: The Unspoken BurdenThe chaotic energy of Fang's aura evaporated instantly, replaced by the sterile quiet of the hospital room. He stumbled against the bed rail, utterly drained, but the triumphant smirk never left his face.
"There," he declared, his breath coming in ragged gasps. "The Queen's heart is mended. And for the record, I only crushed their sense of self-importance. Nothing permanent."
Sooji, now awake and lucid, the faint white glow of Lumina completely gone, offered a tiny, exhausted smile. "Welcome back, kid."
Null pushed the door open, the sudden rush of air a relief after the oppressive aura. He saw Sooji—his anchor, his stability—and the crushing grief from the blood ocean finally receded, replaced by the cold, hard logic of leadership. He crossed the room and placed a hand gently on her forehead.
"You're stable," Null confirmed, a silent relief washing over him. He pulled back, his golden, cross-shaped eyes scanning the new additions to his team crowded in the doorway.
Ashley and Kai rushed to hug Sooji, ecstatic that she was well. Sophie, ever analytical, moved to the window, her gaze sweeping over the city skyline, a silent guardian sensing danger. Tyme Rourke, the newest and most terrified recruit, hung back near the door, still visibly shaken and intimidated.
"We have exactly five minutes before the police or some kind of government agency—or worse, a new Echo—shows up to investigate that seismic tantrum," Null said, his voice clipped and urgent, cutting off any celebratory reunion.
He gestured to the circle of faces:
"Fang," Null began, looking at the exhausted guardian, "you just alienated every doctor in the city. You need to recover. Stay here with Sooji; she's still the priority."
Fang leaned against the bedpost, a weary nod the only response. "I've got the perimeter, kid. My aura may be spent, but my senses are not."
"Tyme," Null continued, turning to the nervous boy. "Your power is Time, but it's volatile. You are staying here, too. Fang and Sooji will be your best shield for now. You are safe here."
Tyme looked at Sooji, then at the terrifying Fang, and swallowed hard. "Okay. I... I can stabilize time around us if I need to. But only a little."
"Good," Null said. "Kai, Ashley, Sophie. We're moving."
The Strategic RetreatThey quickly packed Sooji's minimal belongings, the energy in the room vibrating with unspoken questions. As they moved toward the fire exit stairs—avoiding the main elevator, where the stunned staff was slowly recovering—Ashley cornered Null.
"Wait, Null," she whispered, her brow furrowed. "That power, the one you defeated at the gym. When you hit it, you... you cried. You didn't just see failure, did you?"
Kai moved closer, his concern mirroring Ashley's. "And Fang's power... it felt like the very opposite of the Echoes, like a bedrock of order. Are all the Echoes fragments of your power? What are you?"
Null stopped on the landing, the cold metal of the stairwell railing biting into his palm. He looked at his two oldest friends, his loyalists, and then at Sophie, who was listening intently. He could not tell them about Soren, Horuto, or Yoguri—not when those names still brought tears to his eyes.
"The Echoes are fragments of the ultimate power, the one that created this reality," Null lied smoothly, sticking to the necessary cover story. "And yes, they seek to re-integrate, but they're corrupted. When I destroyed the Echo of Time, I absorbed its concept—the knowledge of time—and the backlash was... overwhelming. It showed me my past life, what I was before I was Null. It was horrific. That's why I cried."(lies btw lol)
He looked Sophie straight in the eye, inviting her silent agreement, which she gave with a slight nod. She understood the need for a protective lie.
"We don't have time to process this," Null stressed, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "The goal is to find the next Prime Stone user before a new Echo does. We need to be faster, more organized, and smarter than the chaos."
A King's Strategy
They reached the street level and melted into the growing morning crowds. Null pulled them into a small, abandoned laundromat.
"Sophie, you're the key now," Null said,
establishing the new hierarchy. "You feel the Earth. The stones are connected to the planet. Your power is the most stable and constant. You can track them better than my intuition."
Sophie nodded, her monocle glinting in the faint light. "I can feel the flow. The energy isn't moving randomly. It follows a system. There is a strong, slow thrum far away. It feels... immense. Like the heart of a forge."
Kai, ever the strategist, mapped out their situation on a dusty windowpane. "Fang's show of force guarantees we're now on the radar of every serious organization. We can't use public transport, and we can't risk another gym incident."
"We need a safe house," Ashley pointed out. "A base of operations where we can train Tyme and prepare for the next confrontation."
"We won't find another Echo until we understand the pattern," Null concluded, pacing. He remembered Yoguri's teachings on the symmetry of power. "The Echoes are the unwritten parts of the original creation. There must be a counter-balance."
He stopped, realizing the connection. "The next Echo will be drawn to the Prime Stone that is conceptually opposite to Time. Time is about motion, flux, and speed. The opposite is Space—distance, volume, and stillness."
"We need to find the user of Space," Sophie confirmed, resting her hand on the cold wall, feeling the city's pulse. "The forge... it's far to the north, near the industrial district. But there's a smaller, fainter tremor closer. East. Near the old clock tower."
Null's golden eyes narrowed. The Clock Tower. A symbol of time, likely attracting the user of Space to its opposite.
"New plan," Null stated, his voice ringing with the finality of a decree. "Kai, you scout ahead, use your Air power for speed and observation. Ashley and Sophie, you move together; your Shield and Earth powers make you an ideal defensive team. Head east toward the Clock Tower.
I'll take a different route. We meet at the base of the tower in one hour. If anyone is there, do not engage. Call me."
As the team split, Null turned to leave, but stopped, looking back at his small, loyal group. He was the Unwritten King, burdened by a past he couldn't share, yet responsible for a future he couldn't bear to let happen. He knew he was walking toward the greatest battle of his life, and for the first time, he felt not just the weight of his crown, but the unwavering strength of his first, true allies.
End of chapter 50
See you again