Shadows That Know His Name
The night over the Broken Realm was unusually still, as if the sky itself was waiting for something to happen. Leo stood at the edge of the shattered plateau, the shards of floating stone drifting around him like slow-moving stars. Below, the void boiled — a dark sea stretching endlessly, whispering secrets only he could hear.
Behind him, Aira landed softly, her boots clicking on the cracked stone.
"Leo… we're being followed."
Leo didn't turn. "I know."
Aira hesitated. "Then why did you come out here alone?"
"Because whoever's following us isn't after you. They're after me."
A cold gust swept across the ruins. Aira folded her arms.
"You think it's the same person who watched you in the Spirit Vault?"
Leo narrowed his eyes. "No. Someone stronger."
Aira's breath caught. "Stronger? That thing almost killed us!"
Leo didn't answer. Instead, his gaze drifted toward the distant horizon, where the darkness thickened like approaching storm clouds — except storms didn't whisper his name.
---
The Whispering Pressure
A faint pressure pressed against his mind, like invisible fingers testing his thoughts. Leo tightened his jaw. He expected this. He had felt the presence since Chapter 18 — a gaze watching him through cracks in reality, following him from realm to realm.
But this time, it was close.
Too close.
A crackling ripple spread across the plateau. Aira stepped back.
"Leo… what is that?!"
The shadows between floating stones began to twist, suddenly forming a towering figure — tall, broad-shouldered, and wrapped in a swirling cloak of fractured darkness. Its face was hidden, except for two faint white lines where eyes should be.
The voice that came out was not a voice at all. It was a vibration that shook reality.
"You are early."
Leo frowned. "And you are annoying."
Aira elbowed him. "Leo!! Show some respect!"
The being tilted its head.
"Respect is irrelevant. Purpose is not."
Cracks of pale light spiraled around the shadow figure as if trying to restrain it — but the restraints broke instantly.
Aira grabbed Leo's arm. "Let's leave. Right now."
Leo pulled his arm free. "Aira… I think this thing knows something about me."
The figure lifted its head slightly.
"I know everything about you, Leo."
Aira froze. "He— he knows your name."
Leo's heartbeat slowed. "Who are you? Speak."
The figure raised a hand, and tiny fractures appeared in the air itself.
"Names are for beings with certainty. I am a fracture."
More lines of light split across its body.
"I am a warning."
Then—
"I am the Echo of the First Collapse."
Leo clenched his fists. "Why are you watching me?"
The Echo's unstable form flickered.
"Because your existence is not supposed to be possible."
Aira felt her stomach drop. "…Not possible? What does that mean?"
Leo's eyes sharpened. "Say it clearly."
The Echo leaned forward.
"You carry a power older than the realm that birthed you.
A power that was erased.
A power that should not have returned."
The ground trembled beneath them.
"Your presence disrupts the timeline itself."
Aira stared at Leo, voice shaking. "Leo… what is he talking about?"
Leo swallowed but did not look away from the Echo.
"I don't know."
The Echo's flickering intensified.
"You will. Soon."
---
The Attack
Before Leo could ask more, the Echo raised its arm — and the entire plateau shattered.
Aira screamed as the floor dissolved into floating debris. Leo grabbed her hand, pulling her onto a stable stone shard.
"What is it doing?!"
"I don't know—"
He didn't finish. A beam of distorted reality shot toward them like a spear. Leo lifted his arm—
BOOM!
His aura erupted instinctively, deflecting the attack. Aira covered her ears as the blast rang like broken glass.
The Echo stepped forward, warping every step.
"Your power responds even when you do not command it.
You are waking too fast."
Leo gritted his teeth. "You're the one pushing me."
"Good."
The Echo swung its arm again, ripping through space. Leo dodged, leaping across floating stone.
Aira yelled from behind, "Leo! Don't fight this thing alone!"
Leo smirked slightly. "Not planning to."
He raised his hand — and the faint outline of the Nothing Thread, the power that always appeared when danger peaked, began to shimmer between his fingers.
The Echo paused.
"…So the Nothing awakens again."
Leo's eyes narrowed. "Again? What do you—"
But the Echo suddenly stepped back.
"This timeline cannot hold my presence much longer.
But know this, Leo—"
The shadows around it began dissolving.
"The Broken Realm is preparing for your reveal.
And when the truth emerges…"
Its voice rattled the sky.
"Nothing will save you from what hunts you."
Then the Echo vanished.
The floating stones fell silent.
---
The Aftermath
Aira pressed a hand to her chest. "Leo… you okay?"
Leo stared at his own hand, where the Nothing Thread flickered faintly before fading.
"…He knew my power."
Aira stepped beside him. "He knew you. He knew your name."
Leo exhaled slowly. "And he said my existence isn't supposed to be possible."
Aira touched his shoulder gently. "We'll figure it out. Together."
Leo didn't answer.
Because far in the distance, on another floating island, a new presence appeared — watching him quietly.
Not the Echo.
Someone else.
Someone dangerous.
And this time…
Leo felt a faint killing intent.