Eli gave out a high jump—arms stretched, heart locked in a vow—as he dove straight into the Spiral's yawning holl. The moment his body pierced through, the entrance sealed shut above him.
He was falling. Endless. Weightless. Silent.
No, not silent.
Voices.
Whispers.
Screams.
Laughter.
His mother's voice.
His grandmother's cries.
His own sobs from when he was a child alone, locked in a dark cupboard echoing back at him from every side.
And he understood now.
"I'll save you, Asto… no matter what."
The vow left his lips like smoke, like a seal binding fire to bone.
His hands ignited blue flames roaring up his arms his face hardened, eyes glowing fiercely.
Then, he heard it. A voice just like his. Too close. Too real.
"If he dies, the whole world is doomed."
"If he dies now, the Spiral wins. The monsters escape. History repeats. Because… our mother and grandmother"
"they made the mistake. They let it be born."
"We're triplets !."
"My brother is the Spiral itself."
A horrible stillness fell.
No.
Not triplets.
A trinity.
Laura didn't give birth to two sons.
She gave birth to three.
Eli. Elias. And the Spiral.
Eli's mind convulsed. He saw it now flashes of his mother's screams during childbirth, something the midwives wouldn't speak of, a third presence unseen, unheard, unspoken cut from the womb but never from the bloodline.
It can kill me. But Elias... Elias can kill it.
It was never tormenting him for nothing. It was waiting. Stalling. Mocking. Showing him, his parents past, their pain, the shattered bloodline. It wanted him to surrender.
"Thanks… for letting me in, Echo."
Eli's eyes glowed brighter. Flames flickered like broken wings.
"What… what am I?"
"What do you mean, Echo?"
"You mean I was made to resemble you"
A second voice echoed, soft but trembling. His.
"I'm the real Eli."
Eli froze. His body still falling, tumbling through spirals of light and shadow—but now he listened.
"I'm just a few steps from you. Only an invisible wall separates us."
"And I'm begging you… help my little brother Elias."
"Asto isn't who you think he is. He's Elias. And he must've already given up."
"Where are you?" Eli shouted into the void.
"I don't know. Still falling…" the Echo replied
"Okay—clear your mind. I'll help you find them. All of them."
But then interruption. A figure blinked into his vision identical to Eli—but more ghost than flesh.
"Wait—how many?" Echo stammered. "I thought I was only meant to find Asto. I mean Elias?"
"It's a long story.
I'm Eli, but… not completely Eli."
Eli stared at him this Echo with raw confusion. "What are you saying?" he whispered.
"Don't talk," the Eli warned. His eyes darted toward something unseen. "They'll find me. I'm so close if they do, they'll pull me back."
"My shadow is inside that place. It knows the truth. It knows Asto is really Elias. And Elias… he's not even connected to his own shadow. He doesn't remember."
"They're with him now. And they know he wants to die. But he can't. Mommy's curse won't let him. And neither will they."
"Don't you see?" the Echo added. "The Spiral isn't just an enemy it's your brother."
Eli felt something sharp twist in his gut.
Three brothers.
One cursed womb.
One final sin.
"Go. Find them. Work together."
Suddenly, the Eli stiffened.
"Echo—?"
"The Eye… it's seen me."
"It's staring."
"I can see it too," Echo whispered. A coldness gripped him. "What is it?"
"They're watching us now."
Panic flashed through Eli's voice.
"I have to go. I'll meet you in the real world…"
And then
A figure dashed past.
Cloaked in shadows. Only a fluttering blue coat and the gleam of black boots remained as he vanished into the tunnel gone.
Back in the spiral
Echo landed with a jarring thud.
The void exploded into warped color.
The Spiral had spat him out into a realm that twisted the familiar into the bizarre. The sky churned with streaks of blood-red and bruised violet. The ground pulsed like a heartbeat beneath his feet.
"Elias!" he called, his voice echoing into the uncanny stillness.
The air was thick with anticipation, as if the very fabric of this place was holding its breath.
Eli stepped forward. The terrain writhed beneath him like living flesh. Shadows curled and twitched in the corners of his eyes, whispering secrets he couldn't quite grasp. The flames on his arms flickered with every pulse of adrenaline.
"Where are you?" he shouted, desperation bleeding into his voice.
A figure stepped out from the shadows.
A boy. Messy dark hair. Haunted eyes.
Echo's heart jolted.
"Elias?" he breathed, his steps trembling forward.
The boy looked up. For a moment, Echo saw a flicker of hope. But it vanished—replaced by emptiness.
"You shouldn't have come," Elias whispered. "They'll find you too."
"I'm here to save you," Echo insisted. "We can get out of this together!"
Elias shook his head, tears threatening to spill. "I can't escape. The Spiral… it's part of me now."
It's your brother, Echo thought, the truth still burning like a wound.
And it wants to kill you both or take you back into itself. Your brother Eli spoke to me, on mu way here Elias.
"No!" Elias shouted. "You're stronger than me! Am the weaker one, they chose Eli and left me to suffer.
Elias looked down. His shoulders slumped. "I'm lost in this place. It feeds on my pain. My fear."
Echo stepped closer. The fire on his arms grew fierce, steady. "Then let's turn that pain into power!"
A rumble split the air.
The ground convulsed.
And from the depths of the Spiral rose a creature twisted, massive, forged from nightmares. Its skin pulsed with shadow, and its eyes burned like red coals.
"Elias!" Echo screamed, grabbing his hand. "We have to fight!"
The monster lunged.
"Echo ignited. I promised your brother to protect you no matter what!"
The ground beneath them cracked, a cold breath slithered through the heat.
Then came the voice low, wet, and wrong echoing from inside Echo himself:
"You're too late. He asked me to burn him first."