The shared touch with Lumi seemed to amplify the spring's effect. The fragmented images intensified, no longer fleeting glimpses but short, vivid scenes playing out in Pipkin's mind. He saw colossal beings wielding tridents of shimmering energy, coral castles that pulsed with light, and felt the immense power of a consciousness that spanned the depths of an endless ocean. He heard echoes of booming voices speaking in a language he didn't understand yet felt deep within his bones.
"They... they were powerful," Pipkin stammered, his voice trembling. "Gods... of the sea."
Lumi's grip on his hand tightened. Her eyes were wide with a mixture of awe and disbelief. "Gods? You saw gods?"
He nodded, his mind still reeling from the visions. "One of them... he felt familiar. Like a part of me, but... vast."
The "System" continued to provide cryptic updates:
[Prolonged Exposure to Water Magic Source]
[Memory Resonance Intensified]
[Recognition of Divine Archetype (Partial)]
As the visions subsided slightly, Pipkin noticed that the water in the spring seemed to shimmer and swirl around their joined hands, emitting a soft, almost musical hum.
"The spring is reacting to you," Lumi whispered, her voice hushed with wonder. "It's as if... it recognizes something within you."
Suddenly, a clearer image flashed in Pipkin's mind: a towering figure with eyes like the deep sea, holding a staff that pulsed with the power of crashing waves. The figure turned, and for a fleeting instant, Pipkin saw his own face reflected in those ancient, powerful eyes.
"That's... that's me," he breathed, the realization hitting him with the force of a tidal wave. "I... I was one of them."
Lumi gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. "You... a god?"
The "System" chimed with a new notification:
[Significant Memory Resonance Achieved]
[Identity Fragment Recovered: Xylos, God of the Forgotten Tides (Partial)]
The name resonated deep within him, a forgotten chord struck within his very being. Xylos. He was Xylos. The memories were still fragmented, like shattered pieces of a grand mosaic, but the core of his identity was beginning to reassert itself.
He looked at Lumi, his eyes no longer those of the timid Pipkin. A spark of his former authority flickered within them. "My name... it is Xylos."
Lumi stared at him, her initial shock slowly giving way to a profound sense of awe. "Xylos..." she repeated softly, as if testing the sound of the ancient name.
The air around the spring seemed to crackle with energy. The water glowed brighter, and the whispers intensified, no longer just faint echoes but almost coherent words in a language he instinctively understood. They spoke of a dying world, of a desperate escape, and of a power fractured but not entirely lost.
"The whispers..." Pipkin – no, Xylos – murmured, his gaze fixed on the swirling water. "They speak of my world... of how I came here."
He looked at Lumi, a newfound understanding in his eyes. She had been the catalyst, the conduit that allowed the spring's magic to awaken his dormant memories. There was a connection between them, deeper than he had initially realized.
"Lumi," he said, his voice now holding a hint of his former resonance, "I... I am not who you thought I was. My journey here... it was not by chance."
The useless god was beginning to remember. And the world of Aethel, he sensed, was about to experience something far beyond the ordinary. The whispers of a fallen god were stirring in the heart of Oakhaven.