The Echo-Blade rises from the cradle in a wash of white-gold light. Garth, the Hooded Figure, the Ash-Wrapped Sentinel, and the Ancestor all step back at once, leaving Derick and Joi alone in the blaze.
The Ancestor
Heir of Force, this is the last measure. The blade does not answer steel alone. It asks what your bond truly is.
The booming voice folds straight into Derick's mind, ancient and stern. At the same time, Joi goes still, her ears lifting as a silent understanding settles over her.
Joi
He is steady. He protects. He keeps close when the dark comes. That is enough.
The Echo-Blade flares brighter. A thin seam of blackness answers in the chamber floor, a void breach reopening beneath the seal, trembling in rhythm with Joi's heartbeat.
Kellan
Move now. If the bond holds, the blade can drive the breach shut. If it fails, we lose the chamber.
The chamber hangs on that judgment, the sword waiting in Derick's grasp while Joi watches him, tense and unwavering.
+ New Item Acquired
Echo-Blade Great Sword
“I shield Joi and raise the echo blade against the breach”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled -2)
“I shield Joi and raise the echo blade against the breach”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +1)
Derick swings the Echo-Blade up between Joi and the裂?
White-gold light knifes outward, and the void seam jerks shut under the blade's edge.
Joi presses in at his heel, safe behind the guard, her stance easing as the dark loses its pull.
The Ancestor
It answers. The bond holds.
A thin ring of black frost cracks across the floor, then flakes away into harmless dust.
Garth
Well struck, Derick. That is the sort of finish I hoped to see.
The blade settles steady in Derick's grip, its glow dimming to a sharp, living sheen as the chamber falls silent.
Quest Complete
Obtain the Echo-Blade
New Gift: Echo-Blade Resonance