Chapter 19. The Final Resonance

By midday, new arrivals crowded the lower halls. Keepers of memory from across the fractured lands—scribes, singers, broken warriors, forgotten prophets. Each came carrying a piece of the old world, and each brought song.

Solin had created a new hall within the Keep’s core—a circular chamber inscribed with the runes of every known language. It echoed like a drum with every step.

“This will be the first Archive of Echoes,” he told the gathering. “Not to store the past, but to let it breathe.”

Kade, standing with a bandaged arm and half a smirk, added, “And if anyone tries to burn this one down, they’ll be facing Hollowed and Keepers alike.”

Aria walked to the center and raised the songstone.

“I was given this not to guard,” she said. “But to resonate. To share. The Hollowed are no longer enemies. They are us. We just forgot how to hear them.”

From the mist outside, the Hollowed entered. But they no longer came cloaked in dread. They sang. Quietly.