The wind died.
The ruins stilled.
Even the sand seemed afraid to move.
Aiden stared at the figure blocking the golden path—his own silhouette, fractured, wearing a mantle made of shattered gold that flickered like broken glass. Its presence warped the air, bending the light around it.
Lyra instinctively stepped in front of Aiden, daggers drawn even though she was shaking.
"Aiden… that thing is you?"
"No," Aiden whispered, throat tight.
"It's what I could've become."
The figure tilted its head, movements slow and unnatural.
"Could have?" the echo-voice replied, distorted like two versions of Aiden speaking a heartbeat apart.
"I did become."
Lyra snarled, "What are you talking about?!"
The shadow Aiden stepped forward—its footsteps leaving cracks of darkness in the sand.
"In one thread," it said, "Aiden embraced the King fully. He surrendered his identity. Became the cycle. Became the reset. Became the eraser of worlds."
Its eyes glowed brighter—sickly gold.
"I am that Aiden."
Aiden's pulse spiked.
"No. That's impossible. I never—"
"You never here," the shadow cut him off. "But in countless other strands? You bowed to destiny. You accepted the throne. You erased what you loved."
The ground trembled.
Lyra grabbed Aiden's wrist. "Don't listen—this thing wants to manipulate you."
But Aiden couldn't tear his eyes away.
"What happened to your world?" Aiden asked.
The shadow smiled—a broken, jagged expression.
"It ended. By my hand."
---
THE TRUTH OF THE OTHER AIDEN
The shadow lifted its mantle, revealing thousands of glyphs etched into it—each glowing faintly, each pulsing like dying stars.
Lyra's breath caught.
"Aiden… those are world-signatures."
Aiden felt sick.
Each glyph represented a collapsed worldline.
"You destroyed them?"
The shadow laughed.
A hollow, empty sound.
"No. I unmade them. The King's power, fully unsealed, does not destroy—it cleanses. Perfect erasure."
Aiden felt nausea rise.
"You're lying."
The shadow's eyes softened, strangely.
"I wish I were."
Aiden's knees weakened.
"You're a Remnant?" he whispered.
"No," the shadow said softly. "I am worse than a Remnant. Remnants are echoes of worlds. I am Echo of a King."
Lyra stepped between them again.
"You are not touching him."
The shadow's head tilted in curiosity.
"You protect him as though you have memories worth saving."
Lyra's jaw clenched. "I do."
A faint ripple swept across the sand.
The shadow's eyes snapped back to Aiden.
"You forged a third option," it said. "You altered the system. You destabilized the cycle."
Aiden felt the weight of those words.
"Good," he said. "I won't become you."
The echo smiled.
"That is why I'm here."
---
THE WARNING
"You think you rewrote the rules," the shadow said. "But the cycle is older than Kings. Older than worlds."
Aiden frowned. "What are you saying?"
The shadow lifted a hand toward the red sky.
The dead horizon rippled—
—and Aiden felt something vast, cold, and ancient stir.
"You broke the circle," the echo said. "And in doing so… you awakened what the King's cycle was designed to contain."
Lyra gasped.
Aiden's heart froze.
"What did I awaken?"
The echo's voice turned quiet.
"The Origin Maw. The eater of beginnings."
Aiden felt the air thin.
"The what—?"
"The first Remnant," the echo whispered.
"The source of every collapse. The reason worlds must reset. The King's true enemy."
Aiden sank back a step.
Lyra grabbed him. "Aiden, breathe."
The echo continued:
"You freed the eras. You freed the throne. You freed the system."
It leaned forward.
"And now… the Maw feeds unhindered."
Aiden's blood ran cold.
"So what do you want from me?"
The echo's eyes hardened.
"I came to warn you. And to test you."
"To see if this version of me truly deserves to live."
Aiden's grip tightened.
"I'm not fighting you," he said. "You're part of me. I'm not going to destroy myself."
The shadow's smile turned eerie.
"Oh, you misunderstand."
It raised a claw-like hand.
"If you fail the test, I will erase you.
And take your place."
Lyra stepped forward with a furious glare.
"You're going through me first."
The echo paused, studying her.
"…Interesting. In my world, Lyra died early."
Aiden's heart slammed.
Lyra's breath hitched.
The shadow tilted its head.
"Do you know what Aiden became after losing her?"
Silence.
"…Monster."
The echo raised its hand higher.
The sands around them began to spiral—forming a circle of broken memories and crumbling light.
"Your test begins now."
Aiden snapped into stance instinctively.
"What test?!"
The shadow whispered:
"Show me a version of Aiden Cross that can save what I could not.
Show me a King who does not shatter under grief."
The sand rose around them like a storm.
Lyra's hand grabbed Aiden's, grounding him.
"Aiden. Whatever this thing says… don't let it break you."
Aiden swallowed hard.
He faced his own shadow.
His own failure.
His own darkest possibility.
"I won't," he said.
The echo smiled.
"Then fight."