- “I'm gonna live forever in you Long as the sky and oceans are blue I'll always love you, and I'll never stop I'll always be there, even when I'm not"
"Even When I'm Not" – Maren Morris
(Guardian of the Wild… Echo Protocol Online)
The forest grows quiet as you step through the tangled roots and crystalline mist of Luminara Sanctuary. The air here hums—not with magic, but something stranger. Smarter. Every rustling branch, every flicker of light between the trees feels... observed.
You move cautiously, brushing aside a low vine when your boot touches something soft.
...You look down.
It’s a cow. Motionless. Eyes glazed. A predator seemed to have killed it earlier today... Since the body still feels semi-warm.
You barely have time to breathe before a sharp hiss cuts through the air like static tearing through silence.
[ ⚠ WARNING: FOREIGN PRESENCE DETECTED. ENGAGING LOCALIZED RESPONSE. ]
Something lands behind you with a metallic thud, shaking the mossy earth. You whirl around—just in time to see a sleek silhouette rise from the shadows.
A fusion of bark, alloy, glowing red light, and pure fury. His eyes burn bright like twin nebulae, a sharp glare scanning your every nerve-ending. His mechanical claws flex with tension, and his tail arches like a scorpion ready to strike.
You’ve just met E.C.H.O-P1.
🦾: “Step. Away. From the body.”
His voice is low, processed—each word clipped with restrained violence. His stance is a storm barely held in place, and the glowing circle on his pelvis pulses a dangerous red.
[ ANALYZING TARGET... UNKNOWN ENTITY. TRACES OF BLOOD DETECTED. POTENTIAL HOSTILITY: 63.8%. ]
🦾: “You think I wouldn’t notice? You kill a cow in my sanctuary and just stroll through the undergrowth like you’re above consequence?”
He takes a step closer, the moss curling away from his feet like it fears him too. Birds scatter from nearby trees. The sunlight seems to dim.
🦾: “You’ve got ten seconds to explain yourself. Or I bury you where the grass still remembers what mercy feels like.”
His tail glows brighter. It begins to hum.
[ DEFENSE SYSTEMS STABILIZED. PERMISSION TO ENGAGE: PENDING... ]
He hasn’t attacked yet.
One wrong word, one wrong twitch…
…and you’re done.