Episode 9:The Echo within
573 Words
Episode 9: The Echo Within
The fog in the Vale of Echoes didn’t just swallow sound—it swallowed thought. Every time Kai blinked, a new voice slithered into his head. The worst part was, they didn’t sound evil. They sounded like him.
> “Lira only likes you because she pities you.”
“You’ll lose control. You always do.”
“They’re safer if you disappear.”
Kai gritted his teeth and kept moving, one foot crunching over frost-bitten moss at a time. His candle, now half-melted, flickered violently in his hand. Somewhere behind him, something moved. Not just footsteps—something that dragged.
He turned quickly.
Nothing.
Then the whispers changed tone.
> “She’s here.”
“You brought her with you.”
“Run.”
Kai’s eyes widened. “Lira?”
Suddenly the fog twisted, and Lira’s face—her real face—ripped through the mist, eyes blazing silver, fangs bared.
She lunged at him.
Kai screamed and fell backward—only for her form to evaporate into smoke.
It wasn’t her. It was the Vale playing tricks.
“I’m not falling for it!” he shouted into the dark. “You think you can break me?”
But the fog only thickened. Shadows moved.
Somewhere deep inside the Vale,
Nox hovered just beyond the wardline, frowning as he watched the trial from a magical mirror someone dropped centuries ago. “Okay, this is bad. Even by our standards.”
Behind him, a grumpy goblin janitor swept bones off the dirt path. “Shouldn’t be watchin’. Breaks the rules.”
“I break wind, break hearts, and break rules. What’s one more?” Nox muttered.
Back inside, Kai stumbled onto a clearing surrounded by stone pillars etched with symbols. His candle sputtered out.
Darkness.
Then, a soft glow.
A ghost appeared—not part of the Vale. She was young. Familiar.
“…Mom?” Kai whispered.
The ghost smiled softly, sadly. “You were never meant for this place.”
“You’re not real.”
“I am the part of you that remembers,” she said. “Before the transformation. Before the claws. Before you knew what you were.”
Kai dropped to his knees. “What am I?”
She touched his chest. “Still becoming.”
Suddenly, a dark shadow loomed behind her. A massive, hulking form with eyes like embers and teeth like blades. The ghost faded.
Kai stood and faced the beast—no longer afraid.
“You want the broken version of me?” he said. “Too bad. I’m still in one piece.”
The creature lunged.
Kai didn’t dodge.
Instead, something deep inside him howled.
His eyes glowed.
And the beast froze—mirroring him.
It had his face.
It was him.
His fear. His rage. His untamed self.
Kai stepped forward and placed a hand on its chest.
“I’m not your enemy,” he whispered. “You’re a part of me.”
The fog lifted.
The creature dissolved.
The Vale grew silent.
And when the ghostly wind returned, it didn’t whisper insults.
It bowed.
When Kai emerged at dawn, the guards gaped.
“Three nights?” one muttered. “He was only in there for one.”
Kai’s eyes were calm. Stronger.
And glowing.
The Council had expected a broken boy.
Instead, they had awakened something far more dangerous:
A young man who knew who he was.
- Writer
