The docks returned to their rhythm, with the sound of waves as the background music, the commotion sound at the marketplace fading.
Khaliq sat on the same crates where he had before, his elbow resting on his lap. Beside him, the rest of his bread slipped from the edge of the crate. It hit the water with a small splash, broke apart, and vanished beneath the tide. Silver fish darted up, tearing it to shreds in a frenzy. Khaliq looked at them without interest.
Footsteps echoed behind; steady clicks vibrated along the boards, but they weren't those of the dockworkers.
"The previous feat was fascinating," the quiet tone reached the water's surface, but it reached Khaliq's ears. The young man didn't turn; his eyes blinked once.
"What."
"The Echo," the voice continued. "Unlike other Echo users, the Echo didn't cling to you; rather, it vanished after the fight ended, like a coat you borrow from others."
Khaliq's shoulder stiffened almost imperceptibly. He turned his head toward the voice; a man a few steps away, leaning on the nearest lamppost, his sunglasses dropped on the bridge of his nose, revealing his green eyes.
His eyes locked with Khaliq's silver eyes, studying his expression.
"You don't seem shocked," the individual spoke; "It seems you've done this before," a slight smile was present.
The eye contact lasts for a few seconds before Khaliq breaks it and turns to the waves; a small sigh escapes from his mouth; "Does it matter?" he said.
"Not yet," the man said; he took a few steps, approaching Khaliq, and stopped right beside him. His green eyes darted toward the same scenery.
"Do you know Rasa Academy?" the man asked. Khaliq glanced at him before shrugging his shoulder.
"It was a prestigious academy that accepted and taught young Echo users," he stated; his emotionless tone alone showed that he wasn't interested, not a bit. Even though he was aware, the man still said the words.
"How about you apply there? Based on your fight before; you have capability," the man said, a same smile appeared on his face.
Khaliq didn't answer at first; his mind recalled back during the previous fight, the way he used the Echo efficiently, which shows how accurate the man's statement are.
However, he shrugged, "What for?"
The man beside him was silent for a few beats, the waves hitting the walls making a splash sounds wheeling out of sight.
Finally, he opened his mouth; his tone had shifted, softer but sharper. "Rasa Academy is not all about training Echo. It is about origins. Bloodlines. The first spark that lit your Echo in the dark."
Khaliq's eyes flickered sideways, quick and cold.
The man continues, "You fought like you had done it before. Yet… the Echo is not yours. You use other echoes like a mask. No rage, no happiness, nothing. Tell me, kid," he narrowed. "Do you have memories of the moment you unlocked your echo, or even the memories before that?"
Khaliq's jaws tightened. For the first time, a flicker of something—not anger—not sadness, but wariness touched his face. He turned his head fully to the man. "How do you know that?"
The man's smile widened, almost pleased. "Sometimes silent is louder than words, and yours has been deafening the moment you let out your breath. "
Khaliq's stare held, but the longer he looked at the man's green eyes, the less he found. They are amused — yes, but there is something layered, unfathomable, like a depth that he can't sound.
He turned back to the waves, the sun slowly dipped into the earth.A sigh came out of Khaliq's mouth, almost a scoff. "….And you think this academy will hand me an answer wrapped with a bow?"
"Not with a bow," the man said. "But pieces. Hints, once you find them all, that is when your questions will be answered."
For a long moment, Khaliq said nothing. The tide hissed against the rock. His silver eyes were reflected in the water, unreadable.
A smile was plastered on the man's face. His sunglasses slid into place, green eyes hidden behind dark glass. "Think about it. The academy's gates will open in three days. If you walk away, then so be it, but if you want a genuine answer, you'll find none better," he said, his knuckle tapped on the lamppost before taking a few steps away, steady and measured.
Khaliq shifted his head toward the man's back. A question left his mouth.
"You — who are you?"
The man stopped, chuckled, "And here I thought you already know," he said, turned his head to meet Khaliq's silver eyes. "I'm Professor Alfred, Headmaster of Rasa Academy."
___
After Alfred left the scene, Khaliq sat still on the crates; his mind wandered everywhere since then, especially on one word that stuck, echoing every second.
'Origin, huh?'
Almost immediately, a certain memory appeared on the surface of his head. About a boy around ten, found himself lying unconscious on the floor near the dockside.
The moment he opened his eyes, beautiful waves of sea greeted his vision, the smell of salt and fish made him a bit dizzy. Just like a normal kid, such an unknown place put panicked on him. What made it worse was the fact that he knew nothing about his past, except for a name, Khaliq, and his ability.
'Do you even remember the moment your Echo first appeared?'
"....Pointless."
Khaliq said, gets up from his crates, his eyes focused on the same waves; the sun already drowned by the earth, replaced by a crescent moon, standing right above him. Taking a last glanced, he tread to the marketplace.
The damage from the previous incident is still there, a few markets destroyed, the same as the road. However, the environment is still lively, with people bursting at the seams. After taking some rotten apples, he returned to his place.
The normal routine of his somehow felt heavier than usual, the empty action, staring at the sea, his mind always messed him up. Even the apple tastes like nothing. The green eyes man's words echoing each beat.
"Rasa Academy," he muttered, laying down on the crates, which made a creak sound. Khaliq exhales one last breath before letting himself drift into reverie.
___
The night passed in an instant; Khaliq woke up before the sun; the air was cold and damp with mist. His mouth let out a fog with every breath.
He sat up slowly, blinked at the gray glow over the horizon. The crescent moon was sinking now, its thin blade dulled by the hints of dawn.
For years, his routine had all been the same; waking to hunger, moving without thought, blending into the rhythm of the docks.
However, this time will be different. Khaliq pushed to his feet, brushing dust off his coat; his stomach growled, but the sound barely registered.
Normally, hunger will be his first priority, guiding his steps, but his mind was thinking of altering the plan.
"....I need money."