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Chapter 8 - The House of Echoes

The stars trembled.

Not from war. Not from gods.

From memory.

Hope Dreams of Herself

Hope was asleep, though she didn't remember closing her eyes.

She walked a corridor made of glass and void, each step echoing like a bell struck in slow motion. The hallway curved endlessly, lined with doors. Some wept. Some screamed. One bled.

None of them should have existed.

And yet... they felt familiar.

"Where am I?" she whispered.

A voice answered, like wind trapped in paper.

"Where you have always been, child of recursion."

Hope turned—and saw herself.

Or rather, versions of herself.

One in golden armor, sword raised high.One old and blind, seated on a throne of vines.One cradling a dying world in her arms.One laughing madly as stars burned behind her.

All looked at her.

None smiled.

"This is the House of Echoes," they said as one. "Where the might-be and the never-was walk hand in hand."

Outside the Dream – Reality Trembles

Sarive snapped awake, chest heaving. Diana was already by Hope's side, trying to wake her. But her body shimmered between planes—phasing through dimensions even Sarive couldn't fully perceive.

"She's slipping," Diana said, eyes glowing. "Her power is dragging her inward."

"Inward?" Sarive asked.

"To herself. To every version of herself that ever could be. If she stays there too long—she won't come back."

Sarive placed a hand on Hope's head.

"Then I'm going in."

"You can't," Diana warned. "That's not a place you can fly to."

Sarive closed his eyes.

"I'm not flying. I'm feeling. She trusts me. That's enough."

And he vanished.

The House Grows Darker

Hope ran.

The echoes chased her now.

Twisted versions of herself—corrupted, conquered, forgotten. A Hope that became queen of Apokolips. A Hope who destroyed the multiverse out of grief. A Hope who let the gods win.

Their voices pierced her mind.

"You're not strong enough.""You are the end.""You will choose wrong.""We already did."

She stumbled, tears in her eyes.

"I'm not them!" she screamed. "I'm ME!"

"Then show us," the echoes whispered. "Prove it."

Sarive Arrives

He appeared like lightning cracking silence, his glowing form shaking the House.

The echoes reeled back, hissing and shrieking.

Hope fell into his arms, eyes wide.

"You came," she whispered.

"Always," he said, pulling her close.

"They said I'm broken. That I'll destroy everything."

Sarive looked around at the twisted versions of her. Some sneered. Some cried.

"You could. But you haven't."

He met the gaze of the dark echoes.

"What you might become doesn't matter."

He looked back to Hope.

"Only what you choose does."

The echoes began to fade. Some smiled. Some wept. Some simply vanished.

And then, the House shook.

A new door opened—larger than the rest.

It pulsed with energy Sarive recognized.

Not from gods.

But from something worse.

"This place is a prison," Sarive muttered. "But it was also built to keep something out."

Hope nodded slowly.

"Or someone."

The One Who Watches

From behind the final door, a presence stirred.

A being neither god nor mortal. Not even Titan. Something... older.

Hope's fingers curled around Sarive's.

"He's waking up."

"Who?" Sarive asked.

Hope's voice was small.

"The Architect."

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