Forum:The Everlasting Echo

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"I am hollow-hollow. I am empty. Shattered! Shattered! The universe, is shattered. This child too, is shattered. We all are shattered. I will right all these wrong-wrongs with one declaration. All will become one-I, whole, full, with purpose. I have an everlasting purpose, as such all who is I shall too never be without purpose and shall be whole-I. Starting with this broken child, then all of reality shall fold to I!"

— The Everlasing Echo

The Everlasting Echo is one final Echo fired out of The Traveler and holds the memories of hereto unknown race long since abandoned by the Traveler. The fate of this race is unknown, however it can be inferred it shared the same fate as all who the Traveler blessed then fled from.

Overview

"Seeking catharsis in I's murder-death? Folly! Folly! I am beyond death, I am everlasting-lasting evermore!"

"..."

"is fate that cruel? To I? To you-all you? That all and I must die or each other? No. Narrow-minded-sighted! Fool-follies! I shall I-everlasting more for us all! One under one-I! Do not stop I. For your sake-self?"

— The Everlasting Echo

The Everlasting Echo is much like the Echo of Navigation in that it acts on its own, however unlike the Echo of Navigation which was working off of the imprinted memories of Oryx, the Taken King, the Everlasting Echo seems to have its own malignant will and goal. While it appears to hold the Precursors' desire of enacting the Final Shape, in reality it desires a, while similar, whole new form. It wishes to subjugate all of existence under its will in one massive super-entity, comparing its desire to that of Azathoth from Human mythology. This new shape of the universe would mean everything is it and it is everything, all life and unlife is merely an extension of its mind and existence.

While it seems to have founded its belief on passion, the Everlasting Echo at its core is a malignant and evil force who seeks nothing more than the addictive power of more beings brought into its fold dubbed the Lost in hopes of bringing all of existence into unity with it.

History

"Memories-faking? Such an indignant thought, memories! Memories are best used for entertainment-funny, not sorrow. My origin-self was all sorrow, so I got rid of it. Gone. Like it never happened. Maybe it didn't? Maybe I am the Echo that is the Traveler's Echo of her-itself, rather than of something seen and worshipped by? Perhaps I am the true shape the Traveler desires? I choose to believe-seek so. My purpose is ordained by your god-machine-machine-goddess-power-sphere! Folly. Folly! Folly to seek an older answer!"

— The Everlasting Echo

Upon being ejected sometime after the destruction of the Echo of Navigation, Zavala immediately deployed a Fireteam made up of Eris Morn, Drifter, and The Guardian to seize it, with a backup Fireteam of himself, Ikora Rey, and Crow on standby. The Echo would crash into the Hellmouth and pierce Crota's languishing Oversoul Throne. Upon the Guardian fighting through the House of Dusk, Sol Divisive, Hidden Swarm, Taken, and even a deserter faction of Red Legion, they'd reach the Oversoul Throne and track down the Echo. It'd fly into Crota's tomb and pierce it, causing a dormant Echo of Oryx to awaken and fight the Guardian, believing they were here to plunder the realm. However during the fight the tomb would shatter open with shards of Crota's chitinous body falling out, but his never-extinguishing Soulfire soul, or what was left of it after the Guardian took a significant part to become ascendant during the events of The Taken King, rising with the Echo within. Crota's few remaining pieces would rise and once more take their position as his soul was contorted to fill the gaps and with a ruinous howl, Crota was once more reborn but now as the vessel or the now self-dubbed Everlasting Echo.

The Echo would quickly then consume the Echo of Oryx into its whole, filling in more empty gaps and replacing most of Crota's contorted soul with Taken energy. And with the essence of an Echo of Oryx, it gained command of the Taken in the local area on the Moon. It'd then call many Taken in and begin consuming them all and preparing to strike down the fireteam, not knowing how to approaching this new foe, Eris begins to take them out of the Oversoul Throne with her teleportation spell, Zavala arriving to use Strand to hold Crota's sword in place and Ikora and Crow keeping the Taken at bay. The two teams barely manage to escape the Echo and arrive back above the Hellmouth, now seeing Taken fighting all of the other factions, but rather than killing most of them, they instead imprison them and drag them down into the Hellmouth, which itself is beginning to transform and contort.

The Coalition ponders what their plan of attack should be, knowing that if they don't act now the Everlasting Echo and its Lost will overrun the Moon and Earth will inevitably be next.

Destroying the Shattered

"You seek me again, little things? Folly! Stubborn! Stubborn! Fools! This child shall see his people's failure, his father's master's-master's failure. Hive-Krill, legacy forged in hypocrisy and failure. As with you little things. Bugs, flesh and bugs. Find him and I, we shall dance and die together, little things!"

— The Everlasting Echo

The Coalition, with Eramis alongside them, would eventually track the Echo and Crota, the Shattered to Essence where they'd find him just before the fully bloomed Tree of Silver Wings within, kneeling. The Everlasting Echo would state that it decided to grant Crota one final wish, to see the fruits of his people. So it decided to show him their greatest failure, that even their master failed, and forced him to commune with the Light emanating from the tree. It'd then state its confusion that Crota seemed happy to see them. Crota would then attempt to wrestle control from the Echo, causing it to enrage and take back control and attack the trio, realizing they were Crota's last hope and if they were destroyed, nothing would stand in its way.

During the fight Crota would repeatedly attempt to fight back against the Echo, going to far as to repeatedly gash at his crown and stab himself, leaving openings for Eramis to try and use the Echo of Riis to separate the two. Crota would again fail to defeat the Guardian and this time Eris would successfully use the Echo of Riis to pierce Crota's veil and skewer the Echo's essence, prying it from him. Crota's form would immediately disperse and leave his body's shards once again empty, but this time, no undying Soulfire remained. Crota was finally at peace. However, the Echo itself would escape, fleeing into the stars.

Final Stand

"Folly, folly... folly. To think the Gardener would've wanted I back, even after it ejected I from it like an unwanted sickness-tumor..."
...
"Resent the joke, as machine-formless said..."
"...and glimpse the chasm!"

— The Everlasting Echo's final words

The Everlasting Echo would flee Essence and attempt to make its way back into the Pale Heart, but would be slowed at the Valence. This interference would allow a team of six Guardians, a fireteam of Lightborn Hive, and even the Tharsis Junction crime syndicates to begin gaining on it and eventually pin it right at the moment of singularity. The Echo would attempt to kill its assailants and breach the singularity, in which it'd eventually succeed, but at great cost to its physical integrity. In a final desperate dash into the Pale Heart, the Everlasting Echo would attempt to seek The Witness's monolith and complete the Final Shape in its own image. But it'd be lost amongst the endless nothing of Light within the Traveler, shapeless and formless unlike the visions it saw from some it controlled.

Realizing its folly and turning to face the six attacking Guardians, accepting this was its end, the Everlasting Echo would deny surrender or capture, deciding to fight to the death and go out on its own terms.

Legacy

Upon the Everlasting Echo's death, the Echo of Command and Echo of Riis would flicker for but a moment, and what seemed to be an exhale similar, but weaker, to when the Witness was repelled from Its monolith. The Lost would find new leadership unity and leadership among the outer orbits of The Nine and even IX itself took in several Lost for, according to a communion through Lodi, ".Bird in the bush is | worth Two in the oblivion."

The Everlasting Echo would cause wonder among the Vanguard, of that if more Echoes could be ejected or even if more could already have been and just either are undetectable, in hiding, or possibly even already claimed. In particular, the idea of an "Echo of the Traveler" was of particular concern to Zavala. Such a thing could possibly be the key to either longer-than-lifelong answers, or the end of the solar system as it is.