Echo

The door sealed behind him with a whisper.

No sound followed. No mana hum. No magical pulse.

Just silence.

Damien Bloodbane stepped forward into the darkness, his steps quiet, deliberate. The room felt... aware. Like he was being watched from every angle by something that wasn't there.

There were no torches. No windows.

No light.

And then, two of his own voices sounded and echoed within the room.

"I/You could have saved them."

He froze.

The words came from behind him, but when he turned, there was no one there.

"But I/you didn't. I/You watched."

The voice was distorted. His, but older. Sharper. Bitter. As if another version of him was speaking through a cracked mirror.

A single glyph on the floor pulsed beneath his foot. Pale gold. Then violet.

A strange surge of mana entered his body and caused his emotions to ripple unnaturally.

He stepped back to avoid the glow, but it was too late.