The next day, Rheika wandered the cobbled streets of Chronos, her thoughts tangled in a web of fear and curiosity. She couldn't shake the image of the young man from her mind—the stranger who had called her an Echo. His presence had felt deliberate, as though he'd been waiting for her.
The Archive's sprawling halls were emptier than usual when Rheika arrived. Horvan sat at his desk, flipping through a faded ledger, his mechanical arm moving with a faint whir. "You're late," he muttered, not looking up.
"I needed air," Rheika replied absently, heading for the shelves. The Archive had always been her refuge, but today the rows of books felt oppressive, their whispers of history too close to her unraveling thoughts.
Her fingers traced the spines of old volumes, their titles barely legible. One book caught her attention—a journal bound in worn leather. As she pulled it from the shelf, a scrap of paper slipped out, fluttering to the ground. She knelt to pick it up and froze.
Scrawled in hurried script were the words: The Time Keepers cannot be trusted. Seek the Echos.
The sound of footsteps made her jump. She turned to see the young man from the market standing at the end of the aisle, his shadow stretching toward her.
"You're not supposed to be here," she hissed, clutching the note.
"And yet, here I am," he replied, his tone calm but watchful. He stepped closer, his dark eyes sharp with recognition. "You felt it, didn't you? The shift."
Rheika backed away, her heart pounding. "Who are you? How did you find me?"
"My name is Kai," he said, stopping a few paces from her. "And I didn't find you. You found us—whether you realize it or not."
"Us?"
"The Echos," Kai said, his voice low. "People like you and me. People who don't belong to one moment in time.")
Kai led Rheika through the twisting alleys of Chronos, his movements swift and purposeful. Rheika followed reluctantly, torn between fear and the need for answers. The city grew quieter as they descended into the abandoned lower levels, where the hum of the Time Keepers' pulse was faint.
Finally, they arrived at a hidden chamber carved into the rock beneath the city. The room was dimly lit, its walls lined with maps, journals, and fragments of broken clocks. A handful of people moved through the space, their faces shadowed but their presence commanding.
"These are the Echos," Kai said, gesturing toward the group.
A woman with short-cropped hair and a scar across her jaw stepped forward, her gaze piercing. "So, this is the new one," she said, her tone both curious and wary.
"I'm not one of you," Rheika insisted, her voice trembling.
The woman raised an eyebrow. "Then why are you here? Echos don't stumble into this life by accident."
Kai placed a hand on Rheika's shoulder, his touch grounding. "It's in you, Rheika. You've felt the shifts. You've seen things no one else can see."
Rheika hesitated, the memories of her recent slips flooding back. The fractured market. The older version of herself. The pull of the Rift. "What does it mean?" she whispered.
"It means you're connected to time in ways most people can't understand," Kai said. "You can slip between moments, see fragments of the past and future. But it's not just a gift—it's a responsibility."
The scarred woman snorted. "More like a curse," she muttered, turning away.
Kai ignored her. "The fractures in time are getting worse, and the Time Keepers are losing control. The Erasure is spreading, consuming entire moments of history. That's why we need you, Rheika. The Echos are the only ones who can navigate the chaos."
Rheika stared at him, her mind racing. The Echos' existence had always been a myth, a story to explain the unexplainable. But now, standing among them, she couldn't deny the truth.
Kai led Rheika deeper into the chamber, showing her the remnants of their work. Maps of Chronos and the surrounding Rift covered the walls, marked with red ink to indicate the fractures. Journals detailed encounters with The Erasure, describing it as a void that consumed not just events but the memories tied to them.
"We've been trying to stop The Erasure for years," Kai explained. "But it's growing stronger. Every time it takes a moment, it destabilizes the fabric of time even more."
Rheika stopped in front of a map that showed Chronos at its center, surrounded by concentric circles representing the fractures. The outermost circle was labeled: Rift Breach Imminent.
"What happens if it breaches?" she asked.
"The city collapses," Kai said grimly. "Chronos is the only thing holding time together. If it falls, everything else goes with it."
Rheika's stomach churned. The weight of Kai's words settled over her like a storm cloud. She looked at him, her voice barely above a whisper. "Why me? Why now?"
Kai hesitated before answering. "Echos are rare. Most of us discover our abilities young, but you…" He paused, studying her. "You've been dormant. Whatever triggered your first shift must have been powerful—something connected to the fractures."
Rheika thought of the pocket watch her father had given her, the way it had hummed in her hand before the world folded. She didn't mention it to Kai. Not yet.
The scarred woman reappeared, her expression skeptical. "You're wasting time, Kai. She doesn't even know what she is, let alone how to use her powers."
"She'll learn," Kai said firmly.
The woman crossed her arms. "And if she doesn't? We don't have time to train strays."
Rheika bristled. "I'm standing right here."
The woman smirked. "Good. Then you'll understand when I say this: If you can't handle what it means to be an Echo, you'll only make things worse for all of us."
Kai took Rheika to a smaller chamber, its floor marked with circular patterns that seemed to pulse faintly with energy. "This is where we train," he said. "It's not about controlling time—it's about understanding it. Feeling the flow and knowing when to step into it."
Rheika frowned. "And how do I do that?"
Kai knelt and placed his hand on the floor, his eyes closing. The circular patterns began to glow, their light spiraling outward. "Time isn't a straight line," he said. "It's more like a river, with currents and eddies. As an Echo, you're not bound by the same rules as everyone else. You can step out of the current and into another."
Rheika watched in awe as Kai's form shimmered. For a brief moment, he seemed to split—one version of him kneeling before her, another standing a few paces away, gazing at the chamber from a different angle. Then the two forms merged, and Kai opened his eyes.
"It's like that," he said, smiling faintly.
Rheika shook her head. "I don't even know where to start."
"You already have," Kai replied. "You slipped twice without realizing it. Now, you just need to focus."
Rheika knelt beside him, placing her hand on the floor. The patterns pulsed beneath her palm, sending a strange warmth up her arm. She closed her eyes, trying to feel the flow of time as Kai had described.
For a moment, there was nothing. Then, she felt it—a subtle current, like the pull of a tide. She leaned into it, her breath catching as the room seemed to shift. When she opened her eyes, she was standing in the same chamber, but it was empty, bathed in a faint golden light.
A voice whispered through the air, faint and familiar: "Rheika…"
The room folded, and she was back in the present, gasping for breath. Kai steadied her, his grip firm. "You did it," he said, a note of pride in his voice.
Rheika stared at him, her heart racing. "I heard something—someone calling my name."
Kai's expression darkened. "That's why we're here. To find answers before it's too late."