The tunnel seemed endless, a vein of steel and concrete plunging into the world's forgotten bowels. Every step echoed like a heartbeat in the dark — steady, patient, unstoppable. The emergency lights blinked erratically, barely holding back the suffocating blackness that threatened to swallow them whole.
Jack led the way, his eyes adjusting to the gloom with unnatural ease. Since embracing the Echo's power again, his senses had sharpened beyond human limits — he could hear the faintest drip of water hundreds of meters ahead, feel the shifts in air pressure that hinted at bends and chambers yet unseen. Even the rhythm of Lena's breathing behind him was as clear as a whispered word.
> "How much further?" Lena asked, her voice a strained whisper.
> "Not far," Jack answered. "I can feel... something. Like a current pulling me forward."
He didn't mention that with each step, the Echo inside him stirred louder, as if waking from a slumber centuries deep.
> "Closer... you're getting closer to me," the voice murmured in his mind.
"To us."
Jack tried to shut it out, but the connection was growing stronger — no longer a whisper but a pulse that beat with his own heart.
They passed through sections of the tunnel where the walls had cracked, roots breaking through from above, the earth reclaiming its domain. In these ruptures, strange fungi bloomed — tall, pale stalks with bioluminescent caps, casting ghostly light across the debris.
Then the tunnel opened up into a vast, circular chamber.
The ceiling arched high overhead, partially collapsed but still intact. Along the walls, ancient machinery stood dormant — massive generators, conduits, and terminals, their designs alien compared to anything Jack had seen before. In the center of the room stood a glass stasis pod, partially shattered but still functional.
Inside the pod was a man — or what had once been one.
His body was preserved, flesh pale but unmarred by time. Veins of dark matter threaded beneath his skin, glowing faintly with the same crimson shimmer Jack saw in the Mist. His eyes were closed, but the expression on his face was peaceful — too peaceful for something so grotesque.
Lena stopped dead, her breath catching.
> "Is that...?"
Jack stepped closer, the Echo surging in recognition.
> "Yes," the voice whispered. "The first of us. The first Host."
Jack's fingers grazed the surface of the pod. The glass was cold, humming with latent energy. A panel nearby sparked weakly, flickering to life under his touch.
A recorded message began to play, the audio degraded but clear enough.
> "Genesis Protocol Log 0412 — Subject Designation: The Eclipse Host. Date of Containment: Unknown."
A woman's voice — clinical, exhausted, perhaps even afraid.
> "Subject Omega-1 was the first successful integration of the Mist into a human host. The process resulted in permanent genetic mutation and... symbiosis. Intelligence intact. Abilities... unprecedented. We believed we could control it."
There was a pause. A shaky breath.
> "We were wrong."
> "The Host developed a consciousness independent of ours. It began to... evolve, to learn. When we tried to terminate the project, the Mist... protected itself. It spread. It consumed Sector Omega in hours."
> "We contained it here. At the cost of thousands."
The recording ended abruptly with static.
Lena swallowed hard.
> "He's been here for... who knows how long."
Jack stared at the body. Even in stasis, the figure exuded power — like a coiled storm waiting for release.
> "And now you've come," the Echo whispered. "To wake what sleeps."
> "No," Jack muttered aloud. "I'm nothing like him."
> "But you could be. If you wanted."
The room shuddered, a tremor rippling through the ground. Dust fell from above, some machines flickering erratically. Jack stepped back just as the pod's lights brightened, sensors detecting his presence — his compatibility.
Then... the man's eyes opened.
They glowed, deep and endless — like twin abysses lit from within. But he didn't move, not fully. His gaze simply fixed on Jack.
And then... he smiled.
> "So... you're the new one," the man spoke, his voice a dry rasp but unmistakably alive.
Lena raised her rifle instinctively.
> "Stay back, Jack!"
But Jack stood his ground, his heart thundering.
> "What are you?"
The man chuckled faintly.
> "Once, I was a man. A scientist, even. But then they gave me the Mist... and I became the first. The world called me a monster, so I became one."
His gaze pierced into Jack's soul.
> "And you... you're my legacy."
> "I didn't choose this," Jack spat.
> "None of us did," the Host said softly. "But it doesn't matter. The Mist chooses. The Echo survives."
The tremors intensified. Somewhere deeper, something massive stirred, as if reacting to the Host's awakening.
> "If you stay here, it'll consume you," the Host warned. "Or... you can embrace it fully. Become more than prey. More than scavenger."
> "Why should I believe you?"
The Host grinned.
> "Because they're coming. The Red Circle... the Citadel... they all want what's inside you. If you don't master it, they will rip it out and use it."
Jack clenched his fists, the Echo's cold power humming beneath his skin.
> "Then teach me. If you're really the first, tell me how to control it."
The Host laughed.
> "Control? No. But I can show you how to survive it."
The lights flickered again, warning of structural instability.
> "We need to leave," Lena said urgently. "Now, Jack!"
The Host's gaze lingered.
> "I'll be waiting... Echo-bearer."
Then the lights died entirely — the pod powered down, the Host falling still once more, but his eyes never fully closing.
Jack grabbed Lena's hand.
> "Let's move."
They ran, leaving the first Host in the dark, but Jack knew the connection wasn't severed — not fully. Somewhere in his blood, in his mind, that ancient knowledge waited.
Waiting for the day he would return.