Author speaking
Sorry I didn't post the next chapter. I want a vacation with my family so I spend some time offline.
Continuing
The chamber sealed with a sound like the world holding its breath.
Runes flared across the stone walls, glowing brighter with every distant impact from above. Dust drifted down from the ceiling as Dawnreach trembled under the assault of the Cinder Wraith.
Ethan's hands shook.
"So," he said weakly, "just checking… this room is, like, very safe, right?"
Selene didn't answer immediately. She pressed her palm to the center of the chamber, whispering words that made the air ripple. The runes responded, forming a dome of light around them.
"This room delays fate," she said at last. "It does not stop it."
Ghost-Ethan let out a nervous laugh. "Cool. Love that for us."
Lyra stood near the door, sword clenched so tightly her knuckles had gone white. "Guildmaster… the barrier won't hold forever."
"I know."
Selene turned to Ethan, her expression grave but not unkind.
"Lost Soul, you must tell me everything. From the moment your life first began to slip away."
Ethan swallowed hard.
Gym class.
The pain.
The darkness.
Waking up in glowing grass.
And finally—
He looked at Ghost-Ethan.
"…him."
Silence filled the chamber.
Then Selene slowly exhaled.
"A split echo," she murmured. "Rare. Extremely rare."
Lyra blinked. "You mean… that thing he keeps looking at?"
Ghost-Ethan raised his hand. "Hi! Yes! I'm the thing!"
Lyra jumped back, sword flying up.
"You— you see it?" she gasped, staring directly at Ghost-Ethan.
Ethan's eyes widened. "Wait— you can see him?!"
Selene nodded. "Only within this chamber. Truth has weight here. Illusions and hidden things cannot fully conceal themselves."
Ghost-Ethan waved awkwardly. "Wow. First time being acknowledged. Kinda emotional."
Lyra stared, stunned. "That's… him. But not."
"An echo," Selene said. "The unfiltered self. Instinct. Defiance. Will to survive." Her eyes sharpened. "Often the part that refuses to die."
Ghost-Ethan crossed his arms. "You say that like it's a bad thing."
"It is," Selene replied, "when fate demands otherwise."
The chamber shuddered violently. A distant roar echoed through stone and spell alike.
Selene didn't look away from Ethan.
"You were marked for death," she said plainly. "Not by chance. Not by illness. But by a force that hunts fractured souls across realms."
Ethan felt sick. "So… the Cinder Wraith is just… doing its job?"
"It is an executioner," Selene said. "And you escaped it once."
Ghost-Ethan leaned closer to Ethan, voice low. "That's why I exist. When it tried to pull you apart… something in you fought back. Me."
Lyra whispered, "You tore your own soul."
Ethan stared at his hands. "I didn't mean to."
"No one ever does," Selene said. "But now the fracture makes you visible. Across worlds."
Another impact. Stronger.
The runes dimmed slightly.
Selene straightened. "We have little time. Ethan, if you remain as you are, the Wraith will eventually take you. Here, or anywhere."
Ethan's throat tightened. "Then what do I do?"
Selene looked between Ethan and his ghost.
"You must choose," she said.
Ghost-Ethan's joking smile didn't return this time.
"Yeah," he said quietly. "This part sucks."
"Choose what?" Ethan asked.
Selene spoke the words carefully, like placing a blade on the table.
"Remain fractured and be hunted forever…
or attempt the Binding."
Lyra's breath caught. "Guildmaster—"
Ghost-Ethan shook his head slowly. "You didn't tell him the risk."
Selene met Ethan's eyes.
"If the Binding fails," she said, "you will die."
The chamber fell silent.
Above them, the Cinder Wraith screamed in rage.
And Ethan realized something terrifying:
This time, death wasn't chasing him.
It was waiting.