It had been a few weeks since their arrival in the Realm of Echoes, and Jihan was beginning to understand that something was not right with the way The Void was attacking this place. Every night, he spent time in the crystal library, studying the history of this realm through the resonances stored in the ancient crystals of knowledge. But tonight was different - something made her uneasy.“Are you still here?” A deep bass voice startled her. Kai, one of the Harmony Guardians assigned to help them, stood in the doorway. The light from the library's crystals bounced off his dark skin, making the resonant tattoo on his arm glisten silvery.Jihan nodded, her eyes not leaving the holographic projection showing The Void's attack patterns. “There's something strange about all this,” she muttered. “The Void never attacks randomly. There's a... pattern. But I can't make sense of it.”Kai stepped closer, and Jihan felt that familiar vibe that always came whenever the man was near her. There was

Decisions had to be made in seconds, but for Jihan, time seemed frozen. Kai's hand was still outstretched, his eyes radiating a familiar intensity. Behind them, the steps of the Council troops drew closer.“Jihan,” Ming Hua warned, ”whatever you're thinking...”But Jihan had already made his decision. With one swift movement, she grabbed Kai's hand - and the world around them exploded in light.The tattoo on Kai's arm was suddenly blazing with blinding energy, its resonance vibrating in a frequency that made the air vibrate. But what surprised Jihan was the sensation that coursed through their contact - as if the entire history of the Realm of Echoes was suddenly downloading into her consciousness.“Hold on,” Kai whispered, pulling Jihan close. “This might hurt.”Before Jihan could ask what he meant, Kai raised his free hand into the air. Her resonant tattoo suddenly shifts, moving like a snake of light that slithers up her shoulder, her neck, and finally reaches her eyes that now glo

The truth that flowed from Ming Hua's lips made the air around them feel heavy. Jihan listened with bated breath, each word hitting her like an endless wave.“The First Dance are not heroes as the legends tell,” Ming Hua began, her golden eyes gleaming in the portal light. “They are a group of Guardians who discovered something that should have remained hidden - a power that even the ancient gods feared to touch.”Kai stirred uneasily, the tattoo on his arm pulsing ever more strongly. “Tell her everything, Ming Hua,” he said in a choked voice. “She needs to know what she's really carrying.”Jihan stared at the crystal in her hand with new eyes. Beneath its gleaming surface, she could feel something moving - something much older and darker than she had ever imagined.“That crystal,” Ming Hua continued, ”is a fragment of The Void itself. The First Dance did not destroy it - they divided it into seven parts, sealing it in crystals which they then hid throughout the Crystal Spires.”“But

Thaddeus' words were still hanging in the air like undried ink when something in Lyra's expression changed. She stepped forward, her discolored eyes now focused entirely on Jihan with a different intensity.“Tell her,” Lyra told Thaddeus, her voice containing an urgency that could not be hidden. “She needs to know. Now.”Thaddeus looked doubtful, his eyes glancing towards the darkness that continued to spread in the distance. “This is not the right time...”“It never is,” Lyra cut in. “But if he doesn't know the truth about himself, about what he's really carrying... we'll all be in greater danger.”Jihan felt a change in the atmosphere around them - not just from the menacing The Void, but from the weight of revelation waiting to unfold. “What are you talking about?”Thaddeus let out a long breath before raising his hand. Golden words flowed from his fingers, forming a complex image in the air - like an ancient map of the multiverse itself.“Centuries ago,” he began, ”there was a for

The darkness of The Void was unlike any darkness Jihan had ever known before. Here, in a dimension beyond the limits of human understanding, the darkness felt... alive. Breathing. Thinking. “Jihan,” Kai's voice broke the seemingly bottomless silence. “Are you okay?” Jihan opened the eyes she had unconsciously closed. Around them, The Void moved like a purple-black mist, forming ever-changing patterns. But something was different - something she hadn't expected. “I can hear it, Kai,” she whispered, her hand still clutching tightly to the crystal that now pulsed in time with her heartbeat. “The Void... it's singing.” Kai frowned, the tattoo on his arm glowing dimly in the darkness. “Singing? I don't hear anything.” “Not a song as we know it,” Jihan shook her head softly. “More like... vibrations. Resonance. Like...” she paused, searching for the right word, ”...like a symphony of the void itself.” They stood in a dimension with no direction, no up or down, while The Void continued