Echo lay sprawled on the grass, the adrenaline fading as pain settled into every limb. Blood trickled from the cut on his forehead, drying into a crust down his cheek. His breath came in shallow gasps, chest rising and falling rapidly while his fingers clenched around Mamba's hilt.
The minotaur was gone—reduced to ash and silence in the forest beyond the fountain. The battle was over.
He stared at the sky, grey and endless, until a faint buzz pierced through the ringing in his ears. At first, he thought it was nothing. Just his body recovering. But the noise grew louder. Sharp. Mechanical.
Something zipped past his face.
Echo sat up with a wince, narrowing his eyes. A fly? No—it hovered too precisely. Its movements were too calculated. He followed it with his gaze, then caught it mid-air in one fluid motion.
The thing writhed in his grip, tiny wings buzzing frantically. It wasn't a fly. Up close, it looked like a twisted mechanical mockery of one—glassy eyes, wiry limbs, and something like a lens embedded in its thorax.
Then it clicked.
"This world..." he whispered. "It doesn't have life."
Only he, his friends, and the monsters existed in this fabricated realm. There were no birds, no squirrels, not even ants. Just buildings and terrain, like set pieces on a giant stage. This thing... this intruder... didn't belong. It was watching.
He stood slowly, raising the buzzing insect to eye level. A slow smirk pulled at his lips—tired, bloodied, but resolute.
"I know you're watching," he said darkly, voice cold and low. "And I don't care who you are. I'll find you. I'll drag you out myself."
Then he clenched his fist.
The fly crunched in his palm with a sickening snap, blue sparks leaking between his fingers. A sharp hum buzzed through the air—and somewhere, far away, someone was watching.
Behind a wall of screens, a shadowed figure stood motionless. Their face remained obscured beneath the hood of a long black cloak. Rows of glowing monitors displayed different angles of the battle. Echo, standing alone, surrounded by ruin. And then… the image fizzled into static.
Back in the park, Echo exhaled. The buzzing was gone.
"ECHO!!"
Zayden's voice rang out as the rest of the group scrambled down the water tower, rushing toward him with panic in their steps. Jarek's boots hit the ground hard. Cassian, wincing from his wounds, leaned against Thorne's shoulder. Lior limped beside them, bruised but alive.
They all converged on Echo with relief flooding their faces.
"Yo, that was INSANE!" Zayden shouted, grinning wide.
"You did it!" Thorne added. "Dude, you literally roasted that thing!"
"Not gonna lie," Jarek muttered, "that blast? Felt it all the way up there."
Echo opened his mouth to respond, but before a word could escape—everything shifted.
Like a switch had been thrown, the world blinked.
In an instant, all five of his friends disappeared.
Echo froze. One heartbeat they were there—shouting, laughing, running to him—and the next, gone. Erased from the grass like dust blown off a table. His eyes widened in disbelief.
"What—?" He turned around sharply.
Standing just ten paces behind him was the cloaked figure.
That same black cloak. The same presence from the last time.
Echo's fists clenched instinctively around Mamba.
"Where are my friends?" he demanded. "What did you do?"
The figure didn't respond at first. The wind stirred around them, carrying dust and silence.
Then, finally, the voice returned. Calm. Deep. Measured.
"You want to know the truth?" it said. "Then head east. To the land of the rising sun. Seek out your supporter. Only then will the path begin to reveal itself."
"Wait!" Echo stepped forward. "Who are you? What is this place? Why us—?"
But before the questions could tumble out, the world folded again.
A flash of light, a lurch in his gut—
—and he was back.
Sitting on the same park bench, exactly where he'd been when the dark sky first came. His forehead uninjured. His clothes unburned. The birds chirped like nothing had ever happened. A jogger ran past them, earbuds in. A dog barked across the field.
"DUDDDDEEEEEE!!"
All six of them yelled in perfect unison, nearly falling off their seats as they turned to look at one another.
Zayden stared at his hands, wide-eyed. "We're not dead?"
"We're not even hurt!" Cassian gasped, patting his side where the bruises had been.
"That's some trippy magic reset," Thorne muttered.
Echo leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "It was real," he said softly. "I didn't just imagine it."
"We know," Jarek said. "So... spill."
They all gathered around as Echo took a breath and recounted everything—the minotaur, the mysterious surge of elemental power, aeris, the fly, and the figure in the black cloak.
"And then," he finished, "he told me to go to the land of the rising sun... that's Japan. He said I'd find a supporter there and learn the truth."
There was a pause.
Zayden tilted his head. "Okay, first of all—'cloaked mystery figure' just screams anime villain. Second—dude, Japan? For real?"
Lior folded his arms. "So we're naming him now?"
"Yep," Zayden said immediately. "Cloaky. It's perfect. Totally gives 'plot twist mentor or evil boss' vibes."
"'Cloaky' it is," Cassian sighed.
Echo chuckled under his breath, despite the weight of it all. "He's not the point. We need to figure out what's going on."
They made their way back to the warehouse, the sun setting behind them in burnt orange streaks. The place had become their haven, their fortress away from the normalcy of the world.
"Alright, Echo," Jarek said as they stepped inside, "show us the cloud."
Echo stepped forward, raised his hand, and called, "Aeris."
A swirl of wind coiled into the center of the warehouse—soft at first, then rising into a spiraling gust. From the air, a luminous cloud began to form. It was silvery-white, shaped with elegant curves, edges shimmering like sunlit mist. It hovered in place, pulsing faintly with energy, responding only to Echo.
Everyone stared.
Zayden was the first to react. "BROOOO! You got a personal cloud?? I want one!"
Lior reached out and his hand passed right through it. "I can't even touch it?"
Cassian frowned. "It's... ignoring us."
Jarek grunted. "It's bonded to Echo."
Thorne squinted. "This is some chosen-one nonsense."
Echo crossed his arms smugly. "What can I say? You guys just ain't worthy."
"Not fair!" Zayden whined. "We're the squad! Where's my lightning skateboard or teleporting cat?"
"I'll let you ride in the back... if you behave," Echo smirked.
As the laughter died down, Echo's face grew serious again. "I have to go. Japan. I need to find whoever this supporter is. If there's even a chance I can get answers—stop whatever this is—I have to try."
There was silence again.
Then Cassian asked, "What about your parents?"
Echo blinked, then grinned. "You guys are covering for me."
Zayden squawked. "Wait, WHAT?!"
"You heard me." He tossed a small bag over his shoulder and turned to Aeris. "I'll be back before my brother's wedding. One and a half months. Tops."
"And if not?" Lior asked.
"Then you better come find me."
He climbed onto Aeris, the wind kicking up once more as the others shielded their eyes. The cloud took off into the sky, slicing through other clouds, Echo silhouetted by the fading sun.
Toward Japan. Toward answers. Toward the beginning of something much bigger than any of them would have imagined.