Chapter 17 — The Shadow That Learns
The Echo had been quiet for two days.
Too quiet.
Kael walked through the east courtyard, morning sun warming the stone tiles beneath his boots. Students passed around him in clusters, chatting about sparring assignments, elemental theory, and weekend duels. Normally, their noise washed over him harmlessly.
But today, every laugh felt distant, every voice a layer between him and a subtle pulse beneath his ribs.
The Hollow hadn't spoken since the Echo incident.
It hadn't flickered.
It hadn't moved.
And that terrified him more than when it had.
He sat at the fountain's edge, staring at his reflection rippling on the water's surface. For a moment, he almost expected a second face to rise beside his own — that same uncanny mirror-smile.
Nothing came.
Just his own tired eyes staring back.
A shadow fell across him. "You're thinking too hard again."
Kael looked up to see Selene standing beside him, arms crossed, her silver hair drifting gently in the breeze. Her tone was teasing, but her eyes studied him carefully — almost clinically, yet softened by something warm beneath.
He sighed. "Is it that obvious?"
She sat beside him, dipping a fingertip into the water. A thin frost spread along the surface, forming a delicate pattern before melting away. "With you? Yes. You wear your thoughts on your face. Very inconvenient for someone trying to act mysterious."
Kael managed a faint smile. "I'm not sure mysterious is what I'm going for."
"It's working anyway," she said. Then quieter: "You disappeared from training yesterday."
He tensed. "I… needed space."
"Or you were scared the Echo would move again."
Not a question — a pinpointed truth.
Kael's shoulders sank. "It didn't just follow my movement, Selene. It anticipated it. It acted on its own. What if—"
"Kael."
She placed a hand lightly on his knee — a grounding gesture, gentle but firm.
"You're not alone. Veyra has theories. Riven's watching you closer than he admits. And…" She hesitated, just a breath too long. "Some of us are worried."
He raised a brow. "Some of us?"
She looked away, cheeks faintly warm. "Forget I said that."
Before Kael could tease her, a sharp metallic chime rang through the courtyard — the Academy's summons bell. Students perked up instantly, conversations breaking off.
Selene stood. "Mandatory briefing? That's unusual for a morning call."
Riven appeared from the far wing, his spear across his back and his expression grim. "Kael. With me. Now."
---
The Tactical Hall
Professor Veyra stood at the center of the hall, projection crystals hovering around her like frozen stars. She didn't waste time.
"Last night," she began, "one of our external patrols encountered an anomaly in the southern woods."
Kael's pulse quickened.
A projection flickered to life — a recording of a scout team approaching a collapsed cave. At first, everything looked normal.
Then the shadows near the entrance shifted.
Not naturally.
Not like an animal.
Like something learning how to imitate movement.
The projection froze on a stretched, distorted silhouette peeling itself off the cavern wall.
"It moved like a reflection," Veyra said. "Like something practicing how to walk."
Selene whispered, horrified, "An Echo…?"
"No," Veyra replied. "Not Kael's Echo. But similar. Wrong. Unstable."
Kael's breath caught. "You think it's related to me?"
"We don't know yet," she said. "But whatever that creature was, it reacted to your measurements. Its energy signature spiked only after your Echo manifested."
She stepped closer, voice low. "Something out there is waking up with you."
The room chilled.
Riven planted his spear. "We're forming a containment team for reconnaissance. Kael, you're not going. Not yet."
Kael's jaw tightened. "If it's connected to me, shouldn't I—"
"No," Veyra snapped. "Your Flow is unstable. If that thing mimics you, we risk amplifying it."
Kael clenched his fists. "So I just wait?"
"For now," she said. "But waiting doesn't mean doing nothing."
She tapped her staff, and a sigil ignited on the floor beneath his feet.
"You're going into isolated training. Not punishment — focus. You need to understand your Echo before it understands you."
Kael swallowed. "And if it already does?"
She didn't answer.
---
Isolation Chamber 3
The chamber door sealed behind him with a heavy finality. No windows. No distractions. Just dim, cold light and the hushed hum of circling containment runes.
Kael closed his eyes and reached inward.
The Hollow stirred.
A tiny ripple.
Then two.
He exhaled. "Show yourself. I'm done being afraid."
For a heartbeat, nothing happened.
Then —
A second Kael stepped out of him like a shadow peeling off stone.
Except this time… it wasn't blank.
It looked at him the way a person looks at a memory they've missed.
Its voice was quiet, almost fond.
"You shouldn't have called me."
Kael's breath hitched.
The Echo tilted its head.
And unlike before…
It spoke with his voice—but shaped by emotions he didn't recognize.
"We're being hunted."
Kael staggered back. "By what?"
The Echo's smile faded.
Its eyes darkened, ancient and sharp.
"By the part of me the curse kept asleep."
The chamber runes flared in panic.
Kael's heart pounded.
And the Echo whispered:
"It knows you're awake now."
---
End of Chapter 17 — The Shadow That Learns