The sanctuary's light dimmed into a soft blue glow as the next cycle approached. Kian barely slept. His body felt heavy and sore but his mind refused to rest.
Training.
The word replayed over and over.
He wasn't ready.
But the world didn't care.
When the first pale beam of light slit across the sky, Nyra stepped toward him. Her posture was rigid. Her blades rested on her back. Her expression remained unreadable as always.
"Stand up." Her tone allowed no argument.
Kian pushed himself to his feet. "So this is training…"
"No." Nyra circled him slowly. "This is survival. Training comes later."
He stiffened. "What does that mean?"
Nyra pointed at the glowing Sigil beneath his skin. "The Echo inside you is awake but confused. It responds to emotion, instinct, and desperation. You cannot rely on reflex. You have to learn to command it."
"How?"
"By understanding what it is."
She stopped in front of him.
"The Echo is not magic. It is not energy. It is memory. A memory of something long dead yet still alive inside you. When you call it, you borrow strength from what it once was."
Kian frowned. "So it's like… a spirit?"
"No. Spirits are simple. The Echo carries intention. Rage. Focus. Hunger. Will. If you lose control, its will replaces yours."
Kian shivered. "And if I keep control?"
Nyra nodded once. "Then you become something the hunters fear."
She stepped back and drew a line in the dirt with her blade.
"Cross this line."
Kian stepped over it.
The air shifted instantly.
A pressure wrapped around his chest.
The ground felt heavier.
"What did you do?"
"This line marks the boundary of the sanctuary's stabilizer field. Outside it, the Echo responds faster. Stronger. More dangerously."
Kian swallowed. "You want me to trigger it again."
"Yes. But this time you will not scream or panic. You will call it by force."
He wiped sweat from his forehead. "Right. Easy."
Nyra didn't smile. "Focus on the Sigil."
Kian exhaled and placed his hand against his chest. The strange mark pulsed slowly. Warm. Familiar. Like a heartbeat layered on top of his own.
He breathed in.
Out.
Trying to feel
Anything.
Nothing happened.
He frowned. "I don't feel—"
The ground trembled.
A ripple of black energy crawled across the field behind Nyra.
Kian's eyes widened. "Something is coming."
Nyra didn't turn. "Good. Fear sharpens instinct. Keep focusing."
The ripple grew larger. A shadow formed within it. The shape twisted like smoke, rising into a lean creature with long arms and a jaw that split wider than its skull.
A Shade Stalker.
Kian stepped back. "Nyra—"
"Do not run. Running triggers the wrong response."
The creature hissed and crawled toward them, blades of bone protruding from its elbows.
Kian felt his pulse spike again.
The Sigil flared.
Heat surged through his chest.
Nyra's voice cut through his fear. "Control it."
He clenched his fists. "I'm trying."
The Shade Stalker sprinted forward.
Kian's breath caught. His heartbeat thundered. For a moment he felt it again—that strange strength he used earlier.
But instead of exploding outward, it twisted inside him like a knot.
The Sigil burned.
Kian dropped to one knee. "It's too much—"
Nyra's voice hardened. "Do not submit. Shape it. Think. Command."
The creature leapt.
Kian looked up. The world slowed. Air thickened. Every sound deepened into an echoing thrum.
The Sigil pulsed.
He reached out with trembling fingers.
"Stop."
The word wasn't loud.
But the Echo heard it.
A shock of white light blasted from Kian's palm.
The Shade Stalker froze mid-air.
Its limbs snapped backward with a crack.
Nyra watched with narrowed eyes.
The creature collapsed in a heap. Its body twitched once then dissolved into black dust.
The light faded from Kian's palm. His legs shook. He nearly fell forward.
Nyra caught him by the arm.
"That," she said, "was intentional. You didn't lash out blindly. You channeled direction."
Kian gasped for air. "It felt like… something else was guiding my hand."
Nyra's eyes darkened. "Yes. The Echo responded. But this time it obeyed."
Kian sat heavily on a stone. "So what next? More Shade Stalkers? More near death? More burning pain?"
Nyra sheathed one blade. "Next you learn control without fear. Because fear is useful but temporary. And the Echo will not always wait for danger to respond."
She looked out toward the wasteland beyond the barrier.
"Besides… the hunters have stopped circling. They are regrouping."
Kian felt a chill. "For what?"
"For you," Nyra said. "Something new is coming. Something drawn by the shockwave you released."
Kian stared at her. "And you think I'm ready to fight that?"
"No," Nyra said. "That is why we train before it arrives."
Her voice lowered.
"And it is coming faster than I expected."