The room felt too small for what Kain was about to attempt.It was an old storage hall in the Safehouse, converted into a training chamber. Concrete walls. Steel rafters overhead. A single industrial bulb hummed above, flickering faintly like it sensed the tension in the air.Elara stood across from him, arms folded, her expression a war between confidence and fear.“Remember,” she said softly, “Echoes aren’t meant to be forced. You’re not manipulating the future… you’re listening to it. You’re letting it speak.”Kain nodded. His chest rose and fell too fast.He’d seen dozens of Echoes over the past few days flashes of danger, fragments of conversations that hadn’t happened yet, emotional shadows of moments seconds ahead. But they always came to him. Never once had he called one forward.And now he was supposed to summon one.“Okay.” He exhaled. “Tell me again. The steps.”Elara walked closer, stopping right where the light cut between them.“One: quiet your mind. Strip away everythi

The world still felt unsteady.Even after leaving the training room, even after Elara forced him to drink water and sit down, even after Jaryn triple-checked his pulse with trembling hands Kain felt like the floor was tilting beneath him, as though he was half inside the Echo and half outside it.He could still smell smoke.Still feel heat on his skin.Still hear the burning man’s voice echoing in his head:“You are the spark.”“You must choose who you save.”“I am what you refuse to become.”He pressed his palms to his eyes, trying to quiet the memory.It didn’t fade.Elara paced in front of him, boots hitting the concrete floor in nervous rhythm. She had pulled her hair back into a tight knot, but a few strands had escaped and fell across her face. Her jaw was clenched, her eyes sharp.Jaryn, meanwhile, sat on an overturned crate, elbows on his knees, staring at Kain like he was looking at a puzzle that didn’t make sense.“Kain,” Elara finally said, stopping in front of him. “Tell m

The wind at the harbor carried the heavy scent of saltwater, rusted metal, and old secrets. Cargo containers loomed like sleeping giants, forming narrow shadowed corridors where danger could hide in every direction. Night fog rolled in from the water, swallowing the distant lights of the city until everything looked like a blurred memory.Kain pulled the hood of his jacket lower and followed close behind Mara. Her posture was more rigid than usual, her eyes scanning every corner, every sound. Cipher’s infiltration had shaken her in a way Kain had never seen.Talia walked beside them, her boots barely making a sound on the old concrete. She kept her voice low. “This way. I have a boat waiting. No IDs, no trackers, no Dominion scramblers. You’ll be ghosts.”Mara didn’t answer.Not yet.She didn’t trust anyone not after Cipher walked right into their safehouse like he’d been invited.Kain whispered, “You really think we’re safe here?”Talia glanced at him. “Safe? No. But less exposed? Ye