Drip… drip… drip…
Water fell from the ceiling of the abandoned subway chamber, striking puddles on the floor with hollow splashes. The rhythmic sound was almost hypnotic, masking the tension that coiled tightly in Isaac's chest.
He pressed his back against the damp wall, arms wrapped around his knees. Lira crouched beside him, her breathing steady, but her eyes scanning every shadow, every flicker of darkness.
The echoes were quiet for the first time since the alley chase. That, Isaac realized, was worse than the noise. Silence meant something was coming.
Step… step… step…
Alden's approach, soft but deliberate, vibrated through the concrete around them. Each step echoed as if the tunnel itself was warning them. Isaac swallowed, heart hammering, ears straining for more than the footsteps. He could feel the pressure in the air—a warp, a ripple in reality that made the chamber edges waver slightly.
"Isaac," Lira whispered. "You need to focus. You can't let him get inside your head."
Isaac nodded, trying to steady himself. But before he could reply, a voice sliced through the stillness.
"You think you understand, but you know nothing."
It wasn't Alden. Not Lira. It was his echo. Older. Colder. Smarter. He sounded calm—too calm—like he had been waiting centuries to speak.
Isaac flinched. "What… what do you want?"
The echo's voice softened, almost gentle, but there was a razor hidden in its tone:
"I'm here to guide you… to survive… but I cannot be trusted."
Isaac's pulse quickened. "What do you mean, you can't be trusted?"
"Some truths are too dangerous to know. Some lies are necessary. You must decide which is which. Choose wrongly, and you will destroy more than yourself."
Crash! A piece of concrete fell from the ceiling, striking the floor near Isaac's feet. Dust filled the air. He coughed violently. Cough… cough… The echo whispered again, almost overlapping with his own voice:
"Do not trust the smiles."
Isaac's eyes darted toward Lira, then back into the shadows. Her expression was calm but tense, reading him like she always did. She gave him a tiny nod. Trust your instincts.
---
They moved cautiously deeper into the subway tunnels. Splash… splash… Waterlogged footsteps echoed off the concrete walls. Shadows clung to the corners like smoke, shifting and stretching unnaturally. Every turn they took seemed to double the distance they had to cover, and Isaac couldn't shake the feeling that Alden was reshaping the tunnels behind them, stalking them through impossible geometry.
Then the echo spoke again.
"Left… always left… and do not look back."
Isaac froze. A sudden drip… gloop… sounded from somewhere above. He clenched his fists. "How do I know you're not lying?"
"You don't," the voice replied. "But you must act anyway."
Lira's hand found his. Her grip was steady. "Then we move," she whispered.
---
They turned a corner, and the tunnel opened into a wide chamber. Rusted machinery lay scattered around. Old pipes groaned with the weight of water. Crrrnnkk… hiss… drip… The shadows seemed to pulse.
Isaac's gaze fell on a cracked, dusty mirror propped against a wall. He froze. The memory of the first echo—older, hardened, warning him through the mirror—flashed in his mind.
"Do not trust him. He lies."
Isaac swallowed, stepping closer. The mirror's surface shimmered strangely. For a moment, he saw himself—older, weary, eyes hollowed by decisions he hadn't made yet. Then, just as quickly, the reflection twisted into something else.
"Follow me," it said, smiling.
Isaac recoiled. The smile was wrong. Too confident. Too knowing. Shhkk… A piece of glass cracked under his boot. The echo's tone shifted. "I am your future. I am what you could become. Listen to me… or die."
He wanted to run. Every instinct screamed to bolt. But he couldn't. Not yet.
---
Clang! The distant sound of falling metal echoed through the chamber. Isaac's head whipped around. Shadows flickered. A figure emerged: Alden. Step… step… step… His eyes were cold, gray, unyielding. He did not speak. He simply watched, waiting, letting Isaac feel the weight of inevitability.
The echo whispered urgently: "Do not engage him. He is not the worst future you face."
Isaac swallowed hard. He glanced at Lira. She pressed a hand against his shoulder. "We have to find another way," she said.
Alden's figure advanced, warping reality around him. The chamber walls bent slightly, the water forming ripples that hung in the air. Isaac felt his chest tighten. Every breath was heavy. Hsshh… hsshh… The echo's voice filled his mind: "The choice is yours. Choose quickly."
---
They ran toward the far end of the chamber, shadows stretching impossibly long. Splash… thud… splash… The echo's voice layered over itself, overlapping with Alden's silence, creating a dissonance that made Isaac dizzy.
Then they reached a dead end. A rusted metal door barred the way. Isaac pressed against it. Clang! Clang! Nothing. His heart sank.
Alden appeared at the end of the chamber, unmoving, calm. Step… step… step… Each step echoed in perfect rhythm with Isaac's heartbeat.
Isaac turned to Lira. She was tense, calculating, ready. "We need a plan," she whispered.
The echo whispered again: "Use the shadows. Trust nothing that smiles. Choose only one."
Isaac's mind reeled. He felt as though every version of himself was pulling him in a different direction. Each echo had its own agenda, each warning carried half-truths. He had to decide—fast.
Then, a soft click… click… came from the far wall. A hidden panel slid open. A faint glow spilled out. Lira motioned him toward it.
"Now!" the echo shouted.
Isaac didn't hesitate. They dove into the passage. Clang… bang… thud… The door slammed shut behind them, cutting Alden off. Silence. Darkness.
---
The hidden passage opened into a small chamber filled with broken projectors and old film reels. Dust hung in the air. Drip… drip… from a leaky pipe. The echoes were quiet, hovering at the edge of perception.
Isaac sank to the floor, trembling. Lira crouched beside him. "You made it," she whispered.
He shook his head. "I don't know if we really did."
Then he saw it. A cracked mirror in the corner. But this time, the reflection was different.
It wasn't him. Not entirely. It was a version of himself older, stronger, but with a cold, calculating smile. Eyes gray like Alden's.
"Hello, Isaac," it said.
Isaac froze. Lira's hand gripped his arm tightly. "Do not listen," she warned.
The reflection leaned closer. "I am you. I have seen all the timelines you could follow. Some lead to death. Some to monsters. And one… one leads to power beyond anything you can imagine. Trust me, and you can survive everything."
Isaac's stomach churned. He wanted to scream. "Which one is real?!"
The reflection smiled wider. "I am the only truth you need. But beware… everything else lies. And not all lies are obvious."
BOOM! A pipe burst overhead. Water sprayed across the chamber. The mirror cracked further. Dust and mist filled the air. Isaac coughed. Cough… cough…
Lira grabbed his hand. "Enough! We leave now!"
Isaac hesitated, torn between the warnings, the lies, the echoes. One glance at the shadowy entrance of the hidden passage reminded him: Alden would not wait. He would not be patient.
He nodded. Together, they fled deeper into the darkness.
And as the echoes whispered around him, Isaac Veyron realized for the first time:
This was not just survival. This was choosing which version of himself would live—and which would be erased forever.
Drip… splash… drip… The rain outside the city continued, relentless, mocking, eternal. And the echoes followed him, patient, waiting, hungry.