The Maze of Echoes
Author: Amy Precious
last update2025-07-03 05:22:32

Chapter 8

The chamber was cold.

Reyna lay curled against the wall, her thigh wound now bandaged with torn cloak linen. Kiny sat nearby, hand on the pulsing Core Sigil, listening to the soft hum it emitted. His body still ached from the fight, but his mind was sharper than ever.

His system had grown quiet since the rogue's appearance, but tension buzzed in the air like static before a storm.

[SYSTEM NOTICE]

>> Phase Two of Trial Initiated

Zone: The Maze of Echoes

• Objective: Reach the Memory Vault at the heart of the maze

• Obstacles: Echo Beasts, Illusion Traps, Rival Combatants

• Side Quest Activated: Trace the Origin of Your System

• Recommended Strategy: Stealth + Cognitive Triggers

• Warning: System interference possible. Rogue signal active.

Kiny read the message with clenched fists.

“Memory Vault? What are we supposed to find there?”

Reyna stirred. “It’s said to hold echoes—reflections of knowledge trapped by time. Some say it shows your past… others say it shows the world's.”

Kiny nodded slowly. “Then maybe I’ll learn why this system chose me.”

Reyna looked at him with a sharp gleam in her eyes. “Be careful what you ask to remember.”

Two Hours Later – Entry Gate to the Maze of Echoes

The gateway was ancient and built from mirror-like obsidian panels. It didn’t open with force. Instead, Kiny held up the Core Sigil.

The maze responded.

The walls shimmered and parted, allowing them entrance into the gloom within.

“Stick close,” Kiny whispered.

Reyna limped beside him. “You lead. I’ll watch the rear.”

Inside, the maze breathed.

Literally.

The air shifted with whispers—words they couldn’t fully hear. The walls pulsed softly, and Kiny quickly realized they weren’t mirrors—they were living memory screens, reflecting things he hadn’t thought about in years.

A hallway showed a scene of his childhood:

Kiny, seven years old, hiding in the Ironcrest kitchens, stealing crusts from the baker’s tray.

Another corner reflected the arena, his own blood smeared across the dirt.

Each turn showed more… and then the memories weren’t his.

A woman in armor screaming as fire consumed a palace.

A figure standing beneath the moon, blade in his chest, whispering to the stars.

Kiny froze.

“Did you see that?” he whispered.

Reyna nodded. “Those weren’t yours.”

[SYSTEM SURGE DETECTED]

• Memory Link: Precursor Data Fragment recognized

• Initiating Hidden Quest…

• Quest: Origin of the Upgrade System

Trace the echoes to uncover your system's source

Difficulty: Extreme

Reward: Core Synchronization / ???

• Note: Not all truths bring power. Some bring ruin.

“Should we keep going?” Reyna asked.

“We didn’t come this far to run,” Kiny said.

Deeper Within the Maze

They passed what looked like graves. Statues of fallen warriors lined the walls, each holding a broken weapon and a glowing sigil carved into their chests.

Some of them… looked familiar.

And then a voice echoed through the maze—not from behind, but from within the walls themselves.

“You are the newest vessel. The latest attempt.”

Kiny stopped cold. “Did you hear that?”

Reyna's face paled. “Yes.”

“You seek the truth of the system. But what if you are not its master, but its cage?”

The walls shimmered—and suddenly Kiny was no longer in the maze.

He stood in a vast, white void.

Alone.

System Memory Sequence – Unauthorized Access

He couldn’t move.

Couldn’t blink.

A figure appeared before him—cloaked in gold, face hidden behind an ornate mask.

“I was the first.”

The voice rang inside Kiny’s head.

“We created the system to preserve what the world feared: ascension without bloodline, power without chains. But then… we became the very gods we challenged.”

The scene shifted.

Battles. Systems attaching to chosen ones. A war across continents.

And finally… betrayal.

The creators turning against each other.

One survived.

“Your system is not just a tool. It’s a fragment of me. A failsafe.”

“And you are the last spark.”

The figure faded.

The void cracked.

And Kiny fell.

Back in the Maze

He gasped, slamming into the stone floor.

Reyna was at his side. “Kiny! You blacked out for two minutes.”

He sat up, dizzy.

“I saw… the origin. At least part of it.”

He looked at his hand. The sigil now pulsed faster.

[SYSTEM UPGRADE COMPLETE]

• Core Synchronization: 25%

• New Skill Unlocked: Echo Step

Allows temporary movement through system echoes

Bypass traps or repeat last successful move

Cooldown: 10 minutes

• New Trait Gained: Fragmented Memory

Occasionally receive visions of past system hosts

Passive: Increased resistance to mental manipulation

They continued deeper.

The Chamber of Whispers

They reached a circular vault where the walls spiraled upward into the darkness. In the center: a platform made of glowing, ancient runes. And across it—

Kael Vorrin.

Sword drawn.

Behind him, a massive bloodhound-like creature bound in chains.

“You should’ve stayed hidden,” Kael said. “Now I’ll end your line and claim your system for myself.”

Reyna stepped forward. “You don’t even understand it.”

“I don’t need to,” Kael snarled. “I just need the power it holds.”

He slashed a rune. The chains snapped.

The beast lunged.

BOSS FIGHT INITIATED: ECHO HOUND (Mutated Variant)

• HP: 900

• Traits: Sonic Disruption, Shadow Camouflage, Regeneration

• Weakness: Rune Core behind skull

• Ally Assist: Reyna Mordane

• Enemy Buff: Kael Vorrin Presence

The hound roared, and the room shattered with noise.

Kiny’s ears bled. Reyna dropped to her knees.

Kael vanished into the shadows, preparing his strike.

Kiny staggered up.

He didn’t have time to hesitate.

[Echo Step – Activated]

He dashed through the past version of himself—his previous dodge.

The beast missed by inches.

Kiny leapt onto its back, climbing toward the glowing rune behind its skull.

Kael appeared, blade slicing for Kiny’s head—

[Abyssal Counter – Triggered]

Darkness exploded from Kiny’s body, knocking Kael back across the room.

Reyna lifted her staff.

“Flare Rune: Nova Bind!”

Chains of light wrapped around the hound’s legs.

“NOW, KINY!”

He stabbed the rune.

CRACK.

The hound howled and exploded in a cloud of light and bone.

Kael groaned, slamming into the vault wall.

Kiny landed hard but alive.

[Boss Defeated – XP +344]

• Level Up: 5 → 6

• Strength +2, Intelligence +1, HP Max: 22 → 28

• Ability Boost: Echo Step Upgrade → Phantom Reversal

Allows user to replay one successful strike with 200% impact

• Reward: Echo Core Shard

Fragment of system origin. Unknown potential.

Kael cursed and vanished into the maze’s shadows, bleeding and furious.

Kiny fell to one knee.

Reyna crawled beside him, coughing.

“We found it,” she whispered. “The system’s truth.”

Kiny looked at the core in his palm.

And whispered back, “This was never just a trial…”

“This was the beginning of war.”

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