronger?
Because the desire that created them was stronger, Kael answered, a Divine Echo is not powerful because it got better over time, it is powerful because the will behind it was enormous, something that could not be easily fulfilled.
Sun nodded slightly, That makes sense.
Kael's tone shifted, There is a rule you must never forget, you can only safely control an Echo up to two ranks above you.
Sun looked at him, And if it is more than two ranks higher?
You risk losing control, Kael said calmly, the Echo's will starts pushing against yours, beyond that you stop being yourself entirely, you become part of what the Echo wants.
Sun nodded once.
Then raised his hand again, thumb up.
Kael stopped, What?
I understand, Sun said.
You did not even ask a question.
Sun considered this then raised his other hand as well, both thumbs up, Now I understand twice.
Silence.
Kael looked at him for a long moment, That is not how that works.
Sun lowered one thumb slowly, Understood, I overcounted.
Kael pressed two fingers against the bridge of his nose, Just listen.
Sun lowered his hand then leaned slightly toward the boy sitting beside him.
The boy glanced over nervously.
Sun pointed one thumb in his direction.
The boy froze, What are you doing?
"I am letting you know I understood,"
Sun said.
"I do not understand anything you just said, the boy replied.
Sun paused then raised both thumbs toward him, Then we are both understanding as much as we possibly can.
The boy moved his chair slightly away.
Kael did not look in their direction and kept talking.
Sun listened, but after a moment stood up, walked to the table, and gave the covered Echo a thumbs up.
A long pause followed.
What, Kael said slowly, are you doing?
Sun kept his thumb raised toward the cloth, I am introducing myself.
That is not a person, Kael said.
It has will, Sun replied, which means there is a chance it can be reasoned with.
That is not how Echoes work.
Sun kept his thumb raised, It is important to make a good first impression with things you do not fully understand yet.
Kael stared at him, Sit down.
Sun considered this, gave Kael a thumbs up, and sat.
He made a note in his head.
Thumb gesture, meaning changes depending on who is watching, what mood they are in, and what was just said, possibly a greeting, possibly approval, possibly just something humans do with their hands when they run out of words, further study needed.
The lesson continued but something was shifting in Sun's attention.
The closer the Echo sat to him the more he could feel something off about it, not in a way he could see, but somewhere underneath, a quiet sense that what was inside the cloth was not complete, like something had been taken out of it and never put back.
They feel different, he said quietly.
Kael paused, What do you mean?
Sun did not look at him, I can tell they are not whole, there is something inside them beyond the power, something that is missing.
Kael said nothing.
They were made from something that was taken, Sun continued.
Kael watched him carefully now, That is correct.
Sun finally looked up, They are not just unfinished desires, they are broken pieces of something that should have stayed whole.
The silence that followed was the kind where someone is deciding how much to say.
Yes, Kael said finally.
Sun leaned back, thinking.
Echoes were not tools, they were pieces of something that was never supposed to be split apart, and the fact that he could sense that without being told, without touching it, without using any ability he currently had, that was worth sitting with.
He raised his thumb one last time toward nothing in particular.
Kael caught it from the corner of his eye, Sun.
Yes.
Stop.
Sun lowered his hand, "I was acknowledging the information."
You can do that with words.
Sun thought about this seriously, Words do not carry as far.
Kael closed his notes and began packing up.
Sun watched him go then looked back at the spot on the table where the Echo had been.
Broken pieces, stolen fragments, things that were never allowed to finish.
He thought about that for a while after the room emptied.