I stepped through the smoke like I had won. Like this was over. But as the dust cleared and my feet met solid ground, my heart sank.
Dr. Mira Lang stood alone in the center of the massive hangar, perfectly still, perfectly calm—like he'd been expecting me all along. His long coat fluttered in the artificial wind as if the world around him bowed to his presence. His hands were behind his back. That smile was still there. The same smug smirk he wore when he told me I was a clone.
I didn't wait.
With a yell that came from somewhere raw inside me, I sprinted forward. My footsteps cracked the metal floor beneath me. I balled my fist, charged it with everything that pulsed inside me—rage, power, confusion—and aimed it straight for his face.
"I'm done being your experiment!" I shouted.
But he didn't flinch.
In one smooth motion, he dodged.
And punched me.
It wasn't just a punch. It was like a meteor had collided with my jaw. Time stretched thin for a moment—and then I flew.
Pain exploded across my ribs. For the first time since my powers awakened, I felt something break. Blood sprayed from my mouth, thin and hot.
I was airborne.
Spinning. Weightless.
And for a moment—
—I saw the sky.
It was the first time in my life I'd ever seen it. A deep, endless blue stretched above, clouds sailing slow like lazy giants. A sun hung high, warm and bright. It should've been beautiful. I should've smiled. I should've paused. But I didn't have the luxury.
Because the sky didn't last.
Like a bolt of lightning, Lang appeared in the sky, moving faster than my eyes could track. Before I could even blink, his foot connected with my stomach.
Crack.
It was like something inside me snapped.
A howl of pain tore from my throat as I felt myself being blasted back down like a meteor.
I crashed into something soft but massive—trees. Real ones. I saw them for the first time too. Tall trunks twisted with bark, thick green leaves rustling from the shockwave of my landing. A bird shot out from the canopy, screeching into the sky. A squirrel dropped its nut and vanished. Everything ran—except me.
Then my body hit the ground.
The impact wasn't subtle.
The earth exploded beneath me. A crater formed—wide, deep, cracked like a shattered dish. The kind of impact that could swallow a truck. Dust. Bark. Broken roots. My body lay at the center like the fallen hammer of a god.
I couldn't move.
Everything ached. My ribs were cracked. My vision swam.
So this... this was pain. Real pain. Not the simulated kind from training. This was raw, unfiltered, primal agony.
Lang landed lightly on the edge of the crater, hands still behind his back. He looked down at me like I was nothing. Like I was a failed blueprint.
"I was hoping you'd last longer," he said, almost bored.
"Why..." I coughed blood, "...why are you doing this?"
"You think this is cruelty?" he asked, stepping closer. "This is education. Evolution isn't kind. It's efficient."
I tried to stand. My arms trembled like string. "You said I was powerful."
"You are. But power without control is just noise."
"You think you're a god?" I spat out blood again.
He chuckled, stepping around the crater like he was inspecting a failed prototype. "No. Gods are inefficient. I'm better. I'm focused."
My knees buckled. My vision darkened at the edges.
And that's when it hit me.
If I fight him like this—I'll die. Lang wasn't just my creator. He was my equal.
Maybe even worse—he was what I might become.
The forest around us was still. Trees creaked. A deer watched from the distance, motionless. A stream gurgled softly somewhere nearby, ignorant of the battle. The wind blew through the canopy, carrying with it the smell of sap and blood.
Nature didn't care who was strong.
I was only who survived.
And I was losing.
Badly.
But as I looked up at the monster who made me, something sparked in my chest. A flicker. A memory. A name I didn't recognize, but felt etched in my bones.
Kalkin.
That name pulsed in my skull like a heartbeat. Whoever he was—whoever I was cloned from—he didn't give up.
Neither would I.
I forced my hand into the dirt, pulled myself up an inch, then another. Lang watched, amused.
"You don't know when to stop," he said.
I wiped the blood from my mouth and looked up, grinning.
"No," I said, "I don't."
Lang raised an eyebrow. "Impressive. That punch should've ruptured at least three of your organs." "Guess I'm built different." I smirked, though my lungs burned.
"Still joking? You're either brave or very stupid."
I coughed, chuckled weakly. "Can't it be both?"
Lang's eyes narrowed. "Then let's test your limits further."
Suddenly, he dashed forward again, faster than sound. I barely had time to throw my arms up before he slammed a kick into my side. My body flew again, crashing into a massive tree, splintering it in two.
I groaned, spitting bark and blood. "Okay… that one actually hurt."
Lang appeared before I could finish speaking. "You're learning. Slowly."
I tried to punch, and he caught it with one hand.
He squeezed. I screamed.
And then, through gritted teeth, I growled: "I'm not... done yet."
Lang looked genuinely curious. "Why do you resist?"
"Because I want to live," I shouted. "Because I want to be more than a shadow of someone else!"
Lang paused. "Interesting." He let go, stepping back.
I collapsed again, panting.
Above, clouds shifted. Thunder rolled. As if the sky itself waited to see the outcome.
And deep inside me, something stirred. Not rage. Not pain. Something older. Something powerful.
Something... awakening.
A low hum began in my ears. At first I thought it was from the pain. But then the ground beneath my broken body started to tremble—softly, like a purr waiting to become a roar.
Lang stopped.
His head tilted slightly. "What's this?"
I wasn't sure. But something deep inside me was waking up. My fingertips dug into the earth—no, merged with it. I could feel the vibrations in the roots, the pull of every molecule around me. The trees. The stones. Even the air—it all felt alive, connected.
"Subject 7..." Lang said, voice quieter now. "You're syncing."
I didn't know what that meant. But it didn't matter.
Because suddenly—
BOOM.
A shockwave burst out of me, blasting the crater wider, sending leaves, dust, and broken roots into a cyclone around us. The entire forest bent away from me like it was bowing—or afraid.
Lang slid back a few feet, boots grinding against the dirt. For the first time, his expression shifted.
Not smug.
Not bored.
But... intrigued.
"I see," he muttered. "Kalkin's resonance is beginning to surface."
My body rose—levitating an inch off the ground, glowing faintly with threads of light swirling under my skin. My wounds? Sealing. The blood? Evaporating into glowing mist.
I looked at my hands. Energy flickered in my veins like lightning trapped in glass.
"What is this…?" I whispered.
Lang's voice was cold now. Focused. "You're accessing the first state. Echoform."
"Echo... what?"
He ignored my question. "The clone adapting to the imprint. Fascinating."
"Imprint?" I stepped forward, power pulsing with every footfall. The forest no longer felt like an enemy—or a mystery. It felt like home. Like it responded to me.
Lang lowered his stance. "Let's see how far you've truly come."
I didn't wait.
This time I was the one moving first—faster than before. My punch didn't crack the air—it tore it. Lang blocked it, but skidded back a full meter.
He grinned.
"I was right to create you."
"I'm not your creation anymore," I said, stepping into the next strike. "I'm becoming something else."
Lang launched forward and we clashed again—this time evenly. Fists meeting fists. Shockwaves knocking down trees in all directions. The forest became a blur of destruction and raw force. Lightning crackled across the sky above, echoing the fury below.
But even as I fought, that name echoed again in my mind.
Kalkin.
I saw flashes—images that weren't mine. A warrior in black armor. A burning city. A blade made of pure light. Screams. Victory. Loss. Was I him?
Was he me?
Or was I something new entirely?
I didn't know yet.
But as Lang's fist connected with my ribs again and I blocked it with a glowing elbow, I grinned.
Because for the first time...I had a chance.
Lang's eyes narrowed as I held my ground. His fist trembled against my elbow, golden light searing around the point of impact. He stepped back, not out of fear—but curiosity.
"You're adapting," he said quietly, almost to himself.
"No…" I said, panting. "I'm evolving."
He moved again—fast. Faster than before. A blur of fists and kicks. But this time, my body didn't feel like dead weight. The light inside me responded to every strike. I bent, twisted, dodged. My hands flowed like they knew a rhythm I'd never been taught. It was like my body remembered something my mind hadn't caught up to.
Our fists collided again, creating a shockwave that split the nearest trees in half.
"Echoform," Lang said, circling me, "should not awaken this early. You weren't ready."
"Maybe not," I growled, "but you made sure I had to be."
Lang rushed again, but I was already moving.
My glowing hand caught his next punch mid-air. The heat radiating off me was intense now—sunlight, pure and burning. The light from the trees bent toward me, the grass beneath us turned golden, even the birds stopped in mid-flight as if watching.
The forest was breathing with me.
"I don't care what I'm supposed to be," I said, voice steady now. "Clone. Mistake. Copy. I feel something now. Something that belongs to me."
"Light energy," Lang said under his breath. "You're drawing from nature. From life itself."
I closed my eyes just briefly—and I felt it all. Every leaf. Every root. The warmth of the sun across miles. It surged through me like a flood, powerful but gentle.
"This is Echoform…" I thought.
"Not just a power. A connection."
Lang's next punch was wild, desperate.
I didn't dodge.
I absorbed it.
The blow landed, but my body glowed brighter. I took his momentum and turned it against him—grabbing his arm, twisting, and hurling him across the clearing like a comet.
He crashed through two trees before skidding to a stop, dirt exploding around him.
He coughed, staggered to one knee.
"You're not ready…" he whispered again, though now it sounded more like fear than fact.
"Maybe not," I said, walking forward, each step shaking the ground, "but I'm done waiting for permission."
Lang tried to rise, but I was already there. My hand lit up, not just with power—but purpose.
"I'm not your experiment," I said.
"I'm not Kalkin."
"I'm not just a shadow."
"Then what are you?" he asked, voice barely a rasp.
I paused. The wind whispered through the glowing leaves. The sun split the clouds, bathing the crater in golden fire. Light pooled at my feet, wrapping my body in warmth. "I'm the beginning."
And with that—I let the light burst from my fist.A beam of golden energy erupted from my palm—not chaotic, not wild, but pure. It wasn't just an attack. It was like nature itself was answering me, lending me strength, telling me I wasn't alone. The light hit Lang dead in the chest.
He didn't scream.
He just… vanished in the blinding flare.
The explosion tore across the clearing, carving a crescent of scorched earth into the forest. Trees bent, cracked, and disintegrated into splinters. The shockwave rippled out for miles. Birds took flight in terrified flocks. A ripple passed through the ground like a pulse of life being released and then reshaped.
When the light faded, smoke curled into the sky.
Lang was gone.
All that remained was a cracked imprint on the earth and his scorched coat, smoldering quietly.
I stood there, swaying.
My hand dropped to my side. My whole body buzzed. My muscles twitched with power they'd never used before. My chest heaved—not from exhaustion, but from realization.
I won.
Or at least—I survived.
But even as the silence returned, I felt… watched.
The forest was too still. The light too focused. I wasn't alone, even if no one was there. My Echoform—whatever it truly was—had opened something.
I looked at my hands. They were no longer glowing, but I could still feel the light beneath my skin. Like a river under ice.
A voice whispered inside my head—not mine. It was low. Ancient. Familiar in a way I couldn't explain.
"You are not finished. You are not free. This was only your first trial."
I blinked. "Who's there?"
No answer.
Only the wind, rustling through the broken trees.
Far in the distance, sirens howled. Not like the ones in the facility. These were louder, deeper. Like war alarms. Something had noticed what just happened.
"I need to move," I muttered. "I need answers."
I looked up at the sky—still vast, still terrifying.
Then I took a deep breath and stepped forward, into the forest. Each footstep felt like it echoed. Not just across the ground—but through time.
Subject 7 was no longer just a number. Something inside me had awakened. And someone out there was going to come looking for it.
Kalkin.
I saw flashes—images that weren't mine. A warrior in black armor. A burning city. A blade made of pure light. Screams. Victory. Loss.
Was I him?
Was he me?
Or was I something new entirely?
I didn't know yet.
But as Lang's fist connected with my ribs again and I blocked it with a glowing elbow, I grinned.
Because for the first time—
I had a chance.
I'm not sure what came first—the roar of power from my core or the light that exploded from my hand. It wasn't like fire or plasma or lightning—it was something more natural, almost divine. It didn't burn; it healed me while destroying what stood against me. A golden blast shot forward, crashing into Lang's chest.
No screams. No struggle.
He disappeared in a flash.
When the smoke cleared, the earth was split. Trees torn in half. The wind carried ash and leaves. A single smoking crater where Lang had stood. His coat remained, blackened and empty.
I stood there, chest rising and falling, light fading from my veins.
Was it over?
No. I could feel it—something in the wind. Watching. Waiting.
Then, a voice. Not mine. Not Lang's.
"You are not finished. You are not free. This was only your first trial."
My hands trembled, not with fear—but power.
I stared up at the sky again.
The sun still shined. The world was still turning.
But I wasn't the same.
I turned, and walked deeper into the forest. Each step I took echoed not just in the earth, but in my bones.
Subject 7 no longer existed. This was the beginning... of whoever I chose to become.