Yours, always and forever | Timebomb fanfic | ekko×jinx

3. The monster you created

Ekko's attempts to open his eyes seemed fruitless, as he found himself submerged in a seemingly endless abyss of darkness. All he could see around him was a wall of blackness that surrounded him in every direction.

He felt so disoriented, like he had no sense of where he was. And what made it worst was the total lack of sound, not even a single echo filled his ears.

A creeping sense of dread filled his mind, and he struggled to breathe, feeling control slip through his fingers. He moved his hands, but they were bound, and panic flared, his pulse racing as adrenaline surged.

"Damn it...damn it," he kept whispering, each word trembling with the strain to stay calm. He tugged at the restraints, but it was pointless- all so pointless, too pointless!!

His breath hitched, chest tight with growing panic, his struggle mounting.

And then—a chuckle. Soft, mocking, slicing through the silence and snaking into his ears.

Ekko froze. That laugh—it was familiar, like a melody he couldn’t place but felt in his bones. His eyes searched wildly through the dark, desperate to pin down the source, but it was everywhere, reverberating in that oppressive blackness.

And just then, after focusing a little more on the dark, he recognized where he actually was, recognized the place he thought he would never see again, thought he'd leave it behind,- it was better that way, it was in the past, and now he's leaving in the present, wasn't he?-. The arcade.

The memories surged—him and Powder laughing over broken joysticks and flashing neon lights. His heart swelled with a bittersweet warmth as the sounds of their laughter filled his mind, a stark contrast to the hollow ache now filling his chest- and so the realization of how many things have changed in just a few years made him sick to his stomach.

But all those thoughts? Gone- in the snap of a finger.

  Footsteps- footsteps suddenly started approaching,  breaking his reverie, pulling him back to the grim present. He listened, tension mounting as they drew nearer, each step amplifying the silence until it felt deafening.

His breath started to hasten, and his eyes darted around, trying to get a sense of where the footsteps were coming from. But he couldn't see anything, the darkness was too overwhelming and left no room for his eyes to adjust.

The footsteps were getting louder and nearer each passing second, as if someone was getting right next to him, waiting for him to react.

He tried to sit up, but he quickly learned, his hands were still tied-up.

"Who's there?" he whispered, his voice barely holding steady as he wrestled with the growing fear.

The person stops for a few moments and silence surrounds the place once again.

"Come on, you scared or just ugly?"

Another chuckle, low and mocking, sliced through the quiet.

It starts taking a few more steps, but he still can't figure out who it is. Either way, he can now clearly see a pair of sparkly glowing pink eyes. Those eyes-

Ekko's entire body froze in place as those familiar pink eyes pierced the darkness, and a sense of deja vu quickly washed over him.

His breath started to grow heavier, and all he could feel was a rush of adrenaline coursing through him. He couldn't move, not an inch.

"Who the hell are you?" He asked, trying to keep his voice low, but the intensity of the situation made it difficult for him to sound calm and composed.