𝐋𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐜𝐡𝐨

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟒: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐬

The night dragged on, heavy with silence and the occasional crackle of the fire. Elena tried to sleep, but every time she closed her eyes, she heard the faint echoes of whispers outside the cabin. She couldn’t shake the feeling that the forest was alive, watching her, waiting for her to make a mistake.

Kian sat on the floor beside the fire, his eyes half-closed, but Elena doubted he was truly asleep. He seemed too alert, too tense, as if always ready for something to happen.

Finally, Elena couldn’t stand the quiet anymore. “Kian,” she whispered, “what do we do tomorrow? Where do we start looking?”

Kian opened his eyes, gazing into the fire. “There’s a place, deep in the forest. I’ve never been, but I’ve heard stories about it. They say it’s where the Echo is strongest, where the secrets of this world are kept. If there’s any place to start, it’s there.”

Elena leaned forward, intrigued. “What’s there? How do you know about it?”

He hesitated for a moment, his face shadowed by the firelight. “When I first got here, I met someone. He told me about the Echo’s heart—the place where all its power comes from. He called it the Nexus. He said if I wanted to leave, I’d have to go there.”

Elena’s brow furrowed. “What happened to him?”

Kian’s expression darkened. “He didn’t make it. He… lost himself before we could get there. The Echo took him.”

Elena shivered. “Do you think we’ll find this Nexus?”

Kian gave a slow nod, but there was a flicker of doubt in his eyes. “If we don’t… we’ll keep looking. But we have to be careful. The Echo plays tricks, especially the closer you get to the Nexus. It’ll try to turn us against each other, mess with our heads.”

Elena’s stomach twisted. The idea of facing more of the Echo’s tricks, more memories twisted into nightmares, terrified her. But what choice did she have? She couldn’t stay in the Echo forever. She needed to believe there was a way out, even if the path was dangerous.

As the fire dimmed, Elena felt sleep finally tugging at her, the exhaustion of the day catching up with her. She curled up under the blanket, her eyes growing heavy. Just as she was about to drift off, Kian spoke again, his voice low and distant.

“There’s something else you need to know.”

Elena opened her eyes, fighting off sleep. “What?”

He stared into the dying flames, his face unreadable. “The Echo feeds on memories, right? But it can also take them away.”

Elena blinked, sitting up. “What do you mean?”

Kian’s jaw clenched. “It can erase parts of you. The longer you’re here, the more it takes—little things at first, like faces, places, but then it starts to take bigger pieces. Your past. Your identity.” He looked at her, his eyes sharp with warning. “If we don’t get out soon, you could forget everything. Even the people you love.”

Elena’s breath caught in her throat. Forget everything? The thought sent a jolt of fear through her. What if she forgot her mother, her sisters? What if she forgot who she was entirely?

She swallowed hard. “How do you know it’ll happen?”

Kian’s gaze dropped to the floor. “Because it’s already happening to me.”

The words hung in the air like a weight. Elena stared at him, her heart pounding. “What do you mean?”

Kian didn’t answer right away. His face was tense, his eyes distant, as if trying to grasp something just out of reach. “There are things I can’t remember anymore,” he said finally, his voice hollow. “Things I should know, but they’re just… gone. My family. My life before this place. It’s like pieces of me have been erased.”

Elena’s stomach churned. She had noticed Kian’s quiet, withdrawn nature, but she hadn’t realized how much he had lost. “Is there a way to stop it?”

He shook his head. “Not unless we get out. The longer you’re here, the more it takes. That’s why we have to find the Nexus before it’s too late.”

Elena felt a surge of determination, the fear in her chest hardening into resolve. She couldn’t let the Echo take her memories, take her identity. She wouldn’t lose herself here.

“We’ll find it,” she said firmly, meeting Kian’s eyes. “We have to.”

Kian gave a small, grim smile. “Then we leave at dawn.”

---

The next morning, the forest was still shrouded in a thick mist, the trees looming like silent sentinels. Elena and Kian packed what little supplies they had—some food, the blankets, and a knife Kian had found in the cabin. The air was cold and heavy, and the whispers that had haunted the night seemed to follow them as they ventured deeper into the woods.

As they walked, Kian pointed out landmarks he had passed before—an old well, the remains of a stone wall—but they were nothing more than fragments of a world that had long since faded. Everything here felt warped, as though time itself had unraveled and left only ruins behind.

“We’re getting close,” Kian said after hours of walking.

Elena’s muscles ached, but she pressed on, her mind focused on the thought of escape. The further they walked, the more the forest seemed to change. The trees grew darker, their branches twisting into strange, unnatural shapes. The air thickened, and the whispering grew louder, more insistent.

“Kian, do you hear that?” Elena asked, glancing around nervously.

He nodded, his eyes narrowed. “It’s the Echo. It knows we’re close.”

Suddenly, a shape darted between the trees—a shadow, quick and silent. Elena froze, her heart leaping into her throat. “Did you see that?”

Kian tensed, his hand tightening around the knife. “Stay close.”

They continued forward, the shadows shifting around them like living things. The whispers grew louder, almost deafening now, but Elena couldn’t make out what they were saying. It was as if the Echo was trying to overwhelm her, to drown her in its noise.

Then, just ahead, she saw it.

A massive stone archway, covered in moss and vines, stood in the center of the clearing. It was ancient, crumbling, and yet it radiated a strange, pulsating energy.

“The Nexus,” Kian whispered.

Elena’s heart raced as they approached the archway. This was it—the heart of the Echo, the place where everything began and where, hopefully, it would end. But as they neared the arch, a figure stepped out from the shadows.

It was an old man, his eyes clouded with age, his face lined with deep wrinkles. He held a staff, and his expression was grim as he looked at Kian and Elena.

“You’ve come far,” the old man said, his voice raspy. “But the Echo does not give up its secrets easily.”

Kian stepped forward, his voice steady. “We’re here for the key. We need to leave.”

The old man shook his head slowly. “The key is not so simple to find. You must make a choice—a sacrifice. Only then will the door open.”

Elena’s blood ran cold. “What kind of sacrifice?”

The old man’s gaze shifted between them. “One of you must give up your most precious memory. Only then will the Echo release you.”