Arin woke to silence, but it was the kind that pressed against your chest, heavy and unnatural.
The world he landed in was not the Mirefall streets he knew. Everything around him shimmered faintly, as if he were seeing reality through fractured glass. Buildings loomed tall and angular, their surfaces etched with faint glyphs that pulsed softly, glowing with an inner light. Time felt…different here. Slower, denser, layered. And he could feel it—thick, alive, like it had a heartbeat.
He made his way to his feet, Silas close behind him, his coat flaring slightly as if even it sensed the unnatural calm. "This is it," Silas said, voice low. "The Sanctuary."
Arin blinked. "Sanctuary? From what? The Chrono-Harvester? The… thing in the cracks?"
Silas's eyes darkened. "From all of it. From hunters, from time itself. But do not be fooled—this place is sanctuary in name only."
They walked down narrow, winding streets of buildings that seemed to defy logic. Buildings leaned at impossible angles and remained upright. Windows stood tall and thin, etched into panes containing runes shimmering faintly in colors Arin could almost focus on but did not understand entirely. Above them, floating platforms connected towers, forming crossing bridges over impossibly high walls. Small orbs of soft, pulsating light hovered in the air, illuminating everything with a gentle glow.
"Why does time feel. heavier?" Arin asked. His voice seemed to echo strangely, stretched and layered.
"The Echo-Bearers here bend it," Silas explained. "Not fully, but enough to stabilize their environment. It slows decay, protects them from outside influence, and keeps intruders from noticing. Most humans never even know the Sanctuary exists."
Arin's mind was reeling. "They… live like this all the time?"
"Some of them," Silas said, his gaze distant. "Most are wary. Survival is.complicated."
A figure emerged from an arch up ahead. The tall woman, with silver hair bound in intricate braids and her robes stitched with glowing runes, came to a stop and stared at them. Her eyes were keen, intelligent, but something in them was inscrutable-fear, curiosity, suspicion all folded together.
"Silas," she said, her voice firm, "you've brought…?"
Arin realized she meant him. The woman's eyes swept over him, noting every detail, measuring.
"This is him," Silas said, "the last Echo-Bearer. He's. awake."
The woman's eyes narrowed. "Awake? You mean… he survived the Awakening?"
"Yes," Silas said. "And he's marked. The void-entity knows him. Time itself has fractured around him."
Arin stepped forward, hands shaking. "I don't even know what that means… or how to control it fully."
The woman's eyes softened a bit. "Then you are in the most dangerous position imaginable. The Harvester hunts alone. But the void … the void seeks the last of your kind. And it learns fast.
Silas led Arin to a massive building at the middle of the city. Its walls were carved from black stone that seemed alive, veins glowing faintly like circuits of energy. The air inside was warm, tainted by a metallic scent. Arin could feel his Echo pulse stronger here, as if the very walls resonated with his power.
"This is the Hall of Records," Silas said. "Here, Echo-Bearers study time, history, and fragments of timelines lost to the world. They train. They survive."
Inside, hundreds of figures moved silently. Some were meditating in mid-air, suspended by threads of glowing energy. Others were practicing combat, shaping fragments of time into weapons that cut through the air with sparks of pale energy. Arin could see broken timelines forming and dissolving as students experimented with shards of reality.
"Everyone here… can do what I can?" Arin whispered.
"Not fully," Silas said. "Your Echo is. unique. Stronger. Unstable. But yes, they are like you, in part. Some can see the future in fragments, others can bend moments of the present. None can survive without discipline."
Arin felt a surge of both awe and dread. "So I have to learn to control this… before it kills me?"
Silas nodded grimly. "Exactly. But control here is difficult. Every action echoes beyond the Sanctuary. You will feel it in fragments, in memories not yours. Some of you may not survive the training intact."
Suddenly, a boy little older than Arin himself stepped forward. His hair was as black as coal, eyes with a hint of golden glow. He regarded Arin with a curious yet hostile gaze.
"You're the last one?" said the boy. "The one they say survived the Awakening?"
Arin swallowed hard. "I… I guess so."
The boy sneered. "Guess we'll see if you survive our trials. Echo-Bearers don't last long when they're reckless."
Silas put a reassuring hand on Arin's shoulder. "Ignore him. He tests everyone. He is quick. and he will learn if to trust you."
Arin followed Silas deeper into the Hall, every corridor pulsing with energy, every doorway opening onto fragments of time folded onto themselves: battles that had never happened, conversations that had not yet taken place, moments stuck between seconds.
"Everything here." Arin muttered, "it's alive."
"Yes," Silas said. "The Sanctuary isn't just a place. It's a living network of Echoes. It remembers. It reacts. And it judges. You must learn to respect it—or it will punish you."
They entered a chamber at the very center. The ceiling stretched impossibly high, carved with constellations that shifted subtly with time's ebb. A large circular platform in the center hummed faintly, and Arin could feel his Echo vibrating in response.
"This is where your training will start," Silas said. "Here, you will begin to fully awaken. Your powers are raw, but they can be honed. You will face tests, challenges… and threats you cannot yet imagine."
Arin stepped onto the platform. A chill ran down his spine. The room pulsed. Fragments of timelines shimmered in the air, showing glimpses of victories, failures, deaths, and survival.
A voice called from the darknesses of the chamber, a deep, sonant voice.
"Welcome, Echo-Bearer. Time is watching. Reality is listening. And the void. is waiting."
Arin's pulse quickened. He looked at Silas. "It's here? Already?"
Silas's expression turned dark. "It always follows. And it always waits. But here… you can learn. You can survive. You might live to challenge it." Arin's fists clenched. The pulse of his Echo grew stronger, and he could feel the threads of time stretching and bending, responding to his will. For the first time since the Awakening, he felt. possibility. But even as hope surged, a chill reminded him: the void had marked him. And whatever waited beyond the Sanctuary's walls was patient. Immensely patient. Arin stepped onto the training platform, not knowing the tests that awaited him there would push not only his Echo but also reveal some truths about Silas, the void, and the fate of every Echo-Bearer who had ever lived.