Chapter 9: Whispers of the Forgotten

The name Elysia lingered in the air, wrapping around Kai like an invisible thread pulling him forward. His pulse quickened.

Elysia. He had never heard it before, yet it felt like a missing piece of himself something he had once held close and lost.

He looked down at the Celestial Echo. The instrument was silent now, but it had given him a clue. A starting point.

Kai swallowed hard. "Elysia…" He tested the name on his tongue, half-expecting something to happen.

Nothing.

The stranger had disappeared into the night, leaving Kai standing alone on the quiet street. He exhaled, gripping the instrument case tighter. If the Celestial Echo could show him glimpses of the past, then maybe just maybe it could lead him to her.

He needed to find answers.

And he knew exactly where to start.

---

The next morning, Kai stood outside the Orion Archives, an old library on the edge of town. It was the kind of place people overlooked dusty shelves, forgotten books, and a silence that felt older than time itself.

As he pushed open the heavy wooden doors, a bell chimed softly. The scent of aged paper and ink filled the air.

A woman sat behind the counter, flipping through a leather-bound book. She looked up, adjusting her glasses. "Can I help you?"

Kai hesitated. "I need information about an old instrument… and a name."

The woman raised a brow. "That's an unusual request."

Kai managed a small, tense smile. "I have an unusual problem."

She studied him for a moment, then closed her book. "Alright. Let's see what we can find."

As she led him through the dimly lit aisles, Kai couldn't shake the feeling that he was exactly where he was meant to be.

Somewhere in these pages, a forgotten story was waiting to be remembered.

And he was ready to uncover it.