Divine Emperor In Another World

Episode 23: Echoes of the Faceless

The chamber roared to life.

Stone groaned, chains clattered, and the faceless statues lining the walls shivered as ghostfire poured from their hollow eyes. Cracks split their bodies, spilling rusted energy like veins of molten ore.

The whispers became a storm—hundreds of voices screaming at once, a language of broken memories that clawed at the mind.

The first statue lurched forward, dragging a chain-lash that cracked the ground like thunder.

Akira was already moving. His katana flashed in a perfect arc, sparks bursting as steel met stone. The impact jarred his arms, but the blade held.

"Tch—harder than the Guardian," he muttered, sliding back.

---

Kuro surged beside him, emberblade flaring alive. His strike cut across the statue's chest, molten sparks hissing—but the stone reformed almost instantly, the wound knitting closed.

"They don't stay down!" Kuro growled.

Elira raised her palms, frostfire spiraling into a cyclone. She unleashed it with a sharp gesture, the icy flames wrapping around another statue's legs. Frost crackled upward, freezing stone in place—only for cracks to split open, ghostfire bleeding through the ice.

Her voice was tight. "They're not statues. They're echoes—fragments of those who bore the Seals before us."

Kuro's eyes narrowed. "You mean—these things were alive?"

"Yes." Her jaw clenched. "And Norvahel bound them here… to remember."

---

Another statue lunged, chain snapping forward like a serpent. Akira ducked under the strike, blade carving an upward slash that severed the chain mid-whip. But the broken links writhed, twisting together, reforming before his eyes.

He cursed. "These things repair faster than I can cut!"

Kuro skidded beside him, emberlight flaring along his arms. "Then we don't cut—we break the echo itself."

[System Alert: Weak Point Detected – Resonance Core]

[Target Location: Chest Cavity]

Kuro's gaze snapped to the faint glow pulsing beneath the stone's chest. "There. Aim for the core!"

---

He leapt high, blade igniting in a comet of flame. His strike slammed against the statue's chest, the impact ringing like a bell. Cracks spiderwebbed outward, the faint core pulsing brighter.

The statue shrieked—not with sound, but with memory. A thousand voices howled through Kuro's mind—pain, loss, rage. For a heartbeat, he staggered, clutching his head.

[Warning: Cognitive Overload – Anchor Required]

The whispers tore at him, showing flashes—faces he didn't know, wars he never fought, grief that wasn't his.

"You failed us. You failed them all."

Kuro's grip wavered—until a hand gripped his arm.

Elira. Her frostfire burned steady, shielding his mind. Her voice cut through the storm. "Not your memories. Don't let them claim you."

His emberlight steadied. "…Right."

Together, their flames flared—heat and frost entwining. With a united strike, they drove through the chest, shattering the core.

The statue convulsed, then collapsed into dust, chains crumbling with it.

---

Akira whistled low. "…So that's the trick. Hit the glowing heart. Figures."

But even as the first echo fell, more advanced. Ten. Twenty. The entire chamber stirred, faceless giants dragging chains, ghostfire screaming in their hollow sockets.

Akira set his stance, katana steady. "Yeah, alright. Guess we're doing this the hard way."

---

The battle descended into chaos.

Chains lashed like storms, stone fists crashing down with earth-shaking force. The trio moved as one—Akira cutting paths with precise strikes, Kuro burning through openings, Elira weaving frostfire barriers that shattered under the relentless assault.

Kuro slashed across another core, sparks exploding as the echo wailed. He shouted over the din. "There's too many! We'll be crushed at this rate!"

Elira's frostfire spiraled, freezing three chains mid-swing. Her voice was harsh with urgency. "Then we stop fighting them one by one—we break the resonance binding them!"

Akira blocked a crushing blow, his blade vibrating with the impact. "And how exactly do we do that, Princess?!"

Her eyes burned violet as she raised her hands, frostfire blazing higher. "The Pact. We push it further—resonate not with each other, but with the chamber itself."

Kuro's heart pounded. He remembered the last sync—the raw power, the near collapse. But there was no time for doubt.

He met her gaze. "…Do it."

---

[System Alert: Frostfire Pact – Sync Initiation]

[Warning: Stability Level Critical]

Their flames flared, colliding in a torrent of heat and frost. The chamber itself seemed to shudder, the runes on the pedestal pulsing in response.

The echoes shrieked, staggering as the resonance tore through them. Chains writhed, cracking under the pressure.

Akira shielded his face from the blast, cursing. "If this thing blows us up, I'm blaming both of you!"

Kuro and Elira pressed forward, their voices ringing together.

"Resonate—!"

The frostfire torrent erupted outward, a spiraling storm of white-blue fire that slammed into the echoes. Cores cracked, chains shattered, statues crumbled under the sheer force.

One by one, the echoes dissolved into rusted dust.

---

The chamber fell silent.

Only the faint pulse of the pedestal remained, runes glowing brighter now.

Kuro collapsed to one knee, breath ragged. His emberblade flickered weakly. "…We… did it…"

Elira sank beside him, her frostfire dimming. Sweat dripped from her brow, but her eyes were steady. "The resonance worked. It broke their bindings."

Akira leaned on his katana, panting. "Yeah. Almost broke us too."

---

The runes on the pedestal shifted again, forming new words.

"Two Seals remain.

The path narrows.

Blood remembers what stone cannot."

Elira's gaze darkened. "…Blood. It means the next Seal will demand more than strength. It will demand sacrifice."

Akira scowled. "Great. As if this wasn't suicidal enough already."

Kuro rose slowly, clutching the Seal of Norvahel tighter. His emberlight eyes burned with resolve. "…Then we decide whose blood. On our terms—not the city's."

---

The chamber trembled once more.

But this time, it was not awakening statues. The far wall cracked, stone shifting aside to reveal another stairway—spiraling downward, deeper into the drowned ruins.

Mist poured upward, heavier than before, carrying whispers like screams muffled beneath water.

[System Update: Frostfire Pact Progress – 12%]

[Seal Fragment Acquired: Blood-Echo Insignia]

---

Akira wiped his blade clean, exhaling slowly. "Down we go again, huh?"

Elira stared into the mist, frost clinging to her lashes. Her voice was quiet. "…Norvahel isn't just testing us. It's showing us what it became. A city that devoured its own people to live forever."

Kuro's grip tightened on his blade. "Then we'll burn through its heart. No matter what it takes."

The three exchanged a look. No words were needed.

And then—they stepped onto the stairway, descending once more into the darkness.

---

But as the mist closed around them, one whisper rose above the rest. Clear. Familiar.

"…Elira…"

Her blood ran cold.

She knew that voice.

Her father's.

---

[To Be Continued…]