Echoes of Erasure

Noah didn't wait. He raised his weapon and fired.

The shot should have hit.

It didn't.

The bullet stopped midair, twisting unnaturally before vanishing entirely.

The reborn Elias didn't even flinch.

"That won't work," he said.

Then he moved.

He was fast—too fast. One moment he was standing still, the next he was in front of Noah, gripping him by the throat. Noah gasped, eyes wide. His body flickered, as if he was being erased from existence.

Mia reacted without thinking. She reached out with her Echo abilities, trying to pull Noah back—

And screamed.

A surge of unbearable pain shot through her. She felt herself being pulled apart, as if something was trying to rewrite her as well.

The reborn Elias turned his gaze toward her, curiosity flickering in his otherwise empty eyes.

"You resist," he mused. "Fascinating."

Then, just as suddenly, he let go.

Noah collapsed to the floor, gasping for air. Mia staggered backward, her vision swimming.

Jonah caught her. "What the hell was that?"

Elias—the original—finally moved. He stepped between them and his reborn counterpart.

"You're trying to collapse the paradox, aren't you?" he said.

The reborn Elias tilted his head. "It must be done. Two versions of the same existence cannot remain. One must be erased."

His expression was utterly calm.

And then he raised his hand.

Mia felt it before it happened.

A gravitational pull—like the weight of the entire world shifting. The air around them froze. The walls of the chamber cracked. The Hollow Veil itself screamed.

Jonah's grip on her tightened. "Move—now!"

Elias reacted instantly. He grabbed Mia and Seraph, pulling them toward the exit. Jonah and Noah followed, barely keeping their balance as the ground beneath them fractured.

The reborn Elias didn't try to stop them.

He simply watched.

As if he already knew the outcome.

As if he had already seen this moment before.

The last thing Mia heard as they escaped was his voice, echoing through the collapsing space.

"You cannot run from fate."

The group emerged into the ruins outside, stumbling onto solid ground. Behind them, the entire chamber imploded. The structure collapsed inward, vanishing into a swirling void.

And then—silence.

Mia's heart pounded. "Did we just—?"

Elias cut her off. "No. This isn't over."

Seraph turned on him. "You knew about this, didn't you?" Her voice was sharp. "You knew he existed."

Elias didn't answer immediately.

Then, finally, he exhaled.

"I had… a theory."

Jonah's hands clenched into fists. "And you didn't think to tell us?!"

Elias met his glare without flinching. "Would you have believed me?"

Silence.

Noah wiped blood from his mouth. "What the hell do we do now?"

Mia closed her eyes.

The reborn Elias was still out there.

And if they didn't stop him, he would rewrite everything.

There was no running from this.

No hiding.

The real battle was only just beginning.

The ruins around them smoldered in eerie silence. Dust settled over the fractured ground, and the air still carried the weight of the reborn Elias's final words.

"You cannot run from fate."

Mia's pulse still thundered in her ears. She wanted to believe they had escaped—but deep down, she knew better.

Jonah broke the silence first. "Alright," he said, voice rough. "Someone start talking. What the hell was that?"

Elias—the original—stood motionless, his expression unreadable. His eyes, however, were locked on the swirling remnants of the chamber they had just fled.

Seraph stepped forward, arms crossed. "I think it's time you stop keeping secrets, Elias," she said sharply. "Because that thing back there? That wasn't just another anomaly. That was something else."

Elias exhaled, finally turning to face them.

"I told you before—the Nexus has the power to reconstruct time." His voice was steady, but there was a weight to it now. "What we encountered was not simply an Echo or a fragment. It was me. Or rather, the version of me that the Nexus believes should exist."

Mia swallowed hard. "But that means… it's not just an enemy. It's literally trying to replace you."

Elias nodded.

Noah wiped his face, groaning. "And let me guess—if it succeeds, you won't just die. You'll be erased. Like you never existed."

Another nod.

Jonah cursed. "That's why it let us go, isn't it? It doesn't see us as a threat. It already knows how this ends."

A heavy silence followed.

For the first time since the beginning of this entire nightmare, Mia felt something new—helplessness.

Seraph's expression darkened. "Then we need a new plan. And that starts with us understanding what the hell we're actually up against." She turned to Elias, her glare sharp. "How much do you know?"

Elias hesitated—just for a second.

And that was enough.

"You knew this was coming," Mia whispered.

Elias closed his eyes. "I had… suspicions."

Jonah scoffed. "Suspicions? That's all?"

Elias finally looked up, his gaze meeting Mia's directly. "I knew the Nexus was trying to 'correct' something. I suspected it was me—but I didn't think it would create a perfected version. I thought it would merely erase me."

Mia's stomach twisted. "But it didn't."

Elias shook his head. "No. It replaced me instead."

Seraph sighed, rubbing her temples. "Alright. So the Nexus doesn't just erase things—it reconstructs them. And now we have a 'better' Elias running around trying to overwrite this reality. Great."

Noah frowned. "But why does the Nexus even think he's the 'correct' one? What makes him different from you?"

Elias hesitated. "I… don't know."

Liar.

Mia knew that wasn't the truth.

She took a step forward. "Elias."

He didn't respond.

Mia's hands clenched into fists. "There's something you're not telling us."

Elias finally met her gaze.

And then, softly, he said—"I wasn't supposed to survive."

The words hit like a gunshot.

Seraph's breath hitched. Jonah's eyes widened. Noah muttered a curse.

Mia stared at him. "What do you mean?"

Elias exhaled. "The Nexus isn't just fixing random fractures in time. It's correcting a mistake." His voice lowered. "And that mistake… was me."

Jonah took a step forward. "You're saying you weren't even supposed to be here?"

Elias nodded.

Mia's mind reeled. If that was true, then—

The reborn Elias wasn't an anomaly.

He was the original.

And this Elias—the one they had followed, trusted—was the mistake.