Chapter 51: Whispers Within the Core
A chilling silence welcomed Elias and his companions as they stepped through the towering bronze arch that led into the heart of the colossus. The mark on Elias's hand, still softly aglow from earlier, seemed to resonate with the very walls of the ancient machine. Each step echoed in the hollow chamber, reverberating like distant thunder through rusted gears and dormant conduits. The air was thick with dust, but beneath it, something pulsed—a strange warmth that seemed to breathe life into the decayed titan.
"This place feels... alive," murmured Kael, his voice hushed as though he feared waking something.
Aeris trailed her fingers along the wall, her eyes narrowed. "It is alive. Or it was. And I don't think it's completely asleep."
Sera, ever curious, paced ahead, her boots tapping in rhythmic defiance of the oppressive quiet. "The architecture's almost like a circuit. If this thing ran on power, then maybe there's still a source active deeper in."
Elias remained silent, eyes focused on the glowing symbols occasionally flickering across the inner surface of the walls. The deeper they ventured, the clearer they became. Ancient language, strange symbols—and somewhere in his mind, they began to make sense.
...You were chosen...
The voice wasn't spoken. It was felt.
He paused.
Elias...
His heart stuttered.
"Did anyone hear that?" he asked.
The others turned, concern flashing across their faces. They hadn't.
The corridor opened into a vast chamber, dome-shaped, with a massive orb floating in the center, suspended by four crumbling pillars of light. Sparks danced around its surface like dying stars. The room was cold, but the orb radiated a peculiar warmth.
The moment Elias stepped forward, the orb reacted. The mark on his hand blazed, and from within the orb, a figure began to emerge—a spectral humanoid formed entirely of light.
It spoke.
"Welcome, Keepers of the Echo. You have stepped into the core of Oblivion's Wake."
The figure's voice was melodic, ancient and vast. Elias struggled to reply.
"What are we keeping? Why were we brought here?"
The figure's form shimmered. "You bear the last remnants of a sealed fate. This world—its skyborne cities, its sundered lands, its lost time—is bound by a rhythm forgotten. The Era of Voices must return."
Kael frowned. "Voices? You mean like songs? Magic?"
The figure turned to him, as if studying him. "Voices of Power. Echoes from the first dawn. Powers that shaped time, fate, and memory."
Aeris stepped forward. "And who are you?"
"I am a Recorder. A remnant of the Ones Before."
The Recorder turned back to Elias. "You are its bearer. The Mark of Recalibration will awaken what once was. But only through pain, betrayal, and clarity."
Sera narrowed her eyes. "You keep talking in riddles. What's really going on?"
The Recorder shimmered again, showing flashes of images—burning skies, a shattered city with floating pieces, people screaming, creatures made of shadow.
"Your journey has only begun. The mark is not a gift. It is a burden. One you must understand before the Rift opens again."
A grinding noise shook the chamber.
"Time grows short. He awakens."
Elias shouted, "Who? Who is he?"
But the Recorder's image fractured, and the orb pulsed violently. The colossus trembled.
Aeris grabbed Elias's arm. "We have to get out. Now!"
As they ran through the shifting corridors, more symbols lit the walls. The mark on Elias's hand glowed so hot he nearly cried out.
They reached the outer gate just as the colossus let out a deafening roar—not of machines, but something organic. Something angry.
Behind them, the chamber sealed itself with blinding light.
Kael collapsed to the ground. "We barely made it out."
Elias stood, trembling. "It's not over. That wasn't the end. It was only the beginning."
Aeris looked back at the sealed doorway. "Then we prepare. Because something's waking up. And it's ancient."
They were Keepers now. And the echoes of the forbidden era had just begun to scream.
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