Kai sat motionless, his mind whirling with everything the mysterious woman had revealed. The "other half of the Echo" what did that even mean? Was it another instrument? A person? A secret?
The woman, now fully visible in her ethereal glow, sat beside him on the steps of the ancient garden. The night sky shimmered with countless stars, and the wind carried a melody that was both haunting and beautiful.
"You don't remember me, do you?" she asked softly, her eyes filled with sadness.
Kai hesitated, his heart heavy. "I wish I did. But I don't. Who are you?"
She smiled faintly. "My name is Lyra. In another lifetime, you and I were bound together by a promise made under these very stars."
Kai's chest tightened at her words. "What kind of promise?"
She reached out, her fingers gently brushing against his hand, sending warmth through him. "A promise to find each other, no matter how many lifetimes it takes. You were the only one who could play the Celestial Echo and I... I hold its other half."
Kai's eyes widened. "You mean there are two parts?"
Lyra nodded. "Yes. The Echo is not whole without me. We are its guardians, its keepers of balance. Together, its true power awakens."
"But why me? Why now?"
Her gaze turned to the sky, where constellations seemed to pulse with light. "Because darkness is rising again. And if we don't unite the Echo, everything we loved, everything we fought for will be lost."
Kai felt the weight of her words sink deep into his soul. Though his memories were fragmented, something inside him recognized the truth in her voice.
"So, what do we do now?" he asked, determined.
Lyra turned to him, a glimmer of hope in her eyes. "We begin where it all started. We play the Echo together and awaken what has long been asleep."
As she took his hand and placed it on the strings, Kai realized this was just the beginning of something much bigger than himself a journey that would test everything he thought he knew.
And as their fingers moved in harmony over the strings, a new melody filled the night a song of destiny, love, and forgotten promises.