Chapter 78 The Shard’s Echo
I stood beneath the silver tree, its branches dim but no longer lifeless. My memories had returned—fractured, yes, like a mirror glued back together with hope and stubbornness, but they were mine again.
The obsidian shard lay at my feet, dull and silent. No longer pulsing with rewritten prophecy. No longer whispering futures I didn’t choose.
The Watch gathered close, their expressions a mix of relief and residual panic. Milo held my hand, his shadow steady beside mine. He hadn’t let go since the ritual ended, and I hadn’t asked him to.
But something was wrong.
Not with the world.
With me.
I felt like a part of me was still missing; nothing felt whole. Sure, I remembered my friends and family, but there was a sliver of me that was missing. I just needed that sliver to become whole again.
I felt a little lost.
I tried to summon my fire.
It came—but slower. Colder. Like it had forgotten how to dance.
My sigils glowed faintly, as if disconnected from the source. The flame didn’t roar. It flickered. Hesitated.
Thessa stepped beside me, placing a hand on my shoulder. “You’re not burning right.”
Kael tilted his head, wind swirling around his boots. “It’s like something’s missing.”
I nodded slowly. “The shard was part of me. Removing it took more than memory.”
Milo frowned. “You think it took part of your flame?”
“I think it was part of my flame,” I said. “And now there’s a hollow space where it used to be. A sliver that can’t mend, that I can’t find to put it back to where it belongs.”
Zeke scribbled in his journal. “Chapter 48: Mo Gets Her Memories Back But Her Flame Goes on Strike.”
Lira handed me a muffin. “It’s enchanted with warmth. And cinnamon. Mostly cinnamon.”
I smiled weakly. “Thanks. I’ll take anything that doesn’t whisper to me at this point.”
That night, the veil trembled.
Not gently. Not politely.
It shuddered—a ripple of void surged across the Echoing Vale like a memory trying to claw its way back into existence.
The shard, though dim, cracked open.
Everyone heard it.
Everyone felt it.
We gathered at the edge of the Vale, weapons drawn, spells ready, muffins tucked safely away.
From the shard, black smoke rises into the air.
“Great,” Kael groans as the black smoke rises and surrounds the silver tree.
“Prefect, something else we have to fight” Thessa growls
Yuel stepped forward, raising a barrier of light that shimmered like moonfire. “You are not welcome here.”
Lira summoned waterlight, forming a containment ring around the black smoke, holding it like water trapped in a balloon.
Kael summoned a wind that circled the echo, whispering warnings. “I don’t like this. It smells like regret.”
Thessa drew a quick rune in the air. “If it tries anything, I’ll turn it into a decorative vapor.”
Zeke scribbled, “Chapter 49: Mo’s Echo Shows Up and Everyone Loses Their Minds.”
Ellira adjusted the veil stabilizer. “It’s not just an echo.”
Talon didn’t speak. He just stepped between me and the echo, sword drawn.
But I held up my hand.
“We need to find out what it is,” I yell.
I stepped towards the circle.
It shimmered around me, cold and sharp like walking into a memory that didn’t belong to me.
The smoke continues to swirl and shimmer within the circle that Lira trapped it in.
“Will this hold, Lira?” I asked as I stepped closer to the circle
“Yes, it's like it is looking for a way out. Maybe it is part of the echo that is looking for freedom,” Lira replies.
“So, is it bad or not?” Milo hisses as he continues to flick his eyes between me and the smoke.
I think it is trying to show us something.
I place my hand against the circle. I feel the pulse as the smoke swirls for several seconds before it gathers where my hand is placed and pulses stronger.
Before I can utter a single word, I am jolted back like I have been struck by electricity, and everything turns black.
Inside the dark, the smoke shows me every version of me I didn’t become.
Mo the Queen.
Mo the Tyrant.
Mo the Martyr.
Mo the Flame.
Mo the Forgotten.
Each one was a path I turned away from. Each one was a crown I refused to wear.
“I have seen all this. Why are you showing me this again?” I ask the smoke.
“Actions and consequences can cause ripples. The echo was part of a ripple, but you defeated it. I am what is left. I wish to be released. Once I settle on the silver tree, I will be healed and laid to rest,” The voice says inside my head.
“You aren’t here to hurt us?” I ask the smoke
“No, I just want peace. But to let me go means that you may never be whole.”
“If I do this, what will happen?” I ask
“Nothing….well nothing much,” the smoke responds
“Well, that sounds ominous.”
“Calyx isn’t gone; by setting me free, you will make him stronger.” The smoke responds
I felt it then.
“OK, I will let you rest. But I think it would be better if we all agree on it, please send me back so that I can talk to the Flameborn and get their opinion,” I ask
Thessa muttered, “Okay, this is officially the weirdest Tuesday we’ve had.”
Kael nodded. “And we’ve had some very weird Tuesdays.”
Lira whispered, “She’s talking to herself. But like... emotionally.”
Yuel’s barrier pulsed. “The smoke is stabilizing. That’s not good.”
Zeke scribbled, “Chapter 50: Mo Talks to black smoke and Everyone Pretends It’s Normal.”
Ellira frowned. “If she absorbs it, she might restore her flame. Or she might fracture again.”
When I wake, I look to my friends.
“The smoke wishes to be set free. But in doing so, we could help Calyx come back. The smoke is a residual echo that wishes to be laid to rest,” I explain without wasting time.
“What happens if we don’t?” Kael asks
“Is this the right thing to do?” Thessa mutters
“I mean, smoke is asking to be laid to rest,” Lira growls.
“Do it,” Milo says.