The three of them stepped out of the cave and into the cool forest air. Sunlight filtered through the canopy, brushing over their faces as Aki stretched his arms high.
"So...... did we like... just change the future??" Aki asked, one hand rubbing his head as if trying to make sense of their conversation.
Echo folded her arms and narrowed her eyes at him, the breeze tugging her braids.
"Ugh, that concept is kind of irrelevant when dimensions are involved. You can't change a future that hasn't even happened yet. We just contributed to the present, shaping the ever-changing possibilities for the future," She returned, lazily kicking a pebble down the forest path.
"Ugh, time stuff is confusing," Aki returned, rubbing the back of his head with a groan.
Suddenly, Luna stepped ahead of them, turning around sharply, her expression tight with worry.
"Echo, why did you do that? Didn't you see how desperate he was to find that time stone?! We should have given it to him," she lectured her, voice trembling.
Echo paused, hesitant toa answer. Her gaze drifted over the distant ocean glittering past the treeline.
"It's for the best, Luna. What if he'd used it to go back but failed to change anything? He'd have to live it all again. He said himself; anything can happen as consequence. It's all too risky. Why do you think there's a curse on it in the first place?" she pointed out.
"Yeah, but why is something like that even in the human world?? Thought artefacts were a magical world thing. The angels would go mad if they knew something this powerful was just lying around here," Aki mentioned.
"It was probably an angel that dropped it. Or maybe a demon from the Golden Age? Since it became a legend, someone must have known about it," Echo shrugged.
"So... do you think we take it to our dimension? In case something bad happens??" Luna brought up, wringing her hands anxiously.
"This belongs in this dimension, Luna. Bet it won't even work in ours. Besides, how do you think I knew where this one was? I'd already found it in our dimension," Echo revealed.
"HUH??!!" Luna yelped, her voice echoing off the cave walls behind them.
"So, what did you do with it?" Aki asked, leaning in as if expecting something wise or astounding.
"This," Echo suddenly LAUNCHED THE STONE INTO THE SEA!!!!!
The two watched it arc through the air and plummet into the crashing waves far below the cliff.
"AGHH!!! WHY?!!!" Luna and Aki yelled out in horror, both grabbing their heads dramatically.
Echo brushed dirt off her hands, completely unbothered.
"Don't be dumb, guys. This thing changes the timeline, not dimension. It would be stupid and dangerous to use. The only reason I took it was for Hachiro's own good. He spent seven years looking for that thing! He might even still be looking for it now, ten years later! All it's made him do is lose what little he had left..." Echo mumbled, her voice lowering.
"What do you mean by that??" Luna wondered, stepping closer.
"... that it was all for nothing. He forgot what he was really fighting for. What it all meant..." Echo went on, eyes fixed on the waves below.
"Echo, how much do you know about Hachirou...?" Luna asked.
"... too much," Echo answered, her posture stiffening.
"What was it he was fighting for...? To have spent so long there, all alone...?" Luna wondered, her chest tightening.
Echo hesitated to answer.
YOU ARE READING
The Demons of Shadow Moon
FantasyAwake. But the nightmare has not ended. It's simply been forgotten. With her memories wiped, Luna wakes up on an island all alone. Scared and fragile, she clings to the kindness offered to her by two demons. They take her in, and teach her magic! B...
