Chapter 9: The Echo Beneath the Stone
The light from the stone archway shimmered like liquid gold as we stepped through it. The air on the other side felt different—thinner, colder, and filled with a faint hum that made the hairs on my arms rise. It was the same vibration I'd felt in Knower, the same rhythm as the Core… only darker now.
Jasmine moved beside me, her eyes fixed on the shifting horizon ahead. "Do you feel that?"
I nodded. "It's the Core's pulse. But it's distorted—like something's copying it."
Jim frowned. "Copying it? You mean… like an echo?"
"Exactly."
The landscape beyond the arch stretched endlessly—rolling fields of black stone, rivers of molten light winding between them like veins. Above, the golden glow of the "sky" had dimmed to an amber haze. It felt like dusk inside the Earth itself.
"Where are we?" Viola whispered.
"The outer mantle," Aeliana said softly, tracing the air with her fingers as if reading invisible currents. "The place between the living Earth and the dead stone. Few have ever seen it."
Josh muttered, "I could've gone my whole life without seeing it."
Despite his attempt at humor, none of us laughed. There was a heaviness here, as though the world itself was holding its breath.
I adjusted my grip on the trident, feeling the weight of the Breath of the Earth stone still warm in my pocket. The guardian's words echoed in my mind—His strength rises from your doubt.
Jasmine must have seen the worry on my face. "You're thinking about what it said, aren't you?"
"Yeah," I admitted. "If Bull Rock grows stronger from my fear… then every time I hesitate, I'm helping him."
She placed a hand on my shoulder, firm but gentle. "Then stop doubting, Jatex. You've led us this far. That stone chose you for a reason."
Before I could reply, the ground beneath us trembled—a slow, steady rhythm, like footsteps echoing through the Earth.
Maxi's eyes widened. "Please tell me that's just another one of those Earth heartbeat things."
It wasn't.
A fissure opened several meters ahead, glowing red-hot. From within it, shadows began to rise.
They weren't solid, not completely. Each figure flickered between mist and stone, their bodies shaped like people—but their faces… those were ours.
"Wha—" Viola gasped. "They look like—us."
There were seven of them, each a twisted reflection of our group. My reflection stood at the center—its eyes hollow, its trident black and jagged.
"Echoes," Aeliana breathed. "Reflections born from Bull Rock's influence. He's using the Core's resonance to create copies of us—shadows of doubt."
"Then we destroy them," Josh said, raising his makeshift blade.
"No," I said quickly. "They feed on emotion. Anger makes them stronger."
"So what, we hug them instead?" Maxi muttered.
Before anyone could respond, the echoes attacked.
The first wave came fast—silent and coordinated. My double lunged at me, trident striking sparks as it met mine. Each clash sent vibrations through the ground, like the world itself was wincing.
"Spread out!" I shouted.
Jasmine darted aside, blocking her echo with fluid grace. Viola tried to trap hers between two pillars of stone, but it dissolved into mist and reformed behind her.
"Behind you!" I yelled, diving forward and knocking the shadow away before it could strike her.
"Thanks," she gasped.
"Stay close to the light!" Aeliana shouted, pointing to the molten rivers glowing across the plain. "The echoes can't fully form in bright energy!"
We regrouped near one of the rivers, the heat stinging our skin. The echoes circled, unable to cross.
Jim's breathing was heavy. "This is insane. He's fighting us without even being here."
I nodded grimly. "It's what he does—he breaks us before the real fight starts."
I looked at my reflection across the river. It just stood there, watching me, eyes full of something… familiar. Not hatred. Not malice.
Pain.
It raised its hand, mimicking mine perfectly, and when it spoke, its voice was my own.
"You can't save them, Jatex. Not all of them."
My stomach turned. "You're not real."
"I'm as real as the fear that made me," it replied.
I gritted my teeth, fighting the rising tide in my chest. "No. You're not me."
"Then prove it."
The echo stepped into the molten light—and instead of burning, it absorbed it. The air rippled.
"Jatex, it's adapting!" Aeliana shouted.
Before I could react, it lunged again, faster and stronger. The impact knocked me backward, trident clattering across the rocks.
"Jatex!" Jasmine's voice cut through the chaos.
I scrambled to my feet, catching my breath. "Stay together! Don't fight with anger—focus, control!"
Josh swung his blade, dispersing his echo with a burst of light. Viola and Maxi combined attacks, using reflected heat from the river to burn away their shadows.
Jim hesitated, staring at his double—it was still, unmoving. Then it smiled, and Jim froze.
"Jim!" I shouted, rushing toward him.
Too late. The echo grabbed his wrist, and a black mark flared across his arm. Jim screamed, collapsing.
"Let him go!" I roared, slamming my trident into the ground. A surge of green light burst from the Breath of the Earth stone, sweeping across the battlefield. The echoes recoiled, their forms flickering.
One by one, they faded into mist—until only mine remained.
It stood a few feet away, watching silently.
"You can't keep pretending," it whispered. "You think you're the leader, but you're just as lost as the rest of them."
"Maybe," I said quietly. "But I'm not alone."
Behind me, the others gathered—battered but standing. Jasmine, Viola, Josh, Maxi, Aeliana, and Jim, clutching his arm but defiant.
Together, we stepped forward. The echo looked at us, and for the first time, I saw fear in its hollow eyes.
The green light from the stone flared again, brighter, pure. It washed over the echo, shattering it into fragments of dust and light that dissolved into the air.
The world went still.
For a long moment, none of us spoke. The only sound was the soft hum of the molten rivers.
Jasmine exhaled slowly. "That… was worse than Bull Rock himself."
"He wanted us to see our own weakness," I said, still breathing hard. "But he doesn't understand what makes us strong."
Viola frowned. "And what's that?"
"Each other," I said simply.
The faintest smile tugged at her lips.
Maxi leaned on his knees, exhausted. "So… what now? We keep heading deeper?"
Aeliana nodded. "We follow the resonance. If this is where the Earth's echo manifests, then the true Core link must be nearby."
Josh raised an eyebrow. "And Bull Rock?"
I looked ahead, past the glowing rivers and into the dark stretch beyond. "He's close. I can feel it."
As we began moving again, I couldn't shake the image of my reflection's face—the pain, the understanding. Maybe Bull Rock wasn't just using my fear. Maybe he was born from it.
The Breath of the Earth stone pulsed faintly in my hand, as if agreeing.
We walked until the rivers merged into a vast lake of molten light. The air shimmered above it, and in the center rose a stone platform, ancient and cracked, with symbols like those in Knower.
"The convergence point," Aeliana whispered. "Where the Core and Earth meet."
Jasmine turned to me. "This is it, isn't it?"
I nodded slowly. "The heart of everything."
And as if hearing us, the ground trembled. From the lake's center, a massive shape began to rise—familiar, terrible, powerful.
Bull Rock.
His form was no longer human. The molten light clung to him like armor, his eyes burning brighter than ever.
"Did you really think your little light could hide you from me?" he thundered, his voice echoing across the lake.
I raised the trident, the Breath of the Earth glowing bright green in my palm.
"No," I said, heart steady. "We didn't come to hide."
The air trembled as the Earth's breath rose again, swirling around us like a storm.
This was no longer just about Walpole.
It was about everything—the Earth, the Core, and the balance between them.