The air on campus had shifted.
Even though Ronan, Lyra, and Kael had stopped the Calling ritual, it wasn't victory they felt—it was a delay. A pause before a stronger blow. Like thunder that rolls through the clouds long after the lightning strikes.
And deep beneath the school grounds, in a chamber untouched by light, the Circle prepared their answer.
***
The day after the failed Calling, Ronan sat alone in the far corner of the library. Not in the public space—this was one of the hidden wings Lyra had shown him weeks ago, tucked behind a locked, forgotten archive door.
His system interface flickered before his eyes:
*[Title: Anchor Breaker]*
*[System Sync: 72% Complete]*
*[Thread Level: 2 → 3 — Echo Resonance Strengthened]*
It should have felt like progress.
But he couldn't shake the feeling that they had simply poked a monster—and it was about to open its eyes.
Lyra entered, holding a folded map.
"They're relocating," she said without greeting. "Kael tracked a spike from the southern forest. The Circle's moving their base—or at least, expanding it."
Ronan looked up. "Why? The main campus has everything they need."
Lyra shrugged, but her eyes were sharp. "Unless they're building something bigger."
She dropped the map on the table. A red circle pulsed just off-campus—near an abandoned observatory no longer part of the school's official grid.
*[New Area Unlocked: South Range – Forbidden Zone]*
Ronan narrowed his eyes. "You think that's where they'll try the Calling again?"
"No," she said quietly. "I think that's where they'll try *something worse.*"
***
Elsewhere, in a room lined with curved black stone, members of the Circle stood in silence. Their robes bore different sigils now—complex, interwoven, glowing with faint blue and silver energy.
At the center, a woman stood—tall, severe, and hooded in white.
"Three failed rituals. A system anomaly. One Diver unchecked."
Her voice was ice.
The others bowed their heads.
"We underestimated the boy," one of them admitted.
"No," she said. "You underestimated what he's becoming."
She waved her hand, and a panel in the wall slid open, revealing a tank filled with glowing red liquid. Inside, something floated—part-human, part-machine, bound with anchors and sigils far more advanced than anything Ronan had seen.
"The Prototype is ready," she said. "Let it test him."
***
Back in the library, Ronan's system pinged again:
*[New Mission Unlocked: Investigate Southern Interference]*
*[Caution: Unstable Hybrid Detected – Engage with Backup]*
Ronan frowned. "Hybrid?"
Kael appeared on-screen through the system's contact link. His voice crackled: "I picked up a weird signal spike near the southern ridge. Not a normal anchor field. You're gonna want to see this."
They agreed to meet by nightfall.
Lyra didn't argue—just packed her tools, rolled her sketchpad tight, and said, "Let's go."
They moved quickly, silent, cloaked by fading light and instinct.
Neither of them noticed the drone hovering high above—Circle-controlled, watching every step.
***
At the southern range, the air was colder. The grass didn't sway. Even the trees seemed frozen.
Kael greeted them at the edge of a broken fence.
"Ronan," he said flatly. "Whatever's inside that observatory… it's not human anymore."
Ronan's system flashed:
*[Entity Signature: Unknown Hybrid – Codename: Echo Null]*
*[Threat Level: A]*
Kael handed them each a pulse charm—a small disk pulsing with blue light.
"Emergency disruptors," he said. "If things go south."
Inside the observatory, the walls were covered in mirrored panels. Strange, considering the room had no windows. Lights blinked from machines wired with anchor tubes. In the center: a containment pod. Broken open.
And the floor was covered in blood.
Then the lights flickered.
Lyra turned quickly, eyes wide. "It's still here."
A low metallic hiss echoed behind them.
And Ronan saw it.
Tall. Armored. Not quite machine, not quite alive. Its eyes glowed a dull red. Sigils pulsed beneath its skin—alive, angry, unstable.
*Echo Null.*
The prototype moved fast.
Ronan shouted, "Disrupt!"
His blast hit its chest, but it didn't even flinch. Instead, it retaliated with a ripple of raw energy that sent Kael flying into a wall.
Lyra activated her sketchpad, summoning a barrier, just in time to block a second strike.
"Nothing's working!" she shouted.
Ronan scanned it again.
*[Core Signature Detected – External Anchor Node Hidden Inside Chest Casing]*
He needed to reach the core.
And to do that, he'd need help.
He tapped his system.
*[Override Request – Activate Echo Link: Lyra + Kael]*
Both accepted.
A surge of energy burst through all three of them, forming a glowing triangle between their systems.
Ronan launched forward, energy cloaked around his arm.
He struck.
The casing cracked.
Not fully, but enough.
Lyra flanked the creature, drawing its attention, as Kael fired harmonic disruptors at its legs.
Finally, Ronan charged one last time—
—and punched through the chest plate.
*[Anchor Node Destroyed]*
*[Echo Null – TERMINATED]*
The prototype collapsed.
The room went silent.
Then Lyra said softly, "They're not trying to control students anymore."
"They're building weapons," Kael added.
Ronan stared at the broken machine-body on the floor.
"No," he said. "They're building monsters".
The remains of Echo Null twitched once before falling still. Sparks hissed from its torn core, burning out the last traces of corrupted energy.
Kael limped to his feet, pressing a hand against his ribs. "That thing had layers. Core shielded, anchored code looped to reroute damage. That wasn't just a prototype. It was a *test run.*"
Ronan leaned against the wall, catching his breath. His system pulsed with fatigue warnings, but he forced himself to stay focused.
"We need to leave," he said. "If this was a test, then someone's watching the results."
Lyra nodded, already gathering the charm disks. "Back to the archive. We'll regroup there."
***
But they never made it that far.
The moment they crossed the threshold of the observatory entrance, a wall of energy surged upward behind them—sealing the exit.
A voice echoed, not from a speaker, but from inside their minds.
*"You've passed your first trial. Now comes the second."*
Kael's eyes widened. "That voice… I've heard it before. In Circle initiation dreams."
Lyra gritted her teeth. "Dreams don't trap people in observatories."
"No," Ronan said darkly. "But the Circle does".
The floor beneath them trembled. Then, the walls shifted—rotating slowly until the room was no longer a chamber, but a spiral corridor, dragging them deeper into the observatory's hidden core.
A new alert appeared in Ronan's system:
*[Secondary Trial Initiated – Echo Layer]*
*[Objective: Survive 3 Phases of Mental-Anchor Infiltration]*
Lyra's system didn't respond.
Kael's interface froze.
Ronan looked around.
Only his system was still functional.
"They're targeting me," he said aloud. "Only me."
Lyra tried to reach for him, but a force pushed her away—gently, but unbreakable. A transparent barrier sealed her and Kael off.
Then the room went black.
***
Ronan stood alone in the dark.
Until a single blue flame appeared before him—and with it, a voice he hadn't heard since he was eight years old.
"Why did you survive when your father didn't?"
Ronan's breath caught.
His father's voice.
His *real* voice.
"No," Ronan said, trying to steady himself. "This isn't real. This is an illusion."
*[Phase 1 – Emotional Fragmentation Initiated]*
Memories began to flood around him—times when he was powerless, when teachers ignored him, when students mocked his weakness. When even he believed he was nothing.
The Circle was trying to shatter his confidence.
But Ronan had grown since then.
He focused, gripping his own hand, grounding himself.
*[Mental Anchor Stabilized: 78%]*
*[Fragmentation Failed]*
The room shattered again.
***
Now he stood in a void filled with broken versions of himself.
One spoke: "You could've had a normal life."
Another: "You should've walked away from the system."
A third: "You'll only get others killed."
*[Phase 2 – Identity Fracture]*
Ronan looked them in the eye, one by one.
"I could've walked away, but then the Circle would've won."
He stepped forward.
"I should've run, but then Lyra would still be alone."
Another step.
"And if I die for this… I die *knowing I chose to fight.*"
*[Mental Core: Locked]*
*[Override Authorized – Anchor Level Increase to Tier 4]*
Light burst around him, burning the illusions to ash.
***
Final phase.
Now he faced a hallway lined with mirrors.
Each reflection showed him as something different:
– A soldier.
– A monster.
– A leader.
– A destroyer.
The voice returned:
*"Which version of yourself do you fear becoming the most?"*
Ronan didn't flinch.
"All of them."
He stepped forward, letting the images fall away.
"I'm not afraid of who I might become. I'm afraid of what happens if I don't become *someone strong enough to stop you.*"
*[Final Trial Complete]*
*[Title Earned: Echo Diver]*
*[Anchor Thread Access – 92%]*
The spiral corridor vanished.
And suddenly—he was back.
Kael gasped. Lyra staggered. The barrier fell.
But something had changed.
Ronan's presence felt *heavier*, sharper. His system glowed with a color neither of them had seen before—white and blue threaded with gold.
Kael stared at him. "What… *are* you now?"
Ronan looked at his hand.
"I think I'm becoming what they feared I'd be."
Lyra approached carefully. "And what's that?"
He didn't answer right away. Then:
"Someone who doesn't need the Circle to survive."
***
Later that night, back in the archive wing, Lyra sat beside him in silence.
Then she spoke: "They won't stop."
"I know."
"But we're closer now," she said. "To something."
"Maybe even to understanding *why* I have this system," Ronan added.
Kael entered, holding a data crystal. "I found something. Old records. About the Circle's origin. I think your system was meant for one of *them.*"
Ronan turned sharply.
"You mean…"
Kael nodded. "I don't think you were supposed to *get it.* You *intercepted* it."
Ronan's pulse quickened.
Maybe he wasn't just a threat to the Circle.
Maybe he was their greatest mistake.
---