Chapter 14: The Echo War
The shadow version of Lyra didn't flinch. She stood at the very edge of the breach, her eyes glowing with unnatural silver fire, her voice a razor whisper carried by the howling wind.
"Do you even understand what you're trying to fix, Veilwalker?" the echo hissed.
Noah stepped forward, the First Shard still pulsing in the ground behind him, stabilizing the breach with threads of glowing light. "I understand enough. That this place is tearing itself apart—and I'm supposed to stop it."
The shadow tilted its head. "You think you're saving this world. You're just delaying the collapse."
"Typical echo nonsense," Riven muttered, drawing her dagger. "They all talk like they've seen the ending."
"I have," the shadow-Lyra said, eyes flicking toward the real Lyra. "And so have you, haven't you?"
Lyra's grip on her sword tightened, but she said nothing.
Noah glanced at her. "What's she talking about?"
Lyra didn't answer. Not immediately.
The silence was sharp.
"She's not just my echo," Lyra finally said. "She's a piece of what I left behind when I first crossed into the Netherveil. The fear. The doubt. The part of me that wanted to give up."
The echo smirked. "And now I'm stronger than ever."
Without warning, the echo lunged, blade drawn from a sheath of shadow. Noah reacted instinctively, raising the Veil Coin. A shockwave of silver light burst forth, knocking the echo back mid-leap.
"Nice trick," Riven said, eyes wide. "You're learning."
"I'm not dead, so yeah—learning fast," Noah replied.
But the echo didn't stay down.
It rose, dissolving into a cloud of black mist, reappearing behind them—this time, with others.
Three more echoes emerged from the breach: twisted reflections of people Noah had never seen, but who clearly mirrored Lyra and Riven's pasts. One looked like a corrupted version of Riven, wearing spiked armor and surrounded by floating shards of bone. The other two flickered between forms—unstable echoes, not quite whole.
"We need to seal this breach now," Lyra shouted.
Riven threw a glowing talisman to the ground, forming a barrier that halted the echoes' advance for a moment. "Then we hold the line."
Noah dropped to one knee at the shard. The silver light pulsing from the Veil Coin grew brighter, hotter. It felt alive now—like it was choosing him, or perhaps warning him.
He reached out, both hands on the First Shard.
The world disappeared.
...................
He wasn't in the Netherveil anymore. He stood in the void between reflections—where time, memory, and thought melted into light and sound.
Figures floated around him. Past versions of himself. Fragments of moments. The first time he felt useless. The first time he gave up. His own echo formed in the mirrorspace, eyes empty, voice hollow.
"You are not meant for this," the echo said.
"I didn't ask to be."
"But you took the coin."
"Because I had to."
The echo raised its hand—but Noah's burned brighter. Light surged from the coin, slicing through the void like lightning through fog.
"I'm done running from myself," Noah whispered.
He grabbed the echo's arm and pulled him in, merging the reflection into the light.
The mirrorspace shattered.
________________________________________
Back in the clearing, the First Shard flared with silver fire.
The echoes screamed, writhing in agony, as the breach began to collapse inward like a star folding into itself. The sky above shimmered, the crack healing one inch at a time.
Noah stood slowly, the light fading from his eyes. His hands smoked from the heat of magic.
Lyra and Riven stared at him, stunned.
"That… was not normal," Riven said finally.
Noah exhaled. "I'm starting to think I'm not, either."
The breach closed with a sound like thunder swallowed whole. All that remained was the First Shard—now dull, its purpose fulfilled.
Lyra approached Noah and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You just sealed a breach by confronting your own echo. That's not something most Veilwalkers survive."
He looked at her. "How many have there been?"
"Too many," she said. "Too few left."
Riven crossed her arms. "Well, looks like you're officially on the list. Congratulations, Veilwalker. First breach down. Hundreds to go."
Noah blinked. "Hundreds?"
Lyra smiled faintly. "We never said this would be easy."
Noah rubbed the back of his neck. "Next time, maybe start with that."
They gathered their things and prepared to move on. The Veil Coin, now warm and quiet, pulsed like a heartbeat at Noah's side. Somewhere ahead, deeper in the Netherveil, other breaches waited—along with more echoes, more tests, and whatever else this strange world had in store.
But Noah Vale—mirror-walker, shard-bearer, reluctant hero—was ready.
Sort of.
Maybe.