Chapter Twenty-Nine — Final Witness
"It is time," Sun said, staring at the object resting in the palm of his hand.
It was shaped like a lotus flower. An Echo. More specifically, a Memory-Type Echo. It was something he had taken from Kael's lab.
Memory-Type Echoes were different from ordinary Echoes. Their final wish was not power or revenge, but simply not to be forgotten. Anyone who accepted one would be forced to live through the Echo's entire life, experiencing every memory as if it were their own. Only after reaching the end would the Echo finally disappear, leaving behind its reward.
An Attribute.
A permanent blessing that would remain with its owner for life.
Normally, this was not something an E-Rank should even think about attempting. Those who entered Memory Echoes at such a low realm often returned with fractured minds, split personalities, or never woke up at all.
Sun, however, had once been a god.
Even then, he hadn't attempted it earlier.
After his parents' deaths, his mind had been dangerously unstable. Adding another lifetime on top of his own would have been nothing short of suicide.
Now...
He was better.
Not healed.
Better.
And beneath that recovery lay something else.
A hunger for power.
Even so, the danger remained.
He had no idea whose memories awaited him inside the flower. He had no idea what kind of life he would be forced to experience or what price that life would demand before reaching its conclusion.
Thinking about how difficult it had been to hide the Echo from Frank, Sun let out a quiet sigh.
The only saving grace was that Frank had never touched his belongings.
Frank, in human terms, was a stalker.
During the months Sun spent recovering, Frank watched him like a hawk, always finding another excuse to check on him, usually claiming he was too young to be left alone.
By the end of those months, Frank probably knew the exact number of hairs on Sun's head.
Sun wasn't exaggerating.
Now...
Back to the matter at hand.
Only a single second would pass in reality.
Inside the Echo...
He would live an entirely different life.
A new world.
A lifetime.
The familiar blue status window appeared before him.
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MEMORY-TYPE ECHO DETECTED
═══════════════════════════════════════
Echo Classification : Memory
Completion Status : Incomplete
Final Wish : To Be Remembered
Accepting this Echo will overwrite
your present consciousness until
the memory reaches its natural end.
The life within this Echo
must be lived in its entirety.
Would you like to become
its final witness?
▶ YES
NO
Sun let out one last breath.
Mentally...
He accepted.
He had one hell of a ride ahead of him.