The stone glowed. But the echo it emitted belonged to no one.
At the edge of the Carving Garden, a new stone was found by children. It shone brightly, even before being touched. Its carvings were beautiful, symmetrical, and seemed to blend symbols from every region. But when Yohwa approached, he felt something unusual.
The stone's resonance was too perfect. Too uniform. No cracks. No variation. And when he touched it, the echo that emerged wasn't feeling. It was narrative. A story of one truth. One history. One voice.
Numa tried reading its frequency. "This isn't natural resonance," he said. "It's an echo designed. Shaped to please, not to remember."
Rava touched the stone. She felt calm. But not honest calm. When she withdrew her hand, she felt empty. "This stone doesn't lie with words," she said. "It lies with comfort."
Lonto from Sulawesi stepped forward. "This stone doesn't ask," she said. "It answers before we speak."
Yohwa grew suspicious. He asked the children, "Who brought this stone?" But no one knew. It had simply appeared. As if wanting to be accepted without origin.
Yohwa grew suspicious. He asked the children, "Who brought this stone?" But no one knew. It had simply appeared. As if wanting to be accepted without origin.
He woke with a chill. The next morning, he stood before the stone. He didn't touch it. He simply asked, "Who do you represent?"
The stone glowed brighter. But didn't answer.
Yohwa summoned all the Satria. "We must be cautious," he said. "Not all resonance is truth. Some echoes are made to soothe, not to liberate."
Numa proposed a test. He placed the stone near others. But each time he did, the other stones dimmed. As if the false echo drowned out the real voices.
Rava carved a small symbol into the soil: a broken line that didn't connect. "This is the sign that resonance can lie," she said. "And we must learn to tell honest echoes from those we wish to believe."
In the village, children began asking, "Is all light good?" Yohwa replied, "Light not born from wound can become shadow in disguise."
The Soul Eclipse approached. But this time, it didn't absorb. It hovered above the stone. And slowly, the stone began to crack. Not from rejection. But from being questioned.