Valmor — The Chamber of Echoes
The morning sun never reached the Chamber of Echoes.It was an underground hall beneath Valmor's Council Fortress — a place where warriors were stripped of every illusion of strength and faced the only enemy that could truly destroy them: themselves.
The air inside was heavy, almost suffocating, filled with faint whispers that weren't real. Some said the walls remembered every fear that had ever been born here.
Aryan stood in the center of the stone platform, his fists clenched, heart pounding. The light of a single torch flickered behind him, casting long, dancing shadows across the cracked walls.
Across from him stood Officer Roy, silent as ever, holding a strange black crystal that pulsed faintly with soul energy.
"This," Roy began, his tone low and steady, "is the Mirror of Dread. A relic from the old era — it reveals the fears buried deepest in your heart. Once you're inside its illusion, nothing can help you. Not your strength. Not your skills. Only your will."
Aryan looked uneasy. "And if I can't escape?"
Roy met his gaze. "Then you'll be trapped until your mind breaks."
A chill went down Aryan's spine, but he didn't back away. "I'm ready."
Roy nodded, placing the crystal on the ground between them. It flared with deep violet light, the entire chamber trembling in response.
"Remember this, Aryan," Roy said, his voice echoing as the light grew.
"A warrior's greatest enemy isn't outside — it's inside."
Then the world vanished.
The Nightmare Begins
Darkness swallowed him whole.Aryan blinked, but the black faded into fire — red, roaring flames devouring everything around him.
He knew this place.The smell of burning wood. The sound of collapsing walls. The faint cry of his mother calling his name — "Aryan! Run!"
He stood frozen, watching his childhood home engulfed in flames. His father's silhouette fought outside with a blade glowing faint blue — against something, someone — a shadow cloaked in darkness.
"No…" Aryan whispered, his voice trembling. "Not again…"
He tried to move, but his legs wouldn't obey. The fire crackled louder, the screams echoing in his ears. Then, in an instant, he was outside — his father's sword broken, his brother lying motionless beside him.
Aryan's eyes widened as the dark figure turned its head toward him. Two crimson eyes pierced through the smoke, and the voice he'd heard once before whispered again, calm and cruel:
"You were too weak to save them… You will always be weak."
Aryan's body trembled. He shouted, "Shut up!" and rushed forward — but his sword vanished in his grip. His hand passed through the figure like smoke.
Then, it all reset.
The fire roared again. His mother screamed again. His father fell again.Again.And again.An endless loop of the same nightmare.
Each time, Aryan tried something new — running toward his brother, reaching for his parents, shouting until his throat burned — but no matter what, the flames swallowed them all.
He fell to his knees, his mind cracking under the weight of it. "Stop it… please…"
But the world didn't listen.
The Voice Within
When everything went silent again, Aryan found himself alone in the ash-covered ruins.The dark figure appeared once more, stepping out from the smoke.
"You think you can fight fate? You couldn't even save them once… how will you ever face what's coming?"
Aryan looked up, tears mixing with soot on his face. "You're wrong…"
The shadow tilted its head. "Am I?"
Aryan's fists tightened. "I was weak then. I didn't understand my power. But now… I do."
Suddenly, the air shifted — a faint silver aura rising from his body, the same he felt at the waterfall.
"To copy, you must first understand."
The Copy Soul's whisper echoed through his mind.
Aryan's breathing steadied. He stood tall, eyes glowing faintly blue.
The dark figure moved, swinging its blade — but this time, Aryan moved with it.His body mirrored the motion perfectly, sidestepping the slash with fluid grace — copying its movement, just as it struck.
A rush of power surged through him, his soul energy colliding with the illusion's dark force.
"I'm done running from fear." His voice echoed through the flames. "I'm done reliving the past."
He raised his arm, and the aura around him flared like silver fire. "I'll face you — and I'll break this!"
With a roar, he unleashed his energy outward. The illusion cracked like glass, the burning world shattering into fragments of light.
Return to Reality
Aryan collapsed to his knees on the cold stone floor of the chamber, gasping for breath. His hands shook, his body drenched in sweat. The torchlight flickered — real, solid, grounding him back in the present.
Roy stood nearby, arms crossed, watching quietly. "You were inside for three hours," he said. "Most break within minutes."
Aryan looked up weakly. "It felt… endless."
Roy crouched down beside him. "That's because it wasn't about time — it was about fear."
Aryan nodded slowly, still trembling. "I saw them again. My family. The fire. The shadow. I couldn't change anything. But… I stopped it from controlling me."
Roy smiled faintly. "Then you passed. You broke the mirror from inside — few ever do."
He placed a hand on Aryan's shoulder. "That energy around you… it wasn't normal. Your soul reacted on its own."
Aryan looked at his palm — faint blue light flickered along his skin. "I think… the Copy Soul evolved."
Roy raised an eyebrow. "How?"
Aryan's voice was quiet but sure. "It let me resist the illusion — and I could mimic my enemy's movements. Even in fear, I learned from it."
Roy's eyes widened slightly. "Copying abilities from illusions… that's not supposed to be possible."
Aryan stood, his body still aching but his gaze sharper than ever. "Maybe my power isn't supposed to follow rules."
Roy smirked. "Heh. You're starting to sound like a real warrior, kid."
Aryan took a deep breath, feeling the faint hum of his soul settle inside him — calmer, steadier, stronger.
"Fear no longer binds me," he whispered to himself. "It fuels me."
The flames in his memory finally faded — not gone, but quiet.And in that silence, Aryan's resolve burned brighter than ever.