Mist curled like restless spirits around the ruined archway that led into the Vault of Echoes. Otoku paused just beyond the threshold, every sense alert. The air was dense with unspoken memories—whispers of triumph and despair woven into the very stones. Noctis prowled alongside him, shadow-fur rippling with anticipation.
Arthelia tightened her blindfold, listening for the heartbeats trapped in the walls. "They said the Ashen Hands guard the Codex's greatest secrets," she murmured. "But I feel more than guardians… I feel watchers."
Otoku's hand drifted to the Codex at his side. Its runes pulsed faintly, resonating like a warning. "Then we must be careful. This place reflects the soul of every trespasser."
Iseri stepped forward, frost runes shimmering on her bow. "I'll cover our rear. If anyone follows, they won't get far."
Korrin's void-null gauntlet flickered as he scanned the darkness. "Let them come. We'll see whose echo is stronger."
The five of them ventured deeper. Each corridor split into mirrored paths, the walls etched with looping sigils that shifted under their gaze. Every step stirred echoes—snatches of laughter, gasps of fear, the clash of steel on steel. Otoku felt the Codex thrum, urging him forward.
At the chamber's heart stood a dais of obsidian. Floating above it was a crystalline sphere, inside which swirled billions of trapped memories—glimpses of lives Otoku had never lived and faces he'd never seen. Around the dais, six figures knelt in ash-white robes, their masked faces bowed.
One lifted his head. Beneath the porcelain mask, eyes glowed with void-black light. "Otoku," he intoned, voice echoing unnaturally. "You carry our sacrifice."
Otoku's breath caught. "The Ashen Hands," he whispered. "What price did you pay?"
The robed figure stood, robes drifting like smoke. "We bound ourselves to the Vault so that others might never suffer the Loop's curse. We traded our flesh for these masks, our minds for this sphere—for you."
A low rumble shook the chamber as the sphere pulsed. Faces flickered within, including one he recognized—Arthelia's in a distant loop, her wound unhealed.
Arthelia staggered, eyes widening beneath her blindfold. "My echo…" she breathed. "My pain… all of it."
Otoku stepped forward, resolve steeling his voice. "Your sacrifice won't be in vain. I will free you all."
The lead Hand bowed. "Then prove your conviction. Break the sphere—and face what you release."
Otoku raised the Codex, words trembling on his lips:
"By void and vow, by death and dawn,I shatter the echoes you lean upon."
He struck the sphere with a burst of void-flame. It cracked, releasing a shockwave of memories that washed over them—glorious victories, agonizing losses, laughter, tears. Each note pierced their hearts.
When the light dimmed, the sphere lay broken, its fragments dissolving into the air like motes of dust—and the six Ashen Hands collapsed, masks clattering to the floor. Their bodies were human once more, eyes soft with relief.
Arthelia knelt beside them, kneading the torn edge of her blindfold. "You're free," she whispered. "Rest now."
Otoku sheathed the Codex, voice gentle. "Your sacrifice saved countless souls trapped in these halls."
One Hand raised a trembling hand. "But the Loop endures. What will you do with the Codex now?"
Otoku met her gaze. "I'll end the Loop. For all of us."
Outside, the Vault's echo faded. The corridor stilled. In its wake, Otoku felt something shift deep within. The Codex pulsed once—different now, as if awakened to a new purpose.
He turned to his friends. "We're one step closer. But the real battle lies ahead."
Noctis growled in agreement. Iseri nocked a bolt, Korrin's gauntlet flickered, and Arthelia's blindfold slipped, revealing a single, resolute silver eye.
Together, they left the Vault of Echoes, the next chapter of their journey unfurling in the stillness beyond