The Last Echo Of Eternity

wn on him, a subtle pressure on his chest, like the entire city was holding its breath. The echoes had grown louder here, resonating

here propelling him forward. The further they went into the spire, the darker it became, the only light coming from the faint glow of biolumine

of quiet determination. "This place... it's where the answers li

hilip's words hung in the air. Not everything wants t

emed to shift and change as Toby looked at them, just out of the corner of his eye. The walls were lined with tall, narrow windows, through which the faint li

beat-slow, steady, and filled with something Toby couldn't quite understand. It was

the more the echoes intensified. It's here, he thought

through the fog in Toby's mind. "The pulse. The

t, a surge of energy shot through him, sharp and electrifying. His vision blurred, and the world seemed to tilt, as

saw the ruins of this city in a future that hadn't yet arrived, the sky black with smoke, the streets empty, the air thick with despair. The

orceful command that pierced through the chaos. It was the voice of

y was torn open, and the ground beneath him cracked as massive cracks split the earth. At the center of t

d, louder now, and more despe

faded as quickly as it had come, leaving him breathless and disoriented. His heart ham

at?" Toby breathed,

aw her, didn't you? The woman. She's the one who wil

d. "Who is she? Wh

hatever she's doing, it's tied to the fall of this city-and to you. There's a r

know who she was, where she came from, or why she was so important. All he had were flashes-bro

ng into his voice. "But how? How do I sto

In the city. You've only scratched the surface. But you'll find them, Toby. Yo

ried in layers of time, and the echoes had only just begun to reveal themselves. He didn't feel like the key

r than I ever imagined. Time itself was unravel

ly, as though searching for the answer that had eluded him. A soft hum resonated from the orb, and

," Philip said quietly. "

on his shoulders. The echoes had only just begun to speak to

Why is she so important? And how much of my ow

, deep within the heart of the city- and

w pulsed, rhythmic and steady, but Toby couldn't shake the unsettling feeling that something was slipping away from him, just out of reach. The echoes had show

in this, that the path he was on had a purpose, even if he couldn't see it yet. But the sense of urgen

His gaze never left the orb, and Toby could sense that Philip, too, felt the pull-

moved further into the spire, the room grew darker, the only light coming from the faint glow of the orb and the soft luminescence o

ep into the rock. Some seemed familiar to Toby, as if they were written in a language he'd see

yes scanning the shadows ahead. "T

atmosphere or the strange symbols. There was something deeper in the spire, something alive, that didn't want to be fou

ts flickered to the echoes- the strange, fragmented images of the future. The woman with the fire in her eyes. The battlefie

round them seemed to hum, and Toby could feel it now- a presence, something ancient and powe

ilip said quietly, his voice

dangerous. A soft whisper reached his ears, a voice almost drowned out by the low hum of energy in the air. The voice was clear

the hilt of a dagger at his side. Toby followed, though a flicker of fear rose

caught as something stepped into the dim light-a figure, tall and cloaked, with a f

his voice unwavering despite t

hoed through the hall. The sound was like wind whistling thro

e voice was chilling, feminine, yet laced with an eerie calm th

tching on her face. Her eyes were unnaturally bright, glowing with

he unease coiling in his stomach. "I'm no

so?" She tilted her head, her gaze flickering over Toby with an almost pred

eemed to deepen, swirling like a storm. The air grew colder, the pressure

r in a fluid motion. "Get back, Toby!

ged forward like tendrils, wrapping around Philip's wrists and pulling him back with alarming s

But what? He wasn't trained for this. He w

like the others," she said, her voice dripping with amusement. "You're differ

I have to think-the

past, one he had long forgotten. A vision of a similar confrontation, a time when he had felt t

used on the orb, still glowing faintly in his mind's eye, and with it, he reached out-not physically, but with hi

im. "I may not know everything yet," he said, his voice more confid

rise or recognition-flashed in her glowing eyes. Then, in an in

," she said softly, her voice laced with

leaving Toby standing at the threshold of som

mind again. The woman

hadow's grip, his face pale but resolute. "What was that?"

ere the shadows had held him. "And a sign. She's p

The woman, whoever she was, had already slipped through their

oby said, more to himself than t

into the spire, unaware that th