Come forth!" Adam shouted.
When he opened his eyes, a perfect copy of himself stood before him.
Bezarak's eyes widened in shock. He had never seen an echo resist its prime.
"There are two ways to dispel it," Bezarak explained, recovering quickly. "First is absorption—you take it back, regaining any energy used in its creation. Second is merging. When you merge, you don't recover the energy, but you store the echo inside you, keeping it intact. You can call it out whenever you need it." He crossed his arms. "Now, absorb it."
Adam hesitated. He had struggled to create an echo on purpose, and now that he had, he wasn't eager to erase it.
"Does it require energy to keep them alive?" he asked.
"No," Bezarak said. "Actually, any progress or growth transfers to you. If your echo reads a book and you merge with it, you gain that knowledge."
Adam's mind raced with possibilities.
I could train, learn, even explore in two places at once…
"I think I'll keep it." Without hesitation, he stepped forward and merged with his echo.
Bezarak gave him an unimpressed look. "You're supposed to name it."
"I'll do that later," Adam said, brushing it off. He sat back down. "What's next?"
Before we continue, do you have any questions?" Bezarak asked, hoping the answer was no.
Adam didn't hesitate. "Yeah. What did Iyan mean by 'Idea Being'?"
Bezarak sighed. "I meant questions about the lesson," he said. But deep down, he was relieved—at least Adam wasn't confused about his teaching.
"Fine. But no judging."
Bezarak smirked. "An Idea Being is a creature born from a thought—usually from gods. I was created specifically by Loki. One day, as part of one of his tricks, he imagined men who would thirst for women." He paused for effect. "Specifically, the ones not worth the thirst trap."
Adam frowned. "How is that a trap? Wouldn't the women enjoy the attention?"
He was genuinely curious now.
Bezarak chuckled. "Oh, you'd be surprised."
These women started turning down guys who were actually in their league," Bezarak continued. "Any ridiculous standard a woman could have—Thirstians met it."
Adam raised an eyebrow. "So… what happened?"
"Then, out of nowhere, we all disappeared." Bezarak spread his hands. "Poof. Gone."
He leaned forward. "Think of it like this: You walk into a grocery store and ask for an organic blue chicken egg. Some people will laugh. Others will get mad. And you will get mad—because you've been eating them for years, only to be told they never existed."
Adam chuckled. "That's… weirdly specific."
Bezarak shrugged. "Yeah, well, unfortunately, a seed had already been planted in me. Unlike the others, I didn't disappear."
Okay, let's—"
"There are gods?" Adam cut in, staring at Bezarak.
Bezarak sighed. "Yes, there are gods. A lot of them. Some you've never even heard of. I know at least three different versions of Ares." He waved a hand dismissively. "But we can talk about gods later. Right now, focus on this."
He brought out five variations of his Echoes, their forms shifting slightly as they hovered before him.
"These are stored Echoes," he explained. "How long they last depends on the energy I used to create them—some can exist for years, others for only seconds. But storing them costs energy, and if I don't have enough, my body will automatically absorb them."
Bezarak's expression darkened, his voice growing more serious.
"If you try to create an Echo from scratch without enough energy, you might die. Never attempt it when you're not in peak condition."
For a moment, his gaze drifted, lost in memory. Someone had made that mistake before. Someone he couldn't bring back.
"And one more thing," he said, his voice low but firm. "Never merge with or absorb a dead Echo. It will definitely kill you."
Adam listened carefully. He could tell how important this was to Bezarak by the way he spoke.
"You already know about the Echo Link, right?" Bezarak asked.
Adam nodded but waited for further explanation.
Bezarak continued, "It's that feeling of being connected to something other than yourself. But there's also something called the Silent Link. It's basically telepathy, but only between the creator and their Echoes."
Adam raised a hand, and Bezarak paused, nodding for him to speak.
"Can you use the Silent Link with someone else… if you bond with them?"
Bezarak's expression shifted, his usual calm hardening into something more serious. "What do you mean, 'link with someone'?" His voice carried a sharp edge. "Never link with another person. It's dangerous. If you're not mentally strong enough, it can leave you brain-dead. And it's not always easy to tell who's strong and who's weak. So on the safer side—just don't try it at all."
Adam held Bezarak's gaze, nodding in understanding, but he said nothing.
He didn't tell him that he had already done it.
"For now practice what we have learnt today. We will continue tomorrow."
Bezarak shook his head as he walked away. "Link with someone," he muttered to himself.