Chapter 9: The Blessing, the Warning, and the Boy Who Bled Light
Title Ceremony
Two days had passed since the Graveripple quest.
I was summoned to the upper floor of the Velduin Guild — usually reserved for Silver and Gold-ranked adventurers.
Kael stood at my side. Silent. Stern. Massive as ever.
The minotaur clerk sat behind her desk, arms folded.
And across from me…
Was her.
A woman in white robes. Tall. Elegant. Long black hair that shimmered like starlight. Eyes veiled.
Her name?
<blockquote>
“I am High Priestess Selaine of the Shining Veil.”
</blockquote>
Her voice was calm. Controlled. Like a river hiding under glass.
<blockquote>
“I’ve come to grant the boy his first title.”
</blockquote>
<hr>
The Title
All adventurers in Lucala are given a foundational title upon proving they’ve survived their first Core-affiliated creature.
Most titles are boring:
<ul>
<li>
“Of the Flame”
</li>
<li>
“Beastborn”
</li>
<li>
“Miststrider”
</li>
</ul>
Me?
They hesitated.
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Priestess Selaine placed her hand on my head and whispered words in a forgotten tongue.
A circle of light pulsed from the ground beneath me.
And in glowing runes… my title appeared:
<blockquote>
“Echoborne.”
</blockquote>
Everyone in the room froze.
The orb cracked.
Selaine stepped back.
Kael’s hand gripped his blade.
<blockquote>
“What… what does that mean?” I asked.
</blockquote>
No one answered.
<hr>
Meanwhile: Aelira
While I tried not to panic, Aelira was having a morning.
She’d gone to train solo by the river. Practicing her usual chaos: summoning little water spirits and failing to control their emotions.
But today… something changed.
She tried to cast Glimmer Dart — a basic light spell.
Instead, a sigil she didn’t recognize drew itself in midair.
It sparked. Flickered.
And then exploded.
Not outward.
Inward.
For a moment, her magic went quiet.
And then…
It roared.
<hr>
Back at the guild, I felt it.
A shockwave. Not violent. Just loud, magically.
Everyone did.
Ravian stood on a rooftop nearby and whispered, “That idiot girl just broke something…”
<hr>
The Warning
Later that night, I was alone in the training yard. Niris leaned across my lap, quiet for once.
Then I heard a voice.
<blockquote>
“So. You’re Echoborne.”
</blockquote>
A boy stepped out from the trees.
Older than me — maybe seven. Black cloak. Silver eyes. No emotion in his face.
His arms were bandaged up to the shoulder. One eye had a faint glow.
<blockquote>
“Who are you?” I asked.
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
“I’m what happens to people like you… when they live too long.”
</blockquote>
He stepped forward.
<blockquote>
“You carry a cursed sword.”
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
“She’s not cursed. She’s annoying.”
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
“You’re wrong,” he said. “That blade has taken lives. It remembers every one.”
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
“So do I.”
</blockquote>
He paused.
Then he smiled — just barely.
<blockquote>
“Good. You’ll need that kind of arrogance.”
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
“Why?”
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
“Because you’re marked now. Echoborne. The first in nearly a century.”
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
“That supposed to mean something?”
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
“It means…” He pointed to the moon. “When the second moon bleeds — you die first.”
</blockquote>
He turned and vanished.
<hr>
Niris Speaks
Later, back in the hut, I stared at my reflection in a bowl of water.
<blockquote>
“Echoborne…” I whispered.
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
“One who lives in echoes,” Niris said softly.
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
“What does it mean?”
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
“You exist between lives now. Between deaths. Between worlds.”
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
“So I’m not… fully here?”
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
“You are here. But the past doesn’t let go.”
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
“Will it kill me?”
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
“Only if you forget who you are.”
</blockquote>