The village square was a chaos of fire and shadow. Flames licked at the remains of wooden beams, sending sparks spiraling into the night sky. Thick smoke swirled through the streets, a suffocating haze that stung the lungs and filled the eyes with ash. Villagers ran screaming in every direction, seeking any refuge from the advancing horror.
At the center of it all, the corrupted husk loomed—a monstrous brute, its twisted body taller than any building in the square. Shards of mirror-like crystal embedded its torso, reflecting the flames in jagged fragments. A shattered bell tower chain dragged along the ground behind it, rattling with every movement. Its mirrored eyes shimmered like fractured glass, catching glimpses of everything in the square and reflecting them in unsettling patterns.
This one… was different, Law thought, scanning its monstrous frame. Not just whispers in flesh. Something else was guiding it.
The brute swung its massive bell-chain with terrifying force. The chain cut through a stone wall, sending debris flying like lethal projectiles. Villagers screamed as chunks of masonry and sand exploded outward. Children huddled behind Liora's radiant barrier, trembling as the energy of the chain's strike pressed against the light threads.
Law flickered forward, activating Echo Step. Three afterimages surged around the brute, swords flashing in a synchronized strike. But even before his blades reached flesh, the brute countered, sweeping the chain with a precision that shattered his duplicates. They scattered like shards of glass in every direction. The real Law barely slid under the deadly sweep, scraping against the cobblestones.
Too strong… he thought, breathless. My echoes break before they even strike.
Liora's voice rang clear in the chaos. She planted her shield into the ground, threads of radiant light spilling outward in a dome that caught the brute's next strike. Cracks rippled across the barrier, but it held. Sweat ran down her brow, but her expression remained calm, resolute.
"Echo-boy," she called, her tone sharp but steady. "Distract it. I'll create an opening."
Law snarled, voice taut with frustration. "Stop ordering me around."
"Then prove you're more than just shadows," she snapped, eyes blazing with conviction.
Law's body moved instinctively. Echo Step flared, multiple afterimages of himself spinning and darting around the brute's legs, slicing in blinding arcs. The brute roared in frustration, swinging wildly at the illusions, its mirrored shards reflecting sparks from fire and steel.
Above the chaos, Liora raised her sword, threads of light weaving along its edge like liquid fire. She timed her movements precisely, thrusting into a crack between shards in the brute's chest as Law's echoes misdirected it. The threads coiled deeper, binding and weakening its massive form.
She doesn't waste motion… Law thought, wide-eyed. Every strike, every shield… precise. Like she knows where I'll be.
The brute recovered and smashed its bell-chain downward. Law's afterimages scattered once more, but the real him was too close. The chain thundered down toward his head, vibrating the cobblestones under its weight. Liora dove in at the last second, her shield glowing brightly as it absorbed the impact. Sparks erupted, dust flaring into the night, and the force pressed against her arms, threatening to knock her back.
"Why… why'd you cover me?!" Law shouted, gripping his scarf in disbelief.
"Because if you fall, those children fall too!" she yelled back, teeth gritted and arms straining against the weight of the blow.
Law's eyes hardened with resolve. He gripped his scarf tighter, focusing. Echo Step ignited again, this time his afterimages multiplying unnaturally, their movements almost too fast to follow. Each duplicate flickered and surged, striking with coordinated precision.
Liora raised her hands, threads of light weaving seamlessly between Law's echoes. The radiant strands connected the duplicates, forming solid, tangible paths that made them more than illusions. Law watched in awe as his afterimages became extensions of himself, striking in perfect unison.
The brute roared, its mirrored shards reflecting a dozen Laws circling around it, each one hitting as one. Liora anchored the final strike, shield bashing its knee to destabilize it while her sword sliced upward through a crack in the crystal chest. Threads of radiant energy wrapped the wound, amplifying the force.
She… she made my echoes real, Law thought, wide-eyed.
With a final surge, Law leapt high, scarf fluttering like fire in the wind. His echoes spiraled outward in perfect formation, all striking the brute simultaneously. Liora projected a radiant thread straight through the motion of his scarf, amplifying the impact with a blinding surge of light. The crystal chest of the husk shattered in a cataclysmic explosion of shards and reflected fire.
The brute collapsed, crumbling into glassy dust that tumbled across the cobblestones. The screams of villagers gave way to awe and cautious cheer. Children peeked from behind barriers, eyes wide, breathing shallow but alive.
Law landed beside Liora, both of them battered, sweat-streaked, and covered in ash and dust. His scarf hung limp around his shoulders, swords at his side, yet his gaze held respect and exhaustion.
"…Not bad. For someone who gives orders," he muttered, voice rough.
Liora smiled faintly, brushing a streak of soot from her cheek. "Not bad. For someone who finally listened," she replied, voice soft but steady.
The fire continued to lick at the edges of the square, smoke spiraling into the night, but for the moment, the threat had been contained. Yet shadows lingered beyond the ruins, moving in patterns only perceptible to trained eyes.
Behind the debris and twisted remnants of the village, a faint silhouette watched. Its mirrored eyes glimmered unseen by the heroes, faint whispers drifting from its form like smoke in the wind.
That was the night I first fought beside Liora, Law reflected in his older voice, eyes scanning the remnants of the square. And the night I realized… echoes alone could never carry me. I needed light.
Above them, the night remained vast and indifferent. The firelight and the faint threads of radiant energy marked a small victory, a fragile glimmer against a growing darkness. Somewhere beyond the village, the Whispered stirred, patient and unseen, waiting for the right moment to descend once more.
Law tightened his grip on his swords, scarf tugging in the breeze, and stood beside Liora. Together, they faced the remnants of the chaos, ready for whatever came next.