00:07:39
The figure stood between me and the exit, cloaked in flickering static like living code erosion.
It had no face. No voice. But it wore the ∆ rune like a crown—brighter, more stable than mine. Its body was shaped like mine, but leaner. Sharper. Angrier.
And in its hand glowed a Chaos Bolt.
"Who are you?" I asked.
Its voice tore through the Market, layered and glitching.
"I am what happens… when you stop regretting."
The vendors didn't flinch. The crowd didn't run.Because this wasn't an ambush.
This was a ritual.
The System echoed:
[SOUL REFLECTION ENCOUNTER INITIATED]Opponent: Ren Ishikawa – Echo Path DivergenceCombat Purpose: Reveal Future TraitRestrictions: All fused skills temporarily locked. Chaos Bolt Lv.1 only.Victory Reward: Trait StabilizationDefeat Consequence: Soul Phase Collapse – Echoes Turn Hostile
I had no choice.
I readied a Chaos Bolt, feeling the instability of its old form in my palm.Weak. Flickering. Unrefined.
But it was mine.
My reflection moved first—faster than I could think.Its Bolt twisted mid-air like a black serpent. I barely dodged, shoulder clipped by echo energy that whispered my own regrets back to me.
"You hesitate," it said.
"Because I still care."
It nodded. "That's why you'll lose."
We clashed—spell for spell, each one less about damage and more about intent.
I fought with restraint.
It fought with purpose.
And slowly, I started to unravel—not from injuries, but from what it showed me.
Images:
Me standing over Elya's broken body.
Me ripping Jonah's echo apart just to survive.
Me standing alone in a throne of fractured code.
I screamed and cast Remnant Lance on instinct—forgetting the restriction.
The spell fizzled.
[SKILL LOCKED.]
The reflection laughed.
"You want power, but not the cost. You're chaos pretending to be order."
"No," I said, staggering to my feet. "I'm chaos that remembers."
And then—I did something reckless.
I summoned Emotion Bind with full force.
[Override Detected.]Skill Lock Broken via Emotion Surge.New Trait Awakened: Echo Defiance – Tier 1Passive: Once per trial, unlock any skill temporarily by reliving a core memory.
And I relived it:
The first time I ever felt useless.
My dad's voice. My professor's sigh. The day I learned the System doesn't reward kindness.
I cast Remnant Lance, tied to shame, and hit my reflection through the chest.
It didn't explode.
It didn't die.
It just stopped moving—and said one final thing:
"You win today. But you become me… the moment you stop listening to the dead."
And then it vanished, leaving only a cracked mirror shard behind.
[SOUL REFLECTION COMPLETE.]Trait Stabilized: Echo Defiance+5 Echo ResistanceReality Stability: -0.21%System Trust: +15%Fragment Acquired: [Future Divergence Seed – Branch 4]
Elya waited at the subway exit. She looked at me like I'd been underwater too long.
"You fought it, didn't you?"
I nodded, exhausted. "It was me. A future me. One who didn't care anymore."
She handed me a bottled light. "That's when the System comes to collect. When you stop bleeding for the choices."
I took it. My hands still shook.
"Then I'll just have to keep bleeding."