Ashar tightened his cloak against the biting cold as he followed Kaelen through the twisted, barren landscape beyond the city walls. They had been traveling for hours, the silence between them filled only by the crunch of their boots on frozen earth. Kaelen's face was set in grim determination, his gaze never straying from the path ahead.

Ashar's mind spun with questions, but he kept them in check, watching Kaelen's confident stride. He couldn't shake the feeling that they were heading somewhere significant, somewhere that would force him to confront things he wasn't yet ready to face.

Finally, Kaelen stopped, turning to face Ashar. They stood at the edge of a clearing, where a ring of ancient stones jutted up from the ground, each carved with symbols Ashar didn't recognize.

"Do you know what these are?"

Kaelen asked, his voice quiet but intense.

Ashar shook his head.

"No... should I?"

Kaelen's lips curved into a faint, humorless smile. "These stones mark a boundary—a place where the Veil thins. It's one of the few spots where the Void's power seeps through into our world. The Echo you carry... it's drawn to places like this."

Ashar swallowed, his gaze darting between the towering stones.

"Are we safe here?"

"Safe?"

Kaelen's gaze turned sharp.

"No. But this is where you'll learn the true cost of the Echo."

Before Ashar could react, Kaelen stretched his hand toward one of the stones, his fingers tracing its rough surface. A tremor passed through the ground, and a surge of dark energy pulsed from the stones, sending a shiver up Ashar's spine. The power felt familiar—like the Echo but even more ancient and raw.

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"Channel it,"

Kaelen commanded, stepping back.

"This power will test you, push you to your limits. You must control it, or it will control you."

Ashar took a shaky breath, his heart hammering. He had trained with Kaelen, had confronted the Seekers, but this was different. Here, he felt exposed, as though the Echo inside him were watching and waiting, eager to consume him if he faltered.

Closing his eyes, Ashar reached out, letting the energy seep into his fingertips. The air crackled with tension, and as the darkness touched him, he felt his mark blaze to life, burning hotter and fiercer than ever.

Images flooded his mind—visions of shadowy figures, of battles fought in forgotten places, of a world swallowed by darkness. He saw flashes of people marked like him, wielding power they could barely contain, their faces twisted in anguish.

The force was overwhelming, pressing down on him, demanding more, clawing at his mind, his soul.

"Don't give in,"

Kaelen's voice cut through the haze, anchoring him.

"Focus. This power is not yours to command; it's yours to balance."

Ashar gritted his teeth, fighting to ground himself. The shadows swirled around him, threatening to pull him under, but he clung to Kaelen's words, to the strength he'd been forced to find within himself.

With a final, desperate surge, he pushed back, forcing the energy to bend, to retreat. Slowly, the visions faded, and the world returned, leaving him breathless and trembling.

Kaelen stepped forward, his gaze appraising but not unkind. "You held it back. That's the first step."

Ashar nodded, still catching his breath.

"It... it felt like it was tearing me apart."

"That's the nature of power like this,"

Kaelen said, his voice almost a whisper.

"The Echo will always demand more. The stronger you become, the more it will test you."

Ashar stared at the ground, a weight settling over him. He understood now, if only a little. The Echo wasn't a gift—it was a trial, a burden he would have to carry and control every day.

Kaelen laid a hand on his shoulder. "I brought you here to teach you, to help you understand what's inside you. But there will be more trials ahead, Ashar. The Echo isn't the only force at play, and not all of your enemies will be as obvious as the Seekers."

Ashar looked up, meeting Kaelen's steady gaze. There was a hint of sadness there, of something unspoken.

"What aren't you telling me?"

Ashar asked.

Kaelen hesitated, then shook his head.

"In time, you'll learn. For now, focus on mastering the Echo. If you're going to survive, you need to be stronger than those who would control you."

The two of them lingered in silence for a moment, the weight of Kaelen's words settling over Ashar like a shroud. He glanced back at the stones, their silent forms standing like sentinels, marking the thin line between worlds.

As they turned to leave, Ashar felt a chill that had nothing to do with the cold.