The bridge of light trembled under Fred's feet, but he pressed forward, his breath misting in the chilled air.
As he crossed, he could see Elise ahead — stranded on a separate island wrapped in shimmering vines and crystalline flowers. The sky above her had turned an eerie shade of violet, and the garden pulsed with an unnatural life.
"Elise!" Fred called out.
But she didn't turn.
She was staring — frozen — at a figure standing among the crystal trees.
A woman.
The woman looked almost like Elise… but older, wearier, her white gown torn and her arms wrapped in bloodstained bandages. Her silver hair tumbled down her shoulders, and her emerald eyes — the same green as Elise's — shone with grief.
Fred slowed down, sensing that this was her echo.
The woman spoke, her voice fragile like glass.
"You promised you wouldn't leave... but you did."
Elise flinched, her bow trembling in her grip.
"I had no choice," Elise whispered, her voice breaking. "I— I couldn't save everyone."
The crystalline flowers around her started to wilt, turning black.
Fred saw her body shaking, saw the battle raging inside her heart.
This wasn't a battle of swords.
It was a battle of forgiveness.
The older version of Elise — the woman she might have become if she had surrendered to guilt — stepped closer.
"You let them die," the echo accused. "You let me die."
Tears brimmed in Elise's eyes.
Fred opened his mouth to call out — but a vine shot up from the ground, wrapping around his mouth and dragging him back.
This was her fight.
Elise dropped her bow.
Her hands hung by her sides, trembling.
"I hated myself for it," she whispered. "Every day. Every night."
The echo said nothing, simply watching.
"But..." Elise said, straightening up, her voice growing steadier, "I also remembered them. Their laughter. Their dreams. Their trust."
She stepped forward.
"And I carry them with me. Every day."
The vines loosened.
The older Elise's expression shifted — sorrow melting into something like peace.
Slowly, she extended her hand.
Elise reached out — and the moment their fingers touched, the entire garden burst into radiant light. The wilted flowers bloomed again, brighter than before, sending spirals of gold into the sky.
Fred stumbled forward as the bridge reformed under him.
Elise turned to him, wiping her eyes but smiling.
"They live on... through us," she said softly.
Fred nodded, feeling a surge of pride for her.
They moved together now, racing across the next bridge, deeper into the heart of the Trial of Echoes.
Above them, the sky rumbled — the constellations now forming a doorway of light.
But more challenges awaited.
And not all echoes would be so kind.
--