The tunnel behind them shook violently, a deep, resonant growl reverberating through the earth like some ancient titan stirring in its grave. Dust rained from the crumbling ceiling, the floor trembling beneath their feet as Jack and Lena sprinted down the dimly lit corridor. Somewhere far behind, the pulse of machines — or something worse — throbbed louder, a steady drumbeat of awakening.
> "Faster!" Jack barked, pulling Lena by the arm.
"If this place collapses, we're buried with it!"
Their lungs burned, their legs strained, but the promise of open air — of escape — pushed them forward. The emergency lights along the walls flickered weakly, barely piercing the gloom that swallowed every corner. Pipes and cables dangled like veins torn from a body, sparks occasionally leaping between broken connections.
But the tremors weren't natural. Jack knew it.
The Echo whispered incessantly now, urgent and commanding.
> "He stirs. He remembers."
Jack grimaced. He could still feel the weight of the First Host's gaze, those abyssal eyes boring into his soul even in memory. That man — no, that thing — had been sealed down here for centuries, maybe longer. Yet he'd looked at Jack like a mentor awaiting his student's return.
They rounded a corner and came to a metal staircase, half-collapsed and rusted through. Without hesitating, Jack climbed first, testing each step for stability before waving Lena up. The higher they ascended, the colder the air became — a stark contrast to the warmth of the deeper levels.
Halfway up, Jack froze.
A sharp pain lanced through his skull — sudden, searing, as if needles had been driven straight into his brain. His vision blurred, then fractured, and the world around him dissolved into shadow.
He staggered, catching himself against the stairwell. Lena's voice sounded distant, warped, as if underwater.
> "Jack?! What's wrong?"
But he couldn't answer — he wasn't there anymore.
He was somewhere else.
---
A Vision
Jack stood in a city, but not one he recognized. Towering skyscrapers stretched into the sky, their surfaces covered in shimmering panels of glass and steel. The air was clean, vibrant, humming with energy. Above, sleek drones darted between buildings, ferrying goods and information with mechanical precision.
People walked the streets — not scavengers, not survivors, but citizens, dressed in clean, futuristic garments, their faces lit by the glow of holographic interfaces hovering in the air.
And yet... Jack felt something wrong.
The sky, though bright, was streaked with faint ribbons of gray mist, barely visible to the naked eye. A storm building on the horizon.
Then he saw them — Genesis banners, fluttering on skyscrapers and stations. The same name he'd heard deep underground.
In the center of it all stood a tower, taller than any other, its spire piercing the clouds. Upon it, an insignia: a black sun eclipsed by a crimson halo.
And beneath the tower... a lab.
Jack's perspective shifted — drawn downward, through walls and floors — until he stood inside a sprawling laboratory. Scientists in sterile suits moved about, attending to machines that hummed with forbidden energy.
At the center of the room was a containment chamber — not unlike the one that had held the First Host — but this one held the Mist itself, writhing and swirling, alive.
> "We are on the verge of transcendence," a voice declared.
Jack turned to see a figure in a long coat, eyes gleaming with ambition. A scientist, but with the bearing of a prophet.
> "The Mist is not a curse," the man proclaimed. "It is the next step of evolution. A bridge between humanity and the unknown."
The crowd of researchers murmured, some in awe, others in unease.
> "What about the side effects?" someone asked nervously.
> "They are... regrettable," the scientist admitted, "but manageable. With the right host, the Mist will unlock potential beyond imagination."
Jack felt a chill. He was witnessing the origin — the birth of the Echo, the experiments that had led to the catastrophe.
Then the alarms began — distant, faint at first, then growing louder.
The Mist... reacted. It surged within the chamber, pressing against the glass, sensing weakness. Without warning, it burst free — not as a vapor, but as a living entity, tendrils of shadow and light coiling through the air.
People screamed, but it was too late. The Mist touched them, seeped into their skin, their eyes, their minds. Some collapsed instantly; others rose changed, bodies warped, their thoughts stolen by the invading presence.
And then Jack saw him — the scientist, standing calmly amidst the chaos, his arms wide open.
> "I accept you," he whispered.
"Take me."
The Mist embraced him, flowing into his body, merging, transforming. And when it was done, the man was no longer human — his eyes glowing with crimson light, his form more shadow than flesh.
> "I am the Eclipse," he declared, voice echoing unnaturally.
"I am what comes after."
---
Return to Reality
Jack gasped, stumbling up the staircase. Lena caught him, fear in her eyes.
> "Jack! Hey — stay with me!"
His head throbbed, the vision fading like a dream at dawn.
> "I saw it..." he whispered. "Genesis. The Mist. The First Host — he was... he was the one who accepted it willingly."
Lena's eyes widened.
> "What does that mean?"
Jack shook his head, trying to steady his breathing.
> "It means this wasn't an accident. The Mist didn't invade the world. We let it in. We made it."
Lena stared at him, stunned. The implications were terrifying — humanity had crafted its own destruction.
But there was no time for reflection. Another tremor shook the stairwell, followed by a deep, resonant sound — footsteps, massive and deliberate, somewhere deeper in the facility.
Jack stood, eyes burning faintly red.
> "We need to move. Whatever woke up down there... it's coming."
> "And what about the Red Circle?" Lena asked.
Jack smiled grimly.
> "Let them face it first."
They pushed onward, finally reaching a service hatch that led into a ventilation tunnel — a narrow, winding path but one that smelled of fresh air.
For the first time in days, Jack saw light — pale and cold, but natural.
They emerged onto the surface, stepping out onto cracked earth beneath a gray, cloud-choked sky. The landscape stretched barren and empty, but they were free.
Yet Jack knew it wasn't over.
> "I am the Eclipse," the vision echoed in his mind.
Jack clenched his fists. He had power now — but so did his enemies. The Citadel, the Red Circle, the awakened Host deep underground.
If he was to survive, to uncover the full truth, he would have to master the Echo fully — or be consumed by it.