The elder's words hung in the air long after she finished speaking.
Ren stood frozen on the steps, Lyra's hand clasped tightly in his, Borin sharpening his axe so hard the blade hissed, Draven sprawled in the grass like someone waiting for doom to pick him up gently and carry him away.
Ren swallowed.
"How long until they come here?"
The elder closed her eyes.
"Days. Maybe less."
Lyra stepped forward.
"Then we prepare."
"For what?" Borin asked."Talking? Fighting? Running? All three?"
Lyra met his eyes, fierce.
"For whatever protects Ren."
The echo pulsed—soft, warm, almost like approval.
Ren flinched.
Lyra noticed immediately.
"You okay?"
"Y-yeah," he lied.
The echo hummed again, this time curious, as if tasting the lie.
He grimaced.
Lyra's gaze softened.
"You don't have to pretend."
But he kept pretending anyway.
He stood up, brushing off his pants.
"We need a plan."
Borin nodded.
"Good. My plan is this: I hit the problem until it stops being a problem."
Draven groaned.
"My plan is to fake my death and move to another village under a new identity."
Lyra ignored both of them.
"What do you think, Ren?"
Ren hesitated.
His thoughts felt different now.Not louder.Not more chaotic.
Just… heavier.
Like the echo was sitting beside him, leaning over his shoulder, reading along with his mind.
"We can't run," he said slowly."They'll follow the ripple."
Lyra sighed.
"I know."
"We also can't fight."
Borin grumbled.
"I know."
"And we can't hide."
Draven flailed.
"I KNOW."
Ren took a breath.
"Which means the only choice is to face them."
Lyra tensed.
"Ren—"
"But not blindly," he said quickly."We need information. We need to know what each clan and sect wants before they arrive."
Borin nodded approvingly.
"Smart."
Draven raised his hand.
"I volunteer NOT to help."
Lyra glared.
"You're helping."
Draven deflated.
"Fine. But if a demon scout grabs me, I'm haunting all of you."
Ren actually smiled.
For a moment, he felt human again.
Then the echo pulsed inside him.
Sharp.Not painful — but attentive.
As if taking note of his smile.
His fear.His relief.His plans.
Learning him.
Ren stiffened.
Lyra noticed instantly.
"Ren?"
He rubbed his chest.
"Nothing. It's just… listening."
Borin frowned.
"I don't like that."
Lyra gently took Ren's hand again.
"Does it hurt?"
"No."
"Then what?"
Ren looked down at their joined hands.
"I think it's… understanding."
Lyra's eyes softened.
"That means you're influencing it. Not the other way around."
Ren wanted to believe that.
He really did.
But something in the echo's pulse felt older than belief.
The elder stepped forward.
"Ren. Echoes are not good or evil. They are reflections. They grow from the one who carries them."
Lyra squeezed his hand.
"That means it grows from you."
Ren swallowed.
What a terrifying thought.
He shook it off and focused on the problem at hand.
"Borin," he said, "can you ask the northern hunters if they've seen anything? Anyone passing. Footprints. Unusual activity."
Borin smirked.
"Already planned on it."
"Lyra," Ren continued, "you're the best scout we have. Take Draven with you—"
Draven screamed.
"WHY?!"
"Because you're loud," Ren said simply."If something threatens you, Lyra will know before it gets close."
Lyra laughed softly.
"He's right."
Draven lay down on the ground in total defeat.
Ren turned to the elder.
"Is there anything you haven't told us?"
She exhaled.
"Only one thing… and you won't like it."
Ren steeled himself.
"Tell me."
The elder studied him for a long, heavy moment.
Then she said:
"There is an old record… of a sealed echo breaking free."
Ren's breath stopped.
Lyra went pale.
Borin's grip tightened on his axe.
Draven began making dying-animal noises.
Ren's voice almost broke as he asked:
"What happened?"
The elder's eyes were full of sorrow.
"The world called it a miracle.A sign.A prophecy."
Ren blinked.
"That sounds… good."
The elder shook her head.
"It was not a miracle because the echo awakened."
She stepped closer, placing a hand on Ren's shoulder.
"It was a miracle because the bearer survived."
Ren felt the ground shift beneath him.
"Meaning… most don't?"
The elder looked into his eyes.
"No echo-bearer has ever lived long after awakening."
Silence.
Heavy.Thick.Cold.
Lyra's fingers trembled around Ren's hand.
"Don't say that," she whispered.
"It is the truth," the elder said sadly.
Borin growled.
"Ren is not 'most.'"
Draven nodded fiercely from the ground.
"Yeah! He's Ren! He's our Ren! Our probably-haunted, maybe-cursed, semi-immortal Ren!"
Ren forced a breath.
"Elder… what happened to the one who survived?"
The elder paused.
"He left."
"Left?"
"Yes."
"Left where?"
"No one knows," she said softly."Only that he walked away from every sect… every clan… every war… and vanished."
Ren felt something shift inside him.
Hope.Fear.Possibility.
He whispered:
"Did he walk away because of the echo?"
"No," the elder said gently."He walked away because the world would not let him be human."
Lyra's grip tightened painfully around Ren's hand.
"He will be human," she whispered fiercely."He is human."
Ren wished he believed that as much as she did.
He stood, straightening his back.
"We prepare. We gather information. We don't panic."
Draven raised his hand weakly.
"I panicked an hour ago. Does that count?"
Borin lifted him by the back of his shirt.
"Get up. We've got scouting to do."
Draven screamed the whole way.
Lyra kissed Ren's cheek.
Soft.Quick.Terrified.
"Don't do anything alone," she murmured.
Ren nodded.
Then she whispered:
"I'm not losing you to a world that hasn't even met you yet."
He didn't know what to say.
So he said the only thing he could:
"I'll be here when you get back."
But as she walked away, bow across her shoulder, the echo pulsed again.
Not gently.
Not darkly.
Curious.
"Will you?"
Ren closed his eyes.
The world was listening now.
And the storm was closer than anyone realized.