The Tidebreaker rocked violently as Echo and the crew rowed back from the Driftmaiden, the wreck’s blue vines thrashing like a beast roused from slumber. The Shattered Sea’s hum escalated into a bone-rattling scream, and the Driftmaiden’s mast flared with a blinding blue glow, summoning a Void Leviathan. Its serpentine body erupted from the depths, scales of shadow shimmering with veins of blue light, its twin void eyes glaring with cosmic malice. Veyra’s voice cut through the chaos, sharp and urgent: “The Driftmaiden’s curse summons guardians like this to protect its secrets—memories it refuses to release!” Her Starfall Veil flared, a shimmering dome of light encasing the ship, but the leviathan’s massive tail slammed against it, cracks spiderwebbing through the barrier. Zeyn’s lyre slipped from his hands, clattering to the deck, his fingers trembling as he stammered, “I-I can’t… it’s too much!” His voice broke, eyes wide with terror as the leviathan’s roar shook the air.

  Raiven drew Chrono Edge, its green pulse slowing the leviathan’s next strike in a ripple of time. “We’re not dying here!” he roared, his voice a beacon of defiance, echoing Luffy’s unyielding spirit: “It’s not about whether I can do it or not—I fight because I choose to!” But the leviathan’s maw opened, unleashing a void scream that rattled the ship’s timbers, sending a wave of icy dread through Echo’s chest. Their cracked blade trembled in their grip, the memory shard’s weight dragging their thoughts back to the Driftmaiden’s hold—the woman’s scream, her smile, the storm that swallowed their past crew. “I failed them once,” Echo whispered, their voice raw with guilt, channeling Tanjiro’s resolve: “No matter how many times I fall, I’ll stand up again—because I have to keep moving forward for them!”

  Korran charged, his storm-blade crackling with lightning, but a tendril of shadow lashed out, wrapping around his waist and slamming him into the deck with a sickening thud. He growled, his eyes blazing with fury, echoing Jotaro’s rage: “You’ve crossed me, beast! I don’t give a damn about your cosmic laws—I’ll shatter you into the abyss!” Veyra’s light burned the tendril away, freeing Korran, but her expression was cold, her voice laced with bitterness as she whispered, echoing Pain: “Those blind to the abyss’s agony will never grasp its silence.” Zeyn, clutching his lyre, remembered a lighter moment—tricking Raiven with a fake sea monster tale back in Eclipse Bay, the captain’s mock outrage dissolving into laughter. The memory sparked a flicker of courage, and he strummed a chaotic Chaos Note, laughing through his fear: “If you’ve got time to cry about your past, then you’ve got time to fight for your future!” Gintoki’s words brought a fleeting warmth to the crew amidst the storm.

  The leviathan’s void eyes locked onto Echo, its voice a hiss that echoed the ghosts’ accusation: “You’ll erase us again!” Echo dodged with Void Dodge, a blur of motion, their Memory Slash cutting through a tendril, but the leviathan’s words burrowed deep, echoing Obito’s despair: “There’s no light left in this void! Pain is a memory I’ve outgrown.” The betrayal stung, a knife in Echo’s heart, but their anger surged, their own words rising like a storm: “I won’t let your darkness drown my echoes—I’ll carve my light from your abyss!” Raiven’s Eternal Pause gave them a moment, Korran’s lightning striking the leviathan’s core, but it reformed, its scales pulsing brighter. Veyra’s voice was a whip, her resolve echoing Historia: “I’ll carve my path through the rift—not for the realms, but for my own soul!” Echo’s Memory Slash burned with a fierce blue light, severing the leviathan’s head in a single, desperate strike. The beast dissolved into mist, its scream fading into the sea’s hum.

  But the victory was short-lived. The leviathan’s defeat triggered a vision—the World Eater’s shadow loomed, its white void eyes unblinking, its voice a thunderous taunt: “You’ve stirred the abyss, Echo—your name will be your end.” It echoed Meruem: “Strength rules all in the end—it’s the only echo that lasts.” The Tidebreaker’s hull groaned, cracked from the battle. Echo collapsed to their knees, clutching their blade, whispering, “I’ll carry their echoes… even if it breaks me.” Raiven knelt beside them, his grin warm despite the chaos: “You’re a spark, Echo—let’s keep burning.”

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  ? Sensei of Story, 2025. All rights reserved.