The waves of the Hollow Sea were not water but memories—shimmering mist that sloshed with the groan of ancient voices. Jason stood on the jagged cliffs with Ava, Elias, and Mr. Rivers, staring down at the black void that stretched endlessly ahead. The third Anchor pulsed below the mist, hidden in the labyrinth beneath the sea.
Elias took a deep breath. "You feel it, don't you? This place isn't just a ruin. It remembers. It listens."
Jason nodded, heart pounding. The strange energy here prickled at his skin, like invisible fingers brushing against his mind. He could hear whispers—distant, sorrowful, and heavy. They weren't words. They were feelings.
"Grief," Ava murmured. "Loss. Rage."
The boat that waited at the edge wasn't an ordinary one. It was made of obsidian bark and glowing symbols. Elias explained, "This is a memory vessel. It will carry us through the Hollow Sea, but only if your blood accepts the route."
Jason stepped forward. The boat shimmered, its hull resonating with a low hum.
Mr. Rivers placed a hand on Jason's shoulder. "You don't have to go down there alone. We're with you. All the way."
Jason nodded. "Let's do this."
---
As they drifted into the Hollow Sea, the mists thickened, swallowing the light. Shapes formed and dissolved—echoes of things long forgotten. Giant silhouettes moved in the fog: humanoid, twisted, ancient. They didn't attack. They watched.
Jason felt like he was being judged.
The boat led them to a crumbling stone pier, half-submerged in black mist. There was a stairwell ahead, spiraling down into the depths. Jason could feel the Anchor below—beating like a heart of stone and fire.
"This is it," Elias whispered. "The third Anchor. Built by the first Watchers. Guarded by the giants who fell."
They descended in silence. The walls were carved with runes that pulsed softly as Jason passed. At the bottom was a vast cavern, domed and shadowed, where a massive crystal structure rose from the floor, suspended by chains that disappeared into the dark.
The third Anchor.
As Jason approached, visions hit him like a storm.
---
He stood in the skin of another man. Tall, broad-shouldered. His father.
Jason's real father, younger, eyes filled with pain. He was here before—years ago. Standing before this very Anchor.
A voice echoed around him. "You refused the pact."
"I refused to damn my son," his father growled. "I broke the bloodline. I will not let him suffer."
"You only delayed it. The gate will open, with or without you."
Jason collapsed to his knees as the vision faded. Ava knelt beside him, alarmed. "What did you see?"
"My father… he was here. He knew about the Anchors. He fought against this fate."
A sudden roar shook the cavern.
From the far wall, the stone cracked open. A giant—one of the Echo Guardians—emerged. Its face was cracked and hollow, its arms like tree trunks of petrified bone.
Elias drew a blade of memory steel. "The test begins."
---
The battle was like dancing with storms. The giant moved slowly but with devastating force. Jason and Ava dodged, sending blasts of runic energy. Mr. Rivers hurled fire glyphs that burned the air.
But it was Elias who charged first, slicing through the giant's leg and drawing an inhuman howl.
"Jason!" Ava shouted. "The Anchor—it's reacting to your blood. Reach it!"
Jason ran toward the glowing heart. As his fingers brushed the surface, the world spun. Time shattered. Space unraveled.
He was inside the Anchor now. A place beyond the veil.
He saw memories—his father's choices, the Watchers' pact, the giants' betrayal.
One voice pierced the fog. A deep, calm whisper: "You are the key. Not the weapon. Not the heir. The balance."
Jason reached out. "Then tell me what I must do."
The Anchor pulsed. Symbols poured into his skin, writing themselves into his bones. His eyes glowed.
When he returned, the giant was on its knees. Elias was bleeding. Ava was screaming his name.
Jason raised his hand, and with a wordless force, the giant shattered into fragments of mist and stone.
Silence.
---
They stood in the stillness of victory.
But it wasn't over.
The Hollow Sea began to drain. The mist coiled inward, revealing a gate beneath the Anchor—black, ornate, sealed with seven locks.
Mr. Rivers stared in awe. "The Bloodline Gate…"
Jason stepped forward, eyes still glowing. "And only three Anchors remain."
Ava took his hand. "We'll find them. All of them."
Elias, wounded but standing, added, "The next one lies in the Burning Roots. But be warned… they say even memory burns there."
As they turned away, the whispers returned, louder now, clearer:
"Open the gate… or the world ends in silence."
Jason didn't speak. He just stared at the seal beneath the Hollow Sea, knowing the future was chained in blood.
And he had just found the key.