Katsu stumbled backward, staring at the creature that had somehow spoken during his time stop."What… what even ARE you?" he muttered, breath shaky.
Aethermimic twitched, its remaining eye rolling in different directions. Then-
WHOOM-
It lunged.
Katsu braced for impact.
But the creature phased through him like smoke sliding through a crack.
Katsu froze. "…Guys…? That wasn't normal."
Before anyone could react, Aethermimic lunged again, this time toward Shichiro, Kentarō, Rokuro, and Ryosen.
And each time…
It passed straight through them.
Like their bodies weren't even there.
Each boy gasped, feeling a cold, invasive echo inside their chest, like something was indexing them, memorizing them.
Aethermimic landed several meters behind the group, twitching violently.
Its bones snapped.Its flesh twisted.Its form ballooned, shrank, expanded again.
Then it spoke, but not in Isocrates' voice.
It spoke in all of theirs at once.
"E̷v̶e̴r̶y̸o̶n̸e̵… m͟o͟v͟e͟."
Shichiro's voice.Rokuro's tone.Ryosen's breath pattern.Katsu's rhythm.Kentarō's pitch.
A horrifying, discordant fusion.
The creature's limbs warped, muscle turning to unstable aether-flesh. Its silhouette shifted rapidly. Shichiro's stance, Katsu's shoulders, Kentarō's smirk, all flickering for split seconds before melting together.
And then… a new shape emerged:
An abomination made from the echoes of the boys and the remnants of Isocrates.
Aethermimic had become something else.Something worse.
Something designed for them.
Kentarō whispered, terrified,"T-that's… us…"
Ryosen's voice trembled. "It's copying our strengths… our movements… our hearts."
Before they could react, the creature's body destabilized into vapor, and with a spiraling, glitching shriek.
It vanished.
Leaving only silence…And the knowledge that this thing now knew them better than anyone ever had.
Shichiro smirked. "Thank goodness it didn't copy only Katsu, it would be uglier and scarier katsu already is"
Kentarō laughed. "Woah, didn't know you can make jokes too!
Katsu wiped the sweat from his brow, muttering, "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Kentaro."
Kentarō froze, eyes narrowing. "It's Kentarō, not whatever you're saying, bub."
Katsu smirked, leaning on his brass knuckles. "Whatever, Kentaro. Sounds cooler anyway."
Kentarō groaned, throwing his hands up. "I'm gonna- ugh, just stop calling me that!"
Shichiro snickered. "Looks like Katsu's got a new favorite game."
Ryosen placed his hand on his chest. "I can't believe that just happened. That thing, whatever it is, it knows us. Every one of us."
Rokuro crossed his arms, letting the chill of his ice dissipate from the previous fight. "Yeah… and it can imitate us perfectly. That's terrifying."
Ryosen clenched his fists, jaw tight. "This isn't over. Aethermimic won't stay gone forever. It learned. It adapted."
Kentarō's smirk returned, trying to lighten the mood. "Well, at least it didn't copy my perfect sense of humor."
Katsu groaned. "Yeah, laugh it up. We've got bigger problems than your jokes right now."
Kentarō stared at Katsu, "My jokes are a problem?"
Shichiro's grip on his whips tightened. "We need to prepare. Rest now, recover, and train. Whatever that thing was… it's coming back. And next time, we can't let it disappear again."
The group nodded, the weight of the encounter pressing on their hearts. But even in the lingering fear, there was determination.
Kentarō muttered under his breath, almost to himself, "Echoes of us… copied… messed up Isocrates… yeah, we're gonna need more than jokes to survive this, but they are NOT a problem. KATSEW."
"Okay Kentaro." Katsu smirked.
Outside, the storm continued to howl, but inside the small, battered clearing, the boys' resolve burned brighter than ever.
This was only the beginning. Aethermimic had shown its face… and soon, they'd see it again.