Chapter 75: Echoes of the Forgotten

Elias reached out, his fingers brushing against the ephemeral hand of the shade. The instant contact sent a jolt of icy energy coursing through his body, and in that moment, he was no longer standing in the Dreamscape—he was elsewhere.

A cascade of memories crashed into him, each one unraveling like an ancient tapestry of sorrow and longing. Voices, fragmented and distant, whispered truths that had been buried beneath the shifting sands of time. He could feel them—faint echoes of lives once lived, emotions that still clung to existence despite being forsaken by reality itself.

He staggered back, gasping as his vision blurred between the past and present. Faces flickered before his eyes—some familiar, others unknown yet strangely significant. He saw warriors who had fallen in forgotten wars, scholars whose knowledge had been erased from history, and wanderers who had strayed too far into the Dreamscape and lost their way. They were all remnants, shadows of souls caught between the threads of fate and oblivion.

"You... were once part of this world," Elias murmured, piecing together the fragments.

The shade's form wavered, its ethereal glow dimming. "Yes... and no," it replied, its voice carrying the weight of centuries. "We are what remains when the dreamer forgets. When a world is reshaped, not everything survives."

Elias clenched his fists. Was this the price of rewriting fate? Had he unknowingly erased lives that still longed for existence?

A second shade materialized beside the first, its presence just as sorrowful yet filled with quiet acceptance. "You must understand," it said, "The Dreamscape bends to the will of its creator, but even you cannot control what is left behind."

The realization hit him like a dagger to the heart. His actions—his choices—had not only altered his own fate but had also rewritten the fabric of countless others. He had stepped deeper into the Dreamscape than anyone before him, unraveling layers of reality that were never meant to be touched.

He steadied himself, his voice firm despite the turmoil within. "Then tell me—what is it you want?"

Silence followed, thick and contemplative. The shades did not speak immediately, as if the weight of their existence could not be so easily defined. Then, finally, a single whisper cut through the void like a solemn prayer.

"To be remembered."

The weight of those words settled over Elias like a heavy shroud. They did not seek vengeance. They did not wish to undo what had been done. They simply longed to exist—to be acknowledged as part of a story that had not yet reached its end.

Elias's breath was steady, his resolve hardening. "Then I will remember you."

The moment those words left his lips, the shades stirred. A ripple of energy passed through them, their forms shimmering with newfound light. One by one, they began to fade—not in pain, not in despair, but in peace. The torment of being forgotten no longer held them captive. Their echoes resonated in the Dreamscape, carried by unseen winds, free at last.

Elias exhaled slowly, feeling the weight of their presence settle within him. They were gone, but not lost. Their stories, their existence, had now become a part of his own.

As the last flicker of light dissipated, he turned toward the horizon, where the Dreamscape stretched endlessly before him. He had come so far, yet his journey was far from over.

There were still truths to uncover, mysteries to unravel, and a fate he had yet to fully grasp.

For even the forgotten deserved an ending.