The Warden Echo hits the ground with a weight that makes the walls tremble. Its body is fused scrap and soul steel, with veins of crystallized Lumes pulsing through its limbs like arteries. Its chest cavity swirls with white ash.
It doesn't speak.
It judges.
"Okay, Grim. Quick thing. That's not a normal Echo. That's a fully active Guardian-class. We're talking mini-boss with unresolved emotional trauma."
Grim backs up slowly, hands lighting with a flicker of fire. "I've fought worse."
"You sneezed blood fighting a puddle demon."
"It was a venomous puddle demon."
The Warden Echo's eyes ignite. It dashes forward—way faster than expected. Grim blocks just in time, flames hardening across his arms, but the force throws him into a wall with a crash.
Grim lunges, fists flaming, striking with practiced fury. He warps space in small bursts—sidestepping, sliding behind the Warden, punching through metal armor. Sparks pulses light through his veins, boosting reflexes.
"Left hook! Duck! FIRE KNEE—okay wow, did not think that'd work!"
The Warden staggers—but not for long.
It twists unnaturally and roars, releasing a shockwave of raw Lume energy, throwing Grim back again. Sparks glitches.
"Okay okay, we need more juice. You're gonna have to Ash Surge—now."
Grim pushes to his feet, blood on his lip, eyes burning.
"Fine. Let's light this place up."
🔥 Ash Surge… Glitch
He breathes deep. Focuses. The embers in his core spiral—
—and snap. His vision flickers. Everything stutters.
The flames spike—then die.
His knees buckle. Sparks surges inside him.
"No no no—don't crash on me now, Flame Boy!"
Grim drops. Chest heaving. The fire won't answer.
The Warden Echo approaches, dragging a metal claw across the wall.
"Why… now?" Grim mutters.
"Your core's overloaded. Too many emotion spikes, too fast. You're trying to do myth-tier stunts on a fifteen-year-old heart. Guess what? Not built for it."
"Then fix it."
"I'm an AI! Not a magical mechanic with a trauma toolset!"
The Warden Echo raises a spike-fused arm.
Grim closes his eyes.
⚡ Sparks Takes Over
Suddenly—SNAP—a jolt of lightning explodes from Grim's chest. Sparks ejects half-formed into the air—glowing, blurry, sharp-edged and furious.
"Touch my host again, you regret-coded tin bucket."
He raises both arms. A Summon Glyph sparks to life behind him.
"Astral Wolf, bite this Echo's shiny metal—"
A massive ghost-light wolf crashes down from nowhere, slamming the Warden into the ground.
Sparks flickers, glitching from overuse.
"Okay… not gonna lie, that felt awesome. Also I might be dying. Grim?"
💀 Recovery
Grim opens his eyes. The pressure lifts. The Warden is crushed beneath spectral fangs. Sparks drifts closer, dimmer.
"You okay, Sparky?"
"Physically? No. Existentially? Slightly more fulfilled."
Grim groans, standing slowly. "So… next time, Ash Surge might kill me?"
"Or unlock your true potential. Or both. 60/40 odds. Probably."
They limp out of the refinery as dawn begins to break, the air thick with Lume dust and the scent of scorched regret.
Far above, the Watcher finally smiles.
"They're syncing faster than projected."