The night was thick with shadows, the cityscape bathed in the dull glow of neon signs flickering like distant stars. Jayden crouched atop the crumbling rooftop, every muscle coiled like a spring. Around him, the alleys beneath whispered with danger — the kind that clawed at your sanity and left no room for mercy.
His breath came steady, measured — but inside, a storm churned.
This was no ordinary fight. Tonight, everything would change.
---
Jayden's hand brushed the cold metal of the pendant hanging around his neck — a simple, unassuming trinket. But inside it pulsed a power older than time itself: the Echobound System.
The moment he touched it, a pulse surged through his veins. Shadows at his feet stirred, growing dense and alive, like a tide waiting to crash.
Awaken, the pendant seemed to whisper.
---
From the alley below, the snarls of approaching enemies ripped through the silence. Four figures, hardened and merciless, prowled with a predator's certainty.
Jayden didn't hesitate. Shadows poured from the cracks and crevices of the rooftop — tendrils twisting and writhing, black as void, hungry for command.
His voice was low but sharp: "Bind."
The shadows obeyed instantly, slithering down like serpents, wrapping around the first attacker's legs with a chilling grip. The man snarled, struggling, but his movements slowed — slowed by something more than the grip. Time bent, warped, as if reality itself had decided to catch its breath.
Jayden's eyes flared violet.
Temporal Freeze.
Around him, the world decelerated to a crawl. Rain droplets hung suspended mid-air, and the distant city sounds dulled to a ghostly hum.
---
With practiced grace, Jayden slipped through the frozen tableau. His shadows became weapons — blades, shields, and chains — extensions of his will and memories.
The second attacker lunged, but Jayden's shadow dagger sliced clean through the air, stopping just short of skin. A tendril lashed out, binding the man's arms behind his back.
The third enemy fired a pistol, but the bullet halted mid-flight, trapped in the temporal bubble.
Jayden smirked, sensing his control growing stronger. His heartbeat synced with the pulse of the Echobound System, the bond between them tightening.
---
Suddenly, a roar shattered the moment — the gang's leader, towering and furious, broke free from the shadows' grip, swinging a massive crowbar.
Jayden barely had time to react.
The leader's strike came down like a wrecking ball. Time snapped back to normal speed.
Jayden ducked, the crowbar smashing the rooftop mere inches from his face.
His eyes flashed violet again as he summoned a temporal echo — a shadow clone born from his own recent movements.
The clone mirrored his movements perfectly, dodging and weaving, buying Jayden precious seconds.
---
But the strain was undeniable.
Pain stabbed Jayden's temples. His vision blurred. The edges of reality flickered, shadows bleeding into one another.
Echo Fracture.
If he pushed harder, his timeline would splinter — memories could shatter, and his mind might unravel.
---
The gang leader charged again, reckless but brutal.
Jayden forced himself to focus. The bonded shadow-entity stirred deep within him — a massive, draconic figure cloaked in swirling darkness.
With a guttural roar, the entity burst forth in a burst of black flames, crashing into the leader and sending him sprawling.
Jayden felt the entity's cold presence brushing against his consciousness — a whispered warning: Control, or be consumed.
---
Gritting his teeth, Jayden pushed past the pain, his shadows tightening into a cage around the stunned gang.
"You're finished," he said softly, but inside, a question screamed:
How long can I keep this up before I lose myself?
---
As the rain began to fall again, washing away the echoes of battle, Jayden knew one thing with brutal clarity:
The Echobound System had awakened.
And so had the darkness inside him.