Ortinus (stepping forward confidently, his blue sword cutting through the tower's darkness):
"Your maneuvers are over, Echo of Leus. You've revealed your truth — now I will reveal the end of this shadow."
The Black Bird (its voice hissing like snakes):
"You think a sword can cut shadow? How naïve… You carry a key you don't know how to turn. Leus trembled while holding that feather — but you hold it with a warrior's ignorance."
Blater (shouting while trying to recharge his staff):
"Don't listen to it, Ortinus! It's buying time to repair its wing! Nirar, do you see the opening in its chest? Where the black pulse gathers?"
Nirar (preparing an arrow wrapped in a crystal of light):
"I see it, Blater. Ortinus — when I fire, you'll have only three seconds before its shadow shield closes again. Are you ready?"
Ortinus:
"Three seconds are more than I need. Pikos, Darius — stay with the master and Romilius. Don't let the side-shadows approach!"
Pikos (holding a heavy metal frying pan he pulled from his bag):
"Don't worry about us! I'll smash the head of any shadow that tries to taste my flesh! Darius, why are you looking at me like that? A frying pan is a deadly weapon in tight situations!"
Darius (laughing nervously):
"You're unbelievable, Pikos — fighting assassins with kitchen tools. Master Romilius, do you think the feather can withstand this pressure? Its color is turning purple!"
Romilius (concerned):
"It's reacting to the Echo's energy. The feather is not just an object — it's an energy being that absorbs what surrounds it. Ortinus! Don't let your anger mix with the feather's power. Keep your intention pure, or it will turn against you!"
Ortinus:
"I will try, Master… but this creature killed innocent people in Siwar. I cannot feel peace toward it."
The Black Bird (opening its beak and exhaling a cloud of poisonous smoke):
"Death… is the only peace you will find here!"
Blater:
"Now, Nirar! Fire!"
Nirar's arrow shot forward like a streak of white lightning, piercing the smoke cloud and striking the bird's chest directly. The creature screamed, shaking the tower's foundations. Its shadow shield opened, revealing a cracked black-crystal "heart."
Ortinus:
"Now!"
Ortinus rushed forward, leaping across the moving gears with incredible speed. The feather in his pocket began radiating intense heat, its light flowing into his sword blade, which transformed from dim blue into a blinding white glow.
The Black Bird (in panic):
"Stop! If you shatter my heart… the return gate will be destroyed forever! You will never see Acadia again!"
Ortinus (pausing for a moment, hesitation in his eyes):
"What did you say?"
Blater:
"Don't believe it! It's lying to save itself!"
The Black Bird (gasping):
"I am part of the gate… Leus left me here as an anchor. If I die, the ship is lost in nothingness. Are you ready to sacrifice your world for petty revenge?"
Romilius:
"Ortinus! Remember what I told you — truth is not always what the eye sees! Nirar, does what it says make sense?"
Nirar (deep in concentration):
"There's a small possibility… In temporal science, an Echo can function as a bridge. But it's a corrupted bridge, Ortinus! If you keep it alive, it will continue killing!"
Ortinus (looking at the bird, then his companions, then his glowing sword):
"If you are a bridge… then I will purify you. I will not kill you — I will return you to your origin!"
Ortinus placed his left hand on the feather, gripped his sword with his right, and drove the blade not into the bird's heart but into the metal floor beneath the creature, releasing all the feather's energy through the metal.
Ortinus:
"In the name of Acadia and by the power of Ziola… leave this shadow and return to the light!"
Light exploded everywhere. Pikos covered his face, and Darius cried out from the intensity of the glow. The Black Bird began to dissolve — not like smoke fading, but like ice melting under the sun — until nothing remained except a small, clear blue crystal that fell to the ground.
Blater (approaching cautiously, brushing dust from his clothes):
"Is it over? Is it dead?"
Nirar (picking up the crystal):
"Ortinus purified it. It is no longer a dark Echo. This crystal is a pure essence… and it is indeed another key to Asheel."
The tower's trembling stopped. The old clock began turning again slowly, and the steady sound of gears rose like the heartbeat of the city.
Pikos (breathing in relief):
"Finally! Can we now consider ourselves heroes and go eat that sheep? I was about to eat my frying pan from hunger!"
Ortinus (dropping to his knees in exhaustion):
"It was right about one thing… the journey will not be easy. The feather drained all my energy."
Blater (placing a hand on Ortinus's shoulder):
"You saved Siwar from a never-ending nightmare. Tomorrow, everyone will know that the strangers from the First World restored life to the clock tower. But for now… the restaurant awaits — and this time, it's on me!"
Darius:
"You heard him, Pikos — his treat! Move before he changes his mind!"
The companions left the tower. The rain had stopped, and Ziola's purple sun began to emerge from behind the clouds, announcing the end of a long night and the beginning of a new chapter in their great adventure.