Chapter 8: Whispers Beyond the Forest
The clearing was empty now. The obsidian shard had vanished into the soil, leaving only Elias's ragged breaths and the two silent warriors bound to him. Their presence gnawed at his chest with every heartbeat, the tether pulling like invisible chains.
Elias leaned against a tree, wiping sweat from his brow. "If every trial's like this… I won't last a week."
The girl—his supposed ally, his Echo—watched him with that unsettling calm. "You've done better than most. Many perish on their first chain."
He shot her a glare. "That's supposed to make me feel better?"
Her smile didn't waver. "It should. You've already outlived dozens."
The system flickered across his vision again.
> [Echo III Complete.]
Next Trial Pending.]
Estimated Interval: Variable.]
Variable. That word chilled him more than any countdown.
The girl tilted her head toward the east. "You'll need supplies. Shelter. There's a settlement three leagues that way."
Elias frowned. "And they'll just welcome me in?"
Her eyes glimmered faintly. "Perhaps. Unless they see what you carry." She gestured to the bound warriors, their ember eyes dim under the moonlight. "System-bearers are not… trusted."
Elias's chest tightened. So even if I survive the echoes, the world itself may turn on me.
The forest thinned as he walked, every step heavier under the tether's weight. The bound warriors followed silently, their presence wrong, unnatural. When he glanced back, villagers would see them. They had to.
The girl walked beside him, hands clasped behind her back as though on a leisurely stroll. "You should name them," she said lightly.
"Name them?" He barked a laugh. "They're puppets. Weapons."
Her smile was sharp. "And yet they are part of you now. Chains work both ways, Elias. Ignore them, and the burden will crush you. Accept them, and perhaps… you'll learn to wield it."
Before he could reply, the trees broke.
A valley stretched below, dotted with flickering torchlight. Wooden palisades rose around a small town, its gates closed, guards patrolling the walls with spears in hand. Human voices carried faintly—normal, mundane, almost unreal after the horrors of the forest.
For the first time since awakening in this cursed world, Elias felt a pang of hope.
But the system didn't allow it to linger.
> [Warning: Echo IV Proximity Detected.]
Trigger: Entry into Settlements.]
Elias's stomach dropped. "You've got to be kidding me."
The girl's smile widened. "The system does not rest. Even among people, it will test you."
The distant clang of a warning bell echoed from the town. Guards pointed toward the treeline where Elias stood. The torches flared brighter, and he realized what they saw: not just a weary stranger… but a man with two faceless warriors of obsidian at his back.