Chapter 60: Echoes of the Past

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Dabi wandered deeper into the ruins, his eyes scanning the crumbling architecture of what was once a grand civilization. The eerie silence that filled the air was unsettling, and he couldn't shake the feeling that the place had once been full of life and purpose. As he walked, his foot brushed against something small and round.

Curious, Dabi knelt down and uncovered a strange stone half-buried in the dust. It was about the size of his palm, glowing faintly with a soft blue light. He reached out to touch it, and the moment his fingers made contact, the light flared brightly, almost blinding him.

A system notification rang in his mind:

"You have found a Memory Stone. Accessing the stone will reveal the ancient memories of the Dimension Caretakers, but beware—it will drain a large portion of your mana."

Dabi hesitated for a moment, weighing the cost. The idea of learning more about the Dimension Caretakers intrigued him. He was already deep in their ruins, fighting shadows of their past. Maybe this would give him the answers he sought. With a determined nod, he activated the stone.

A Glimpse of the Past

The world around him blurred and shifted. For a moment, everything was disorienting, but then, like a veil being lifted, the scene before him changed. Dabi was no longer standing in the ruins but in a bustling city. He recognized the towering structures as the same ones that now lay in ruins around him.

He saw figures moving about, their robes flowing as they went about their duties. These were the Dimension Caretakers, a race known for guarding the very fabric of space and dimensions. Dabi watched in awe as they manipulated dimensional rifts with ease, creating portals and bending space to their will.

But the peaceful scene didn't last. Suddenly, the sky darkened, and an ominous feeling gripped the city. The Caretakers looked up in horror as the air itself began to ripple with dark energy. From the sky, a wave of black shadows descended—formless beings, their presence radiating destruction.

Dabi tried to focus on the enemy, but no matter how hard he tried, their true form remained hidden. The shadows were just that—shadows. He couldn't see who or what they truly were, only their dark presence and the devastation they caused.

The Fall of the Caretakers

In a swift and brutal attack, the black shadows tore through the city. The Dimension Caretakers fought back valiantly, using all their power to fend off the invaders, but it was no use. One by one, they fell, their powers drained by the overwhelming force of the shadows.

Dabi saw glimpses of massive structures crumbling, dimensional rifts collapsing in on themselves, and the once-glorious civilization reduced to ruin. It was chaos and destruction on a scale he could barely comprehend. And then, just as quickly as it had begun, the vision started to fade.

The last thing Dabi saw was a single Caretaker standing alone, surrounded by the shadows. The figure reached out, as if trying to protect something precious—but before Dabi could see what it was, the vision ended.

Drained of Power

Dabi gasped as he snapped back to reality, stumbling backward from the sheer force of the memory. His body trembled, and he could feel his mana reserves plummeting, rapidly draining from the strain of the memory stone. His vision blurred, and for a moment, he felt dizzy, barely able to stand.

"Mana levels critical," the system warned in his mind, but he already knew. He could feel the exhaustion seeping into his bones. Using the Memory Stone had taken far more out of him than he anticipated.

With trembling hands, Dabi quickly stored the Memory Stone in his dimensional storage, making sure it was safe for future use. He needed to regain his strength and figure out what all this meant. The Dimension Caretakers had been wiped out by something truly powerful, and he had only caught a glimpse of their enemies—enemies cloaked in darkness.

But what were those shadows? And why had they destroyed an entire race?

As the questions swirled in his mind, Dabi leaned against a wall, breathing heavily. His mana was dangerously low, and he knew he would need time to recover. But the knowledge he had gained from the Memory Stone was invaluable. This place held far more secrets than he had imagined, and Dabi was determined to uncover them all.

For now, though, he needed to rest.

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