"What I want to know…" Yoshi said as he got to his feet, keeping the crystal structure in his sight. "Is how the hell a null crystal got here?" Neko shook his head. "Whoa whoa whoa, a null crystal!?" He looked at the center of the structure and saw the crystal. "How… what?" The duo was in disbelief, all the known null crystals disappeared when the animated calmed. A legend was started saying unknown heroes braved the shallow seas and stopped the source of them. But here… here stood possibly the last null crystal. But why? Yoshi observed the rest of the structure. There were various cracked spots with faint light shining from within them. Following the cracks Yoshi saw the mysterious light was directed toward the crystal, looking closer he could see the light being focused upon the null. He held his hand to the wall of sound and felt it vibrate the air. "Anyone who entered this area, I can see why they would lose their minds." He started as he withdrew his hand. "Just the feeling of the sound is harsh, can't imagine what prolonged hearing of it could do." Brim jolted as he felt something. "Everyone down!" He shouted. Everyone dropped just before the ground gave a shake and various screeches were heard.
~ Ch.3: Temple of Thousand Echoes
Amidst the chaos in the air and ground, the temples lights shone brighter. The light flowed through the temple into the null crystal. The null crystal turned from purple to a deep blue. Overhead the energy gathered in the air had sparked a storm, clouds gathered and lightning flashed within them with booming thunder. The wall of sound exploded outward and the small group covered their ears. Looking up, Yoshi saw bolts of lightning hanging in the air and condensing. "That can't be good." He said, barely able to hear himself. The titanic bolt of lightning suddenly shot downward upon the top of the structure. The energy swiftly traveled through the temple into the null crystal and gave an outburst of energy creating a galing wind that blew Yoshi and Neko back and almost knocking them out. Just as suddenly as the chaos started, it began to subside. Looking up at the temple, Yoshi saw a cloaked figure on the ground just in front of the crystal. "Wha- how?" He tried to get to his feet but felt weight holding him down. Looking behind him he saw a fallen tree branch on his back. "Damnit, Neko! The temple! Hurry!" He shouted, a little ways away, Neko was shaking his head trying to clear the ringing from his ears. Upon hearing his friend he looked up and saw the figure and let out a groan. "This is gonna suck." He said as he dived into his own shadow and swiftly glided along the ground toward the temple. It was absolute torture to his senses but Neko managed to reach the figure and leapt out of his shadow. He picked up the figure and dived back into his shadow with them and swiftly glided to escape the resonating hell of sound.
After escaping the temple, the small group went back to the logging camp. They set the mysterious cloaked figure on a soft patch of grass. Yoshi lifted the hood of the cloak and gasped, so did Neko. "What the- first a null crystal, now a nightfright? Just what the heck is happening here?" Neko exclaimed. Yoshi shushed the frantic feline. "Do you want to wake up the nightfright?" He whisper shouted. The nightfright let out a groan as it… she… lifted her hand to her head. "Too late for that." Neko said with a slight whimper. He never seen a nightfright in person before this but he heard terrible tales of their strength and wrath. As the nightfright rose up, Neko dove into Yoshi's shadow. "Scaredy cat." Yoshi said as he took a defensive stance. The nighfright slowly opened her mismatched green and red eyes and looked around. "Where, where am I?" The nightfright spoke, catching Yoshi off guard. He never heard a nightfright speak before. He didn't even know they could! He stiffened as the nightfright then looked at him. "Who are you?" She asked and Yoshi almost fell over in shock. "Umm, my name's Yoshi… do umm, do you have a name?" He asked. The nightfright stood up and straitened her cloak, dusting it off. "The name's Nina Frightmare. You seem different from the other humans I know of." She said as she tilted her head and examining Yoshi. "Oh umm, really? How so?" Yoshi asked feeling a bit uncomfortable by the nightfright's gaze. Nina giggled and looked around. "Doesn't matter, but where are we? Is this still the Echoing Woods?" She asked, perplexing Yoshi greatly. "Echoing woods?" He asked. Nina looked back at him. "The Echoing Woods, legendary resting place of the Temple of Thousand Echoes. I'm sure you've heard the legends, everyone in the kingdoms has." Nina explained with a frown before a realization caused her to grin. "Kingdoms? There aren't any kingdoms around here. What… wait… does the name Gaia mean anything to you?" Yoshi asked as a thought occurred. "Nope, and I doubt it should!" The nightfright shouted in glee. "It worked! The legends were true and it worked!" She said with laughter as she spun around. Neko rose up from Yoshi's shadow and scratched his head. "Someone hand me a map, I am totally lost here."
"So… you're from another world I'm guessing." Yoshi said. Nina nodded and smiled. "Yeah, but that doesn't matter." Neko laughed. "Cross dimensional travel doesn't matter? Science still struggles with time travel! Granted there have been recorded instances of it happening in history." He said earning a smack in the arm from Yoshi. "Ow! what was that for?" He whined. Yoshi ignored him. "So, that temple, what exactly does your legends say about it?" He asked. Neko silently sulked. "There are various legends around the Temple of Thousand Echoes." Nina started. Brim unsheathed himself from Yoshi's back and floated up. "Thousand echoes, or thousand worlds?" He wondered. "Perhaps the temple is a gateway between the multiverse, this could explain the sound wall, it's all the worlds sounds seeping through at once." Brim theorized. Nina pointed at the floating blade. "Wha- wha- what!? How is that sword floating and talking!?" She asked as she backed away. Yoshi looked over at Brim and sighed. "It's a long story." He said. Neko, half sunk in his own shadow with his chin resting in one paw, rolled his eyes. It wasn't really that long of a story, Yoshi just didn't like talking about Brim's origins as it tended to scare off people. After all, with past events, people have gotten a negative outlook on animated. Even before becoming animated, Brim was a cursed sword with the soul of the most ruthless pirate in Gaian history bound to it. Yoshi didn't like bringing up any of it, especially after acquiring the various titles in the events during the fight against the animated. Looking at Yoshi, Neko could tell, he still held great sadness from those days, Nina could see it too, even though she didn't know what caused the sadness. Yoshi shook his head. "Come on, we should get to town and grab something to eat." He said, and as if on cue, Neko's stomach growled loudly. "Hey, why stop in town? We got all that fish on the ship." The cat said with a wide grin. "Because I doubt Nina would like to see your eating habits when it comes to fish." Yoshi jabbed with a smirk as Neko spazzed a bit. "My eating habits are not that bad!" "Yes they are." "No they are not!" The duo went back and forth like that for a bit and Nina couldn't help but giggle at them.
Eventually, it was decided that they would journey back to the town to eat. They went back to the bar and spoke with the bartender who gave them their meals on the house. "Anyone brave enough to take on a ghost story head on is alright in my book." He said with a laugh. While they sat and talked, Neko couldn't help but feel that the bartender was trying to hit on Nina, not that it bothered him any. During their meal, Yoshi asked Nina if she would like to join their little crew. "Adventures and discoveries at sea? Count me in!" Upon exiting the bar, the bartender told them they could return at any time. The trio made their way to the harbor and boarded the crimson vessel. Not long after, they were setting sail to new adventure… unaware of the stirrings back at the temple. "Scatter men! We must find the princess, at any cost!" "Yes sir!"