First echo

I woke up to the cold glare of a flickering light overhead, my head pounding and my vision blurred. The faint scent of metal and old wood filled the room, mingling with the faint tinge of cigarette smoke that lingered in the air. Blinking a few times, I realized where I was.

A police station.

Specifically, an interrogation room.

The walls were a washed-out gray, their color dulled by time and neglect. A single wooden table separated me from the man sitting across, a police officer whose face I didn't recognize. His uniform was slightly wrinkled, and the badge on his chest gleamed under the harsh light. He looked at me like I was filth.

Before I could even think of asking why I was here, the officer leaned forward, his arms folded on the table.

"Did you know what happened to your mother, boy?" His voice was cold, suspicious, with a sharp undertone of contempt.

The words hit me like a hammer. My throat tightened. I opened my mouth, but nothing came out at first. The memory of her lifeless body lying on that kitchen floor flashed through my mind, and with it, the terrible realization I'd pushed aside in the haze of rage and grief.

I lowered my gaze, forcing the words out.

"N-no, sir. I… I heard a scream… and when I got to the kitchen, she was already… gone."

He stared at me for a long, heavy moment. His gaze was the kind you'd give to a stray dog after it bit someone, not anger, but sheer disgust.

"I see," he muttered, leaning back. "Since we have no evidence pointing to any other suspect… you'll be charged with her murder until further investigation."

My breath caught.

"But, sir… I-I'm a kid… I didn't do anything,"

"You have the right to remain silent," the officer cut me off, his lip curling in contempt. "Anything you say or do will be used against you in court."

I gritted my teeth. My hands balled into fists in my lap, nails digging into my palm. This wasn't supposed to happen. In my previous life, I remembered this moment. The same questions. The same room. But back then, they'd let me go after a few hours. The coroner had ruled my mother's death a natural cause.

So why… why did it feel like this time, fate itself was tightening a noose around my neck?

I clenched my jaw. Something was wrong.

This wasn't just bad luck.

Someone was behind this.

Or maybe… no. Maybe it was the system again. The same cursed system that dictated the laws of this world, that controlled fate like threads in a tapestry, tangling me up until there was nowhere left to run.

The officer rose from his seat and grabbed the pair of handcuffs resting on the table.

"Well, if you don't have anything else to say, boy… I'll take you to your cell now."

Panic surged in my chest.

"Wait! I didn't kill anyone! You can't just,"

He narrowed his eyes. "You dare speak like that after murdering your own mother?"

"Murder?! I didn't,"

"Save your lies for the judge," he spat, the disgust in his tone unmistakable.

It was then as the cuffs clicked around my wrists that I felt it.

A surge of oppressive energy.

Not from the room… but from him.

I swallowed hard.

A reverent.

Of course. Of course it had to be a Reverent. Not just some mundane officer, but one of those blessed bastards, one of those chosen by the gods to wield magic and strength beyond mortals. I could sense it now, that thick, cloying presence radiating from him like a noxious fog.

I'd fought Reverents in my previous life. I'd killed them too when I was strong enough.

But right now… I was a powerless fifteen-year-old kid, barely a flicker of my former self.

I stared up at him, hatred burning in my gut.

Maybe if I had the same magic amplification as my old self, I could kill him where he stood.

"Fuck you," I hissed, the words venomous on my tongue.

The officer blinked, clearly not expecting that, but before he could react, I moved.

A flick of my wrist. A twist of my shoulders.

The cuffs snapped.

A burst of raw, desperate adrenaline surged through me as I lunged forward, shoving the officer aside with more strength than this frail young body should've possessed. He staggered back, cursing, and I bolted out the door.

The hallway outside was dimly lit, empty save for a flickering lamp near the exit.

I didn't stop running.

Didn't look back.

My bare feet pounded against the cold tile floor as alarms blared to life somewhere deeper in the station. I didn't care. I didn't care about the consequences, the manhunt that would surely follow. I just needed to get out.

I burst through the front doors and into the dark streets of the city.

The cold night air bit at my skin as I ran, ducking into a narrow alley, my heart pounding like a drum.

I leaned against the wall, panting.

What the hell was I thinking?

I'd just assaulted a Reverent officer.

In a world like this, that was practically suicide.

I stared down at my trembling hands.

I'd wanted to change fate and I did.

But now… I wasn't sure if I'd made it better or worse.

Some part of me knew I should've let fate play out the same way it did before. Let them release me after a few hours like last time. Let the coroner declare it a natural death.

But no I had to lash out.

I had to run.

I was such a goddamn hypocrite.

I wanted to fight fate, yet here I was, already regretting the first thread I pulled loose.

I laughed. A bitter, broken sound that echoed

in the narrow alley.

"Maybe it's a butterfly effect," I muttered to myself. "Maybe this'll somehow work out in my favor."

It wouldn't.

I knew that.

But I couldn't stop myself from hoping.

I slid down the wall until I was sitting on the cold ground. My thoughts a swirling storm of anger, fear, and grim amusement.

And then

A voice.

Cold. Unfamiliar.

But it spoke directly into my mind.

"Reverent Elias Troum."

I froze.

My pulse skipped a beat.

"Your actions have been acknowledged. Your defiance against fate has been recorded."

What…?

I sat up straighter, my breathing ragged.

"Achievements registered. Generating Name of Echo…"

A Name of Echo?

That couldn't be right.

In my past life, I'd never received one. Not even at my peak. Not even after years of bloodshed, battles, and victories against monsters and gods alike.

Analyzing achievements:

— Defying a Reverent

— Escaping lawful execution

— Altering fate"

I clenched my fists.

"Generating Name of Echo…"