“What are Echoes?” Quinn asked with a questioned look.

“Echoes are something that each person can awaken inside of themselves. They can help you grow stronger and give you abilities no normal human could use.” Lex responded.

“Like magic?” Kiara did not believe magic was real, so hearing of this mystical thing known as Echoes made her weary. She looked at Lex’s face trying to analyze if he was telling the truth.

“It is sort of like magic, but unlike magic, this is real.” Lex spoke with a teasing voice. He could see in her eyes that she didn't believe it.

“Prove it then. Prove to me that these Echoes are real.” Kiara did not want to believe it. Lex’s teasing remark did not make her feel any better about it.

“Fine… Winston, show them your fire.” Winston nodded before holding up his hand and opening it wide. Instantly after opening his hand, a fire began to hover above it. Kiara’s eyes opened wide, and her face was shocked after seeing this use of Echoes. Quinn was similar. He was just as shocked as Kiara was. Alec’s face was hard to read. He wore a similar look as always, giving a slight smile as he watched the fire.

Not long after, Winston dissipated the flame and sat back down in his corner as if nothing had happened.

“So… do you believe me now?” Lex wore a sly face as he looked at Kiara. Kiara sat in silence, unable to comprehend what she had just seen.

“How do we unlock these… Echoes?” Quinn spoke up. He too was stunned by what he just saw, but he came to his senses much quicker than Kiara.

“It is quite a simple process. I simply have to send a wave of my power into your body and it should be enough to awaken the Echoes inside of you. Then, as you advance, you will become stronger and will eventually be able to use powers just like Winston over there.

“The question is, do you want to unlock these Echoes? Either way, there isn't much of a choice. Without them, you likely won't be able to escape this mansion, if you can even make it out of the Tower of Nightmares.”

Quinn contemplated it for a second before standing up, “I will do it. Show me how to unlock these Echoes.”

Quickly after, Alec and Kiara also stood up. They wore determination in their eyes. They believed that with these powers, they could have a higher chance of escaping the mansion. With this, they instantly agreed to unlock the ability to use echoes.

“Great, if you all agree then please stand up in a line for me.” Quinn hesitated for a second, but decided to do so. He stood in a line next to Alec and Kiara and waited for Lex to begin.

“Now then, I will start with Kiara first. When I send the wave of power through your body, you might feel a little strange. This is normal and nothing to worry about...” Lex walked up behind Kiara, “By the way, when I awaken your echoes, there is a slight chance that you turn into a monster and rip everyone in here to shreds…”

“What!?” Kiara turned around, teeth bared, glaring at Lex. He took a step away from Kiara, raising his hands with an innocent look.

“Relax, it only happens to people with a low mental state. I'm guessing you just recently awakened in this mansion, meaning you have no memories that could cause any trauma. Besides, this is the safe way of doing it. This way has practically zero risk.”

Kiara closed her eyes, gave a slight sigh, then turned back around, allowing Lex to continue. She still felt a bit angry, but she knew the risk and calmed down.

“Now then, I'm going to place my fist on your back, so please don't be startled. I would really like to not get hit.” Kiara gave a nod, not even turning around to acknowledge Lex.

Lex slowly put his fist to her back, making sure she wouldn't hit him before he began. He closed his eyes, concentrating power into his hand, focusing it to the surface of his fist. No outside change could be seen, but on the inside, Lex was focusing as best as he could.

Finally, a few seconds had passed and Lex was ready to put the power he had been channeling into action. With force, he pushed the power out of his fist and into Kiaras’ body. Once again, no change could be seen by the viewers, but both Kiara and Lex knew what had happened.

Lex removed his fist from her back, stepping away slowly as he watched for any changes in her appearances or character.

Kiara stood still, a swirling feeling had erupted inside her, making her feel as light as a feather. After a few seconds, the effect wore off, and she was mostly back to her normal self. There were still distinct changes that had occurred, such as her strength and agility being increased, along with voices that whispered in her head.

She listened to the voices. They were quiet and talked over themselves, but Kiara was still able to understand them perfectly.

[Kill a monster of the Void]

These voices repetitively spoke these words, until they eventually dissipated into the back of her mind.

She felt calm, more calm than she had felt in a while. Something had changed in her, but she couldn't understand what it was.

“How was it? Do you feel any different?” Lex badgered her with questions.

“Yeah, I actually feel pretty great. I feel much stronger, and quicker too.”

“Good, that means it worked. The more you advance your Echoes, the more your physical strength will increase. Now then, next up should be Alec… although something tells me you wont need my help.” What did that mean? Quinn didn't understand until after Lex tried awakening Alecs’ Echoes.

“Just as I thought, you have already awakened your Echoes. That would explain why your regeneration ability is so high. It must have been a perk from one of your Echo abilities.”

“Then that also explains why he was able to send that monster flying when we were cornered.” Quinn said.

“That's right, so how come I don't hear any Echoes?” Alec proclaimed.

“That is because your Echoes have gone dormant. They do that after a short period of time. If you want to hear the echoes again, you can simply focus on hearing the voices and they will return. Once you gain powers, they can also remind you what abilities you have, just in case you have a bad memory. Although, over time Echoes should enhance your memory as well.”

Alec tried to listen for the echoes, and suddenly, voices could be heard fading into his head, “My echoes are telling me to kill the leader of the void beasts.”

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“That's good. Do the Echoes mention any abilities you may have?”

Alec listened for a few seconds, “Nope, it seems I don't have any.”

Lex reassured him, “No echoes means you haven't gained any abilities yet, but since your regeneration and strength are so powerful, you are likely close to getting your first ability. You will likely receive some once you accomplish your next goal.”

“Great, I guess I'll have to work hard for it.” Alec grinned at Lex before Lex made his way over to Quinn.

“Finally, you are up. I'm going to do the same I did for the other two so be prepared.” Quinn nodded, before turning around and waiting for the fist to connect to his back.

Lex slowly put his fist to Quinn's back, and once again began drawing power to the end of his fist. Lastly, he forced the energy into Quinn, in an attempt to awaken Quinn's Echoes.

Quinn felt a bit dizzy, his vision became blurry, then turned to black. This wasn't the same as Kiara. What is happening? Have I suddenly passed out?

Quinn was able to think, but could no longer see what was happening around him.

***

Quinn tried jolting back and forth in the darkness, his vision darkened and consumed by a black void. He could not speak and sounds were non-existent. Kiara, Alec, Lex, where had they gone, leaving him in the darkness.

How much time had passed, Quinn did not know. The darkness continued to consume his eyesight as Quinn struggled to open his eyes. Finally, his eyes began to slowly open and the void that surrounded him began to separate. The darkness that had once filled his vision was now exchanged with a bright white room. A blurry figure stood in the distance, watching him with a grin.

The man's lips parted, a voice shook the white room. The voice was ethereal, and multiple voices overlapped as the figure let out a derisive laugh, “How far you have fallen. An angel with no wings, a man with no honor. Respect lost with nothing gained.”

The figure motioned forward, taking slow and short steps as he made his way towards Quinn.

Quinn tried moving, but noticed he was bound by dark chains. They wrapped around his body like a snake constricting its prey. The more he tried to struggle, the tighter they would become.

Quinn tried yelling out, but his voice was caught in his throat. He couldn't speak, he couldn't even open his mouth. It was closed shut, incapable of opening.

Who is this man? His aura… it's immense. It's beginning to make me sick. What does he want from me?

“What do I want from you? You are useless to me. I wish to discard you, but yet you struggle.”

He can hear my thoughts! Quinn felt fear as he watched the strange man in front of him.

The figure let out another derisive laugh, “Now you know, yet it doesn't matter.”

Who are you? I can't see you.

“You know me the most, but yet you know me so little. Can’t you tell? It is me.”

The figure continued stepping closer, his figure growing less and less blurry. A white robe wrapped his body and a golden ring wrapped around his wrist. A cross ear piercing hung from his ear, swaying as he walked.

No way, it can't be…

“That is right, I am you. The better version, of course.” Quinn's eyes widened as the figure came into view. Anxiety began to overtake him and his fear began to rise.

Walking towards Quinn, another Quinn took each step. His appearance was different, having white hair instead of Quinn's normal black and having golden eyes that glowed brighter than Quinn's ever had. A golden halo wrapped his head, levitating above him.

“You seem starstruck, did you see something you shouldn't have?” The walking Quinn mocked the Quinn chained to the floor.

Why do you have my face? Free me from these chains.

“I can't free you from those chains. Those chains have to be removed of your own volition. That is, if you still live after this.”

I need to free myself. I need to leave this place. There has to be a way out. Let me out. Let me out!

The Quinn that was moving stopped before the Quinn who was fixated by the chains. He bent down, staring into the eyes of Quinn.

“You are me, but you are not me. Don't think for a second I could ever be you. You are too weak, too pitiful. You are the reason I am like this, the reason I have to make you struggle.” Quinn gripped the chained Quinn's throat, squeezing it. The chained Quinn struggled, trying to move his head, trying to remove himself from the other Quinn's grasp.

I have to leave. I need to think…

“You are going to die here and now. Your pitiful, short life will now come to an end. Become my vessel. Let go and give me your body, it doesn't belong to you.”

No, I won't! This is my body and you are not taking it.

Quinn tried to think, how could he free himself, how could he escape this horrible dream.

Think… think… I can't seem to think… stop thinking…

The oxygen in Quinn's lungs had been completely consumed, and his mind began to lose consciousness. In a last ditch effort, Quinn did not think. Instead, he focused his mind on leaving the white room. His mind came to a halt as his sight slowly faded to darkness. He couldn't feel anything, couldn't see anything, it was just pitch black.

***

“What is happening to him?” Kiara looked at the unconscious body of Quinn that laid on the ground. It was lifeless, but his pulse was still beating, and no physical changes had occurred.

“He is struggling to retain his form and not turn into a monster. At this rate, he won’t be able to control himself.” Lex exclaimed. Winston, Cally and Liz stood up and rushed over to the scene.

“You have done it now, haven't you Lex.” Cally yelled out, a look of worry and anger written across her face.

“It's not my fault. His mental state is clearly weaker than it should be. Something is wrong with him.” Lex held his hands to his head, clearly shaken.

“What should we do? If we leave him for too long, he will transform into a monster. In this small room, we likely won't be able to beat it.” Liz held her rapier, preparing for action.

“You can't just kill him!” Kiara was fearful, she didn't want Quinn to die. Even if she had recently met him, she didn't want to see his loss.

“Relax , we won't kill him… yet. But, if he begins to change and mutate, there will be no other choice but to kill him. Just as much as you don't want him to die, I too want him to live.” Lex tried reassuring her, but even he didn't know what the outcome would be. He had never seen someone mutate before, so it was also a new experience for him.

They all brandished their swords, waiting for something to happen. Some time passed, but Quinn did not change. His body did not mutate, but it didn't grow any better.

“Maybe he is dead.” Winston spoke for the first time. His voice was deep and raspy.

A couple of seconds after Winston spoke, Quinn suddenly shot up from the ground, his face was visibly stricken, and color was beginning to return to his skin.

His awakening had startled the group, but after realizing Quinn was still himself, they all sighed with relief.

Quinn tried to stand up, but his legs were weak. His head ached as he tried looking around the room to confirm he was still alive. After seeing everyone's faces, he began to calm down.

“You almost turned. Good thing you didn't. I still don't understand what would have happened to cause you to be in this state.” Lex spoke, trying to calm Quinn down and inform him of the situation.

He's wrong. I wasn't about to turn. That was something completely different. I don't know what just happened, but I don't think that was normal.

Kiara leaned over to Quinn, “Maybe you should get some rest.”

Quinn agreed. He hoped that if he slept, he would be able to get rid of his awful headache. Quinn sat down on his pallet in the corner of the room. His head still rang, but he tried his best to go to sleep. Finally, after some time, he was finally able to rest.