Chapter 16
The Veil of Echoes
Miguel stepped through the next passage, the Sentinel's chamber fading into darkness behind him. His heartbeat steadied, but his mind remained sharp. Each trial had tested him in different ways—strength, strategy, and endurance—but he knew better than to expect anything predictable moving forward.
A system prompt appeared before him:
[Sixth Trial Activated: The Veil of Echoes]
[Objective: Navigate the Veil and uncover the hidden path forward.]
Miguel frowned. No mention of a boss this time?
The air grew noticeably colder as he advanced. A dense mist curled at his feet, swallowing his footsteps. The chamber ahead was vast, yet eerily silent—too silent. The flickering torches along the walls cast distorted shadows, their light stretching and shifting in unnatural ways.
Then, the whispers started.
Faint, indistinct voices surrounded him, coming from every direction at once. Miguel froze, tightening his grip on his spear. The voices weren't words, at least not at first—they were murmurs, layered upon one another, twisting together like tangled threads.
A new warning flashed in his vision:
[Warning: The Veil distorts reality. Trust only what is proven.]
Miguel exhaled slowly. An illusion? No—something more than that.
He stepped forward, and the entire chamber shifted.
The pillars moved. The torches flickered and rearranged themselves. The ground beneath his feet changed texture, as if he had teleported without moving.
Miguel spun around—only to find himself standing exactly where he had started.
"A maze… but not a physical one."
The whispers grew louder.
Then, they took shape.
Shadows peeled away from the mist, forming figures—distorted, flickering versions of himself. Each one moved in eerie unison, mimicking his posture, his stance. They wielded identical spears, their glowing eyes locked onto him with cold, emotionless focus.
[Unknown Entity Detected: Echo of the Challenger]
Miguel barely had time to react before the first clone lunged at him.
He twisted, deflecting the attack, but another shadow struck from behind. Miguel staggered, rolling away before the twin spears impaled the spot where he had stood.
"They fight exactly like me."
The realization sent a chill down his spine. He couldn't overpower them with skill alone. Every attack he made, they would counter.
Miguel narrowed his eyes, forcing himself to focus.
"I need to break the pattern."
He feinted a right slash—his clone mirrored him instantly—but instead of committing to the attack, he twisted his wrist and dropped low, dragging his spear along the mist-covered ground.
[Skill Activated: Arc Chain – Feint Variant]
Lightning surged unexpectedly through the floor, arcing upward from below. The first shadow twitched, its movement thrown off by the sudden unpredictability. Miguel took advantage, pivoting and driving his spear straight into its chest.
The shadow shuddered, its form flickering, before it dissolved into mist.
But the remaining echoes didn't vanish.
Instead, they adapted.
The remaining two changed their stance, adjusting in ways he hadn't expected. They no longer mirrored him exactly—they were… learning.
Miguel's grip tightened. "Great. It gets harder."
He couldn't afford a prolonged fight. He had to find the path forward before they overwhelmed him.
His eyes flicked around the shifting chamber. The architecture—it was inconsistent. Some walls had minor differences, subtle imperfections.
"Trust only what is proven."
He dodged another attack, darting toward the wall that looked the most stable, the most real.
The whispers grew frantic.
His clones lunged, but this time, he didn't fight them.
Instead, he slammed his fist into the stone.
A pulse of golden energy rippled outward. The illusion wavered—just for a second—revealing a hidden door behind the shifting mist.
Miguel didn't hesitate. He dashed through.
The moment he crossed the threshold, the entire illusion collapsed.
The mist vanished. The shadows dissolved. The whispers cut off abruptly.
And then—silence.
A final system message flickered:
[Trial Completed: The first seal of the Veil has been broken.]
Miguel exhaled, scanning the new chamber before him. The air was clearer here. The reality felt… stable.
But something still lingered.
From the darkness ahead, a figure stepped forward.
Not a shadow. Not an illusion.
Something else.
Something watching him.
And the trial wasn't over yet.
---
Outside the Game – Observation Room
The observation room was dead silent as the researchers watched Miguel break through the illusion.
Dr. Halloway's fingers tapped against his desk. "He solved it faster than projected," he muttered.
A junior technician hesitated. "It's not just that. His pattern recognition is improving. The system was meant to trap him for at least half an hour, yet he found the exit in under five minutes."
Another researcher scrolled through a display. "The AI… it adjusted itself during the battle. The echoes weren't supposed to adapt."
Halloway's gaze darkened. "Which means Eos is watching him closely."
The room tensed.
The storm outside rumbled, the energy growing stronger.
And Miguel had no idea what was waiting for him next.
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