A thick haze clung to Caden's mind, and he felt himself drifting, weightless in the dark, like a leaf caught on an endless current. Somewhere in the distance, a faint voice called to him, but he couldn't grasp the words, only the sound—a low, steady rumble that cut through the silence like a heartbeat.
Gradually, warmth seeped into his limbs, the sharp sting of pain pulling him back to awareness. His eyes fluttered open, and he squinted against the dim light, his senses still dull and disoriented. Shapes moved at the edge of his vision, and the scent of herbs and smoke filled his nose.
"Ah, finally." Garrick's voice reached him, rough but laced with a note of relief. "I was starting to think you'd found a way to sleep through my best attempts to wake you."
Caden blinked, his vision slowly sharpening to reveal Garrick kneeling beside him, holding a small clay bowl that steamed faintly in the chill air. The elder's gaze was steady, but there was a tension in his expression that hadn't been there before. He set the bowl on the ground and eased a hand under Caden's shoulders, helping him sit up.
Caden winced as a jolt of pain lanced through his chest. His body felt as though it had been trampled by a stampede; every muscle ached, and his limbs were leaden, sluggish.
"What… what happened?" he mumbled, his throat raw.
"You overexerted yourself," Garrick replied. "That shard of yours might've kept you alive, but it nearly tore you apart doing it."
Memories rushed back in fragmented bursts—the Echo Knight's relentless pursuit, the barrier, the shard flaring with blinding light. He swallowed, the weight of it pressing on him like a stone. "Did… did I stop it?"
"Yes," Garrick said, nodding slowly. "You stopped it. But the cost was high. You were out for hours, and even now, your body's barely hanging on." He gestured to the bowl, steam curling up from its contents. "Drink this. It'll help pull you back from the brink."
Caden eyed the bowl warily. The liquid was a murky green, with flecks of dried leaves and a bitter smell that made his nose wrinkle. "What… is it?"
"A tonic. Something I was brewing back in the hut. Strong enough to stir the dead, but not enough to bring them back to life," Garrick said with a wry smile. "Drink it. It'll give you strength, but don't expect to be fully healed."
With a shaky hand, Caden took the bowl, bringing it to his lips. The first sip was enough to make him gag—the taste was as bitter as ash, and it burned as it went down, filling his chest with warmth that quickly turned to a smoldering heat. He forced himself to drink more, feeling the warmth spread to his limbs, each swallow fanning the flame that now pulsed within him.
After a few moments, his senses sharpened, and the haze in his mind lifted. His strength returned, but it was fragile, a thin layer over a deep well of fatigue that lingered beneath the surface. He looked at Garrick, questions hovering on his tongue.
"That creature," he began, his voice low. "The Echo Knight… why did it come after me? What did it want?"
Garrick's expression grew grim, and he leaned back, crossing his arms. "The Echo Knight was once a guardian of the System's secrets, twisted by the same power that shattered it. When it sensed your shard, it saw you as both a threat and a temptation. It's a fate that befalls many who draw too close to the fragments."
Caden's brow furrowed as he absorbed this. "So… as long as I have this shard, creatures like that will keep coming?"
Garrick nodded. "The Echo Knight was only the beginning. Each shard you gather will act as a signal to these echoes, attracting remnants of power and beings twisted by it. Some will seek to reclaim the shards, others to destroy them, and some to corrupt them for their own ends."
A weight settled over Caden, heavier than the exhaustion in his body. The shard pulsed faintly in his pocket, a reminder of the power he carried—and the burden that came with it. "Why didn't you tell me this sooner?"
"Would you have listened?" Garrick's gaze was unyielding. "The System chose you for reasons beyond either of our understanding. Whether you knew the risks or not, you would have walked this path the moment you touched that shard. I've seen it happen before."
Caden's mind reeled with questions, but one nagged at him above the others. "How did you find me?" he asked, the memory of Garrick's sudden appearance at the watchtower fresh in his mind. "You were supposed to hold off the creature, and yet… you got out. How?"
A shadow crossed Garrick's face, and he looked away, his expression tight. "I held the barrier as long as I could. But the Knight was relentless. When the barrier finally shattered… I had to find a way out." His gaze turned distant, haunted. "I led it away from the village, but it nearly caught me. I used a decoy—an old trick I haven't had to use in years. When it turned its focus, I followed the signs of your struggle and found you."
Caden absorbed this, a chill creeping down his spine. "You risked your life to bring it here?"
"I knew that if I didn't, the creature would have torn through the village, and every soul in it," Garrick said, his voice steady but heavy. "I took a chance, trusting that you would find the strength to face it. And you did."
A silence fell between them, broken only by the distant wind and the crackling of the dying fire. Caden wrapped his fingers around the shard, feeling its cool surface and the faint hum of energy within. It was both a comfort and a curse, binding him to a destiny he was only beginning to understand.
"So what now?" he asked quietly, his gaze fixed on the shard.
Garrick reached for a tattered piece of parchment from his bag, unfolding it with care. "Now, we search for the next fragment. The map I showed you last night holds clues—locations that may lead us to other shards. If we move quickly and carefully, we might find them before the echoes do."
Caden nodded, though his heart clenched at the thought of facing another creature like the Echo Knight. "And… this tonic? It's only temporary, isn't it?"
"Temporary, yes," Garrick confirmed. "It'll help you move, think clearly, maybe even stand a chance if we encounter trouble. But it won't heal what that last battle took from you. You need real rest, real recovery, and until then… you'll be fighting at half strength." He paused, eyes hardening. "Which means you'll need to rely on your wits and instincts more than ever."
Caden took a slow breath, the tonic's warmth a fragile layer against the ache in his bones. His strength was real but fleeting, and he could feel his body's weakness lurking beneath the surface, ready to consume him the moment the tonic wore off.
Garrick stood, extending a hand to help Caden up. "The path won't wait for us, and neither will the echoes."
Caden hesitated, his mind still weighed down by the encounter with the Echo Knight, but he took Garrick's hand, pulling himself to his feet with a grim resolve. His legs wobbled, his vision swam, but he steadied himself, drawing on every shred of strength he could muster.
With Garrick's guidance, they left the small camp, moving cautiously along the trail that wound through the hills. The world around them was silent, the forest cloaked in a gray mist that seemed to press in on them from all sides. Caden's thoughts drifted to the battles he'd fought and those yet to come, each step a reminder of the path he had chosen.
He glanced at Garrick, his mentor's figure steady and sure, a rock against the storm of doubts that threatened to overtake him. "Garrick," he said, his voice barely more than a whisper. "Why are you helping me? You could have taken the shard yourself, left me behind."
Garrick's gaze remained fixed ahead, his expression unreadable. "Perhaps I'm as cursed by the echoes as you are," he said, a hint of sorrow flickering in his eyes. "Or perhaps I've seen too many fall to this path alone. The System chose you, Caden, but that doesn't mean you have to walk it without allies."
They continued in silence, the weight of Garrick's words settling into Caden's heart. The tonic's effects would fade soon, and he would once again be left to battle both the echoes and his own limitations. But for now, he pressed on, each step a quiet defiance against the darkness that followed them.