The sandstorm rose around them like a living wall, circling Aiden and Lyra in a wide arena of cracked obsidian and swirling memory dust.
The Echo King hovered above the ground—mantle torn, golden shards orbiting him like broken halos.
His voice came layered, as though multiple Aidens whispered at once:
"Your trial is simple.
Survive."
Aiden clenched his fists.
"How long?"
"Twelve heartbeats."
Lyra blinked.
"Twelve what—?!"
The Echo King vanished.
Aiden heard it—a pop of displaced air—behind him.
Instinct kicked in.
He ducked.
A razor-thin arc of gold light sheared past his head, slicing a distant ruin clean in half.
Aiden rolled across the sand.
Lyra called out, "HE MOVES LIKE YOU—BUT FASTER!"
Aiden gritted his teeth.
"No. He moves like me—if I ever… broke."
---
HEARTBEAT ONE — THE JUDGE
The Echo King appeared above Aiden, spear of crystallized memory forming in his hand.
Aiden braced—
—but the strike never came.
Instead, the spear dissolved into a storm of floating symbols that wrapped around Aiden like coiling snakes.
Lyra shouted, "Aiden—MOVE!"
But he couldn't.
He wasn't paralyzed physically.
He was paralyzed by what he saw.
Each symbol blossomed into a vision:
Aiden on a throne.
Aiden erasing a world.
Aiden killing an enemy.
Aiden killing a friend.
Aiden killing Lyra.
"No—NO—STOP!"
He tore himself away just as the Echo King whispered:
"This is the version of you that chooses power over love."
Aiden staggered back, throat tightening.
Lyra grabbed his arm, grounding him.
"Aiden. Look at me. That is NOT you."
His breath steadied.
But the Echo King was already gone.
---
HEARTBEAT TWO — THE MIRROR
Aiden spun around—too slow.
A wave of golden fire slammed into him.
Lyra tackled him sideways, saving him from a fatal blow, but the searing heat burned across his shoulder.
Aiden hissed in pain.
Lyra checked him frantically. "Aiden—you're burning!"
"It's not fire," Aiden panted.
"It's… memory decay."
The Echo King appeared again, hovering above.
His voice twisted:
"I lost myself.
Do you even know what you are trying to protect?
Do you have the right to rewrite a universe you barely understand?"
Aiden shouted back:
"I'm trying to save people!"
The echo nodded slowly.
"That is exactly what I said…
before I killed them."
---
HEARTBEAT THREE — THE KING'S WEAPON
The Echo King's mantle split into spear fragments—twelve golden shards shooting toward Aiden like homing missiles.
Lyra leapt forward, blades out.
"Leave him ALONE!"
The shards altered course instantly.
Aiden's heart dropped.
"LYRA—NO!"
He sprinted toward her.
Too far.
The shards closed in—
But Lyra twisted, spinning into a rising arc slash that redirected two shards and shattered a third.
The remaining nine converged on her.
Aiden's mark ignited.
"LYRA!"
He threw a barrier—gold, raw, unstable.
It flickered violently, but held long enough to deflect the shards.
The Echo King watched, expression unreadable.
"…In my world, Lyra never became strong enough to block those."
Lyra snarled, "Well then, your world sucked."
The Echo King smiled faintly.
Then vanished again.
---
HEARTBEAT FOUR — THE WORLD OF WHAT IF
The air rippled.
Aiden blinked—
—and suddenly found himself standing in a quiet field.
Green. Beautiful. Peaceful.
The sky was blue.
Lyra was laughing beside him, wearing simple clothes.
Aiden's arm was around her shoulders.
A small cabin sat behind them.
Aiden froze.
"This is…"
The Echo King appeared beside him, gaze soft.
"My world, before the reset."
A little girl ran across the field, laughing joyfully as she chased glowing butterflies.
"Aiden!" she shouted. "Look! I caught one!"
Aiden's chest tightened painfully.
"I had a daughter?"
The Echo King's smile cracked.
"Yes."
Aiden felt his heart stutter.
"What… was her name?"
"Aria."
Aiden's voice trembled.
"What happened to her?"
The Echo King closed his eyes.
"The collapse started near her. I tried to save her. But Kings are forbidden from interfering in collapse zones. I broke that rule."
Aiden's breath caught.
The Echo King looked at him.
"She died in my arms."
The illusion dissolved.
Aiden collapsed to his knees.
Lyra grabbed him, pulling him back to reality.
"Aiden. Look at me. I'm here. Stay with me."
He forced himself to breathe.
His voice broke.
"I… lost a child?"
The Echo King whispered:
"You could.
If you fail."
---
HEARTBEATS FIVE TO NINE — THE CRUMBLING
The Echo King moved faster, hits coming from every angle.
Aiden blocked one.
Dodged another.
Lyra parried the third.
Aiden couldn't keep track.
His heartbeat thundered in his ears.
SIX.
SEVEN.
EIGHT.
NINE.
Every blow carried a memory fragment—painful, twisted possibilities.
Aiden killing strangers.
Aiden killing allies.
Aiden surrendering.
Aiden ruling as a tyrant.
Aiden kneeling alone in a white void.
Aiden murdering the first person he ever loved.
Each vision hit deeper than any physical blade.
Aiden screamed, clutching his head.
Lyra caught him before he fell.
"Aiden! Stay with me! PLEASE!"
---
HEARTBEAT TEN — LYRA'S BREAK
The Echo King materialized right in front of Lyra.
She didn't flinch.
He tilted his head.
"You shouldn't exist."
Lyra spat back, "Too bad for you."
He raised a hand—gold energy forming a spear aimed at her heart.
Aiden roared.
"DON'T TOUCH HER!"
He surged forward—
The Echo King didn't move.
"Aiden," the echo whispered,
"your greatest weakness…
is that you still think you can save everyone."
The spear flew toward Lyra.
Aiden's mark exploded.
Golden flame wrapped his entire body.
He reached her—
Too slow.
Lyra's breath caught as the spear halted a finger's width from her heart—stopped by Aiden's bare hand.
Blood dripped down his arm.
Lyra gasped, "AIDEN—!"
But Aiden didn't feel pain.
He felt something else.
Resolve.
He stared at the Echo King.
"I won't become you."
---
HEARTBEAT ELEVEN — THE SHIFT
The Echo King froze.
Aiden stepped forward, still gripping the golden spear, letting it burn through his palm.
"No matter how many worlds break…
No matter who I lose…
No matter how heavy this power becomes…"
The fire around him intensified.
"But I won't let grief turn me into a monster."
The Echo King flinched.
Aiden released the spear.
"And I won't let you take my place."
---
HEARTBEAT TWELVE — THE IMPOSSIBLE
Aiden's mark changed.
For the first time since receiving it…
the Lost King's sigil pulsed with a new color.
White-gold.
Pure.
Awakened.
Whole.
Lyra stared in awe.
"Aiden… what is happening to you?"
Aiden's voice was steady.
"I'm becoming who I'm meant to be."
The Echo King stepped back.
"No…
Impossible…
You shouldn't be able to—"
Aiden lifted a hand.
Golden-white energy ignited behind him like wings.
"You said this trial was about proving I deserve to live, right?"
The Echo King trembled.
Aiden's eyes glowed.
"Then hear my answer.
I choose to live.
And not like you."
He stepped forward.
"The trial is over."