Aelys awoke before dawn, her chest still pulsing with the warmth of the previous day's practice. The memory of her first encounter with The Forsaken Echo lingered like a shadow at the edge of her thoughts. She had controlled it, yes—but just barely. The fear and exhilaration of touching a fragment of reality that had never fully existed haunted her in the quiet moments before the city stirred.
Kael found her already at the courtyard, the air around him vibrating faintly as he observed the early shimmer of the rifts. "You're punctual," he said, though there was no trace of humor. "Good. Today's task is harder. You'll confront a mid-level Echo. It's stronger, more aware, and more persistent. You cannot falter."
Aelys nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat. Her hands tingled with anticipation, the familiar warmth spreading from chest to fingertips. She had practiced all morning the previous day, but now she knew the stakes were higher.
The three of them—Kael, Seris, and Thorn—entered the designated Zone of Overlap, a fragment of Velhar's western marketplace that shimmered with flickering impossibility. Stalls bent and twisted in impossible angles, cobblestones floated for brief moments before snapping back into place, and the air pulsed with faint echoes of other timelines.
"Remember," Kael whispered, "a mid-level Forsaken Echo can sense fear and hesitation. Your control must be precise. Your mind must be calm."
Aelys clenched her fists, focusing on the tremor in the air rather than the panic in her chest. And then she saw it: a figure resembling her neighbor, twisted and flickering, its eyes hollow pools of uncertainty and malice.
The Echo moved with deliberate slowness, every step leaving faint afterimages as though multiple versions of it were attempting to occupy the same space. "Why… do I linger?" it rasped, its voice trembling with frustration and sorrow. "I should have been… erased!"
Aelys extended her hands, feeling the pulse of the rift align with the Echo's presence. She tried to influence it as she had the low-level Echo, but it resisted, thrashing slightly, creating small cracks in the overlapping reality.
Seris and Thorn flanked her, prepared to intervene. Seris's crystallized energy barriers shimmered along the edges of the fractures, stabilizing the floating stalls and weak stones, while Thorn's movements sliced through residual afterimages, dissipating confusing echoes that might disorient Aelys.
Aelys inhaled deeply, closing her eyes for a moment to center herself. She visualized the Echo as an object already within her control. Slowly, carefully, she reached with her consciousness into the fracture, coaxing the shimmer to bend toward her will. The Echo faltered, its voice twisting into a brittle plea: "I just… want to exist!"
Her hands glowed faintly as she exerted more control. The surrounding reality pulsed violently, the marketplace fragment wobbling under the strain. Finally, with a sharp mental command, the Echo split into flickering fragments, scattering like shards of light before dissolving entirely.
Aelys collapsed to her knees, gasping. The energy drained from her as if the Echo had tried to resist her very existence. Kael approached, his hand firm on her shoulder. "You held it together," he said. "Not perfectly, but enough. You're stronger than you think, but you're not invincible. Each Echo tests you… and each one leaves a mark."
The team retreated from the Zone of Overlap as the marketplace fragment dissolved, returning Velhar to its familiar form. Aelys's mind swirled with questions. What was the true nature of these Echoes? Were they evil? Or were they simply remnants of worlds that had been discarded by fate?
Seris knelt beside her. "Power comes with understanding," she said softly. "You need to learn that these Echoes are not merely obstacles—they are echoes of choice. Every action here affects what could be. Every hesitation can create new consequences."
Thorn's expression was grave. "And if you fail," he said, "the fractures don't just vanish. They ripple. Other Echoes appear. The world itself begins to reject the instability. That's why we train."
Aelys nodded, determination hardening inside her. She had survived the first real test. But she understood now that each step forward would bring her closer to danger. The Forsaken Echoes were not just enemies—they were warnings, mirrors of potential failure, and reminders that the line between control and chaos was razor-thin.
As the sun set over Velhar, Aelys gazed toward the horizon. Tomorrow, they would return to the Zone, facing new fragments, stronger Echoes, and the uncharted consequences of her powers. She felt the pulse of possibility in her veins and knew: she was no longer just learning. She was evolving.