Episode 6:the echo inside you
1333 Words
Muna didn’t sleep that night.
He couldn’t.
Every time he closed his eyes, he saw it.
The threads.
The glowing lines stretching endlessly through space… through people… through him.
Tick.
He sat up in bed, breathing hard.
The room was dark.
Quiet.
Normal.
Too normal.
He looked around slowly.
His bag.
His shoes.
His window.
Everything was exactly where it should be.
But something felt wrong.
Not outside.
Inside.
Muna placed a hand on his chest.
His heartbeat was steady.
But beneath it—
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
Louder than ever.
“I can hear it…” he whispered.
Not just his own time.
Something else.
Something deeper.
And it was calling.
“You feel it now, don’t you?”
Muna froze.
He didn’t turn immediately.
Because he already knew.
“You really need to stop doing that,” he muttered.
The man leaned casually against the wall, arms crossed.
“You really need to stop breaking the rules,” he replied.
Muna sighed.
“Why are you here?”
“Because you used your own time,” the man said simply. “And that changes things.”
Muna looked at him.
“What kind of things?”
The man didn’t answer right away.
Instead, he walked closer.
“You’re not just seeing time anymore,” he said.
Muna’s expression tightened.
“I figured that out already.”
“No,” the man said quietly.
“You’re starting to merge with it.”
Silence.
Muna blinked.
“…What?”
The man pointed at him.
“Your thread isn’t stable anymore.”
Muna’s chest tightened.
“What does that mean?”
“It means you’re becoming a problem.”
Muna frowned.
“I’m already a problem.”
“No,” the man corrected.
“You’re becoming something worse.”
Muna stood up slowly.
“Stop talking in riddles and explain properly.”
The man’s expression darkened.
“When a person uses their own time the way you did… they don’t just lose it.”
A pause.
“They disturb it.”
Muna swallowed.
“And?”
“And time doesn’t like being disturbed.”
The room went quiet.
Too quiet.
Muna felt it before he saw it.
The air shifted.
Tick—
His eyes widened.
“No…”
The wall beside his window—
Cracked.
A thin, jagged line splitting reality.
Muna stepped back.
“It’s happening again.”
The man didn’t move.
“No,” he said calmly.
“This isn’t them.”
The c***k spread.
Wider.
Deeper.
And then—
Something stepped out.
But it wasn’t a Collector.
It looked like Muna.
Same height.
Same face.
Same eyes.
But wrong.
Its expression was empty.
Its movements… delayed.
Like it existed half a second behind reality.
Muna stared at it.
“…What is that?”
The man’s voice was low.
“An echo.”
The thing tilted its head.
Then spoke—
“You… took… from… us…”
Muna’s breath caught.
“Us?”
The echo took a step forward.
Its movement glitched.
One moment it was far.
The next—
It was closer.
Too close.
“You… broke… the line…”
Muna stumbled back.
“I didn’t break anything!”
The echo’s face twitched.
“You… pulled… yourself… apart…”
Muna’s chest tightened.
The man stepped forward slightly.
“It’s part of you,” he said.
Muna looked at him, confused.
“What do you mean part of me?!”
The man didn’t look away from the echo.
“When you forced time to bend… you created fragments.”
Muna’s stomach dropped.
“Fragments of what?”
The man finally answered.
“Yourself.”
Silence.
Muna shook his head.
“No… no, that’s not possible…”
The echo smiled.
But it wasn’t a normal smile.
It was stretched.
Unnatural.
“Possible…”
It raised its hand.
And suddenly—
The room flickered.
Muna gasped.
For a split second—
He saw himself.
Lying on the ground.
Not moving.
Then—
Everything snapped back.
Muna staggered.
“What was that?!”
The man’s voice was sharp.
“A future.”
Muna’s heart pounded violently.
“No…”
“Yes.”
The echo stepped closer again.
“Time… remembers… everything…”
Muna clenched his fists.
“Stay away from me!”
The echo stopped.
Then—
It raised its hand again.
And reached for Muna’s chest.
The pendant exploded with light.
Tick—
Tick—
Tick—
The echo froze.
Not completely.
But enough.
Muna didn’t think.
He grabbed the nearest thread—
And pulled.
The world snapped.
He moved.
Not physically—
But through time.
Reappearing behind the echo.
Breathing hard.
“I did it…” he whispered.
The man turned sharply.
“No—stop using it like that!”
Too late.
The echo twisted unnaturally.
Its head turning first.
Then its body.
“You… can’t… escape… yourself…”
Muna’s chest tightened.
The echo lunged.
Muna reacted again—
Grabbing another thread.
Pulling harder.
The world split.
Two versions of him appeared—
One dodging left.
One dodging right.
Then—
They slammed back into one.
Muna screamed.
Pain ripped through him.
He collapsed.
The echo stood still.
Watching.
Waiting.
The man moved fast.
He pulled out the pocket watch—
Snapped it open.
Everything slowed.
The echo’s movement stretched.
Its hand inches from Muna’s chest.
The man grabbed Muna’s collar.
“Get up!”
“I can’t—” Muna gasped.
“You have to!”
The echo pushed forward.
Breaking through the slow.
Stronger than before.
“It’s adapting!” Muna shouted.
“Because it’s you!” the man replied.
Muna’s mind raced.
Think.
Think.
Think.
If it was him—
Then it had his time.
His movement.
His pattern.
“…Then I need to do something it can’t copy.”
The man glanced at him.
“What?”
Muna forced himself up.
Ignoring the pain.
Ignoring the fear.
“I stop.”
Silence.
“What?” the man asked.
Muna looked at the echo.
“I stop moving through time.”
The echo tilted its head.
Confused.
Muna dropped the threads.
Stepped back.
And stood still.
Completely still.
The ticking slowed.
The threads around him steadied.
The echo hesitated.
Its movements lagging more.
Glitching harder.
“You… are… breaking…”
Muna shook his head.
“No.”
A breath.
“I’m stabilizing.”
The pendant dimmed.
The room stopped flickering.
The c***k behind the echo began to shrink.
The echo reached out again—
But slower now.
Weaker.
“Time… rejects… you…”
Muna stepped forward.
This time—
Without pulling anything.
Without forcing anything.
Just walking.
“I don’t need to control time,” he said quietly.
The echo’s form started to c***k.
“I just need to stay in it.”
The echo froze.
Then—
It shattered.
Not violently.
Just… faded.
Like it had never fully existed.
The c***k sealed.
The room returned to normal.
Silence.
Heavy.
Real.
Muna dropped to his knees.
Breathing hard.
“What… was that…?”
The man closed the pocket watch slowly.
“That,” he said,
“was your first warning.”
Muna looked up weakly.
“Warning of what?”
The man met his eyes.
“That if you keep forcing time…”
A pause.
“You won’t just lose years.”
Muna’s chest tightened.
“…Then what?”
The man’s voice was quiet.
“You’ll lose yourself.”
Silence filled the room.
Muna looked at his hands.
Still shaking.
Still real.
“…So what do I do?” he asked.
The man didn’t hesitate this time.
“You learn control.”
Muna exhaled slowly.
“And if I don’t?”
The man turned toward the window.
Looking out into the night.
“Then next time…”
A pause.
“You won’t come back from it.”
Muna swallowed hard.
The ticking returned.
Steady.
Relentless.
And now—
Closer than ever.
Because it wasn’t just around him anymore.
It was inside him.
To be continued…
Say “Continue” 😤🔥
- Writer
