ECHOBURN

The wind had died inside the shattered facility. Not even the sea beyond dared make a sound. The light from the cracked ceiling buzzed weakly, flickering over torn walls and broken pillars.

Ren stood alone.

And before him, the Echo Caller crouched.

It was no longer the thing Bravo had fought. It had changed. No longer a mask-wearing shadow. Its body shimmered like oil over black steel, limbs twisted into something vaguely human but terribly wrong. Where its face should have been, a cluster of floating shards spun slowly, reflecting Ren's unmoving gaze back at him.

It didn't attack.

It watched him.

Its head cocked, twitching like a beast in thought.

A low whisper vibrated from the broken air around them. Not a voice. A sensation. Something that didn't belong in a human mind.

"Give me... your shape."

Ren didn't move.

Behind him, the Bravo unit held formation, weapons drawn but unsure.

Rei murmured, "Why isn't it attacking?"

Juno stared, eyes narrowed. "It's... fixated."

The Echo Caller took a single step forward.

Its body shifted subtly—mimicking Ren's stance.

"So clean. So sharp. You are not from here. You were born between dreams. I want to wear your bones."

Kara shuddered behind Ren. "What the hell..."

Then it moved.

Not fast. But purposeful.

A long arm extended toward Ren, fingers twitching in uneven spirals, as if unsure whether to strike, embrace, or consume. The air between them warped.

Ren exhaled once and stepped back.

The Echo Caller growled—a low, wet gurgle of frustration—and lunged.

But Ren was gone.

He dove left, rolled, and snatched up a broken steel pipe half-buried in the dust. The creature twisted midair, chasing him.

Ren swung.

The pipe slammed into its side. A screech ripped through the corridor—but the creature absorbed the blow, reformed, lashed back. Ren ducked under a slicing limb and sprinted toward a half-fallen support beam.

He kicked off the debris, vaulted onto a ledge, then flung himself into a broken catwalk. His boots scraped rust. A chunk broke off—he caught it, hurled it at the creature's eye cluster. It cracked a shard.

The Echo Caller howled and slammed into the wall below, climbing with unnatural speed.

Daisuke ran forward—"We can't let him take this alone!"—but Rei grabbed his arm. "We're not the target. He is."

Ren leapt down. The impact buckled his knees, but he didn't pause. He grabbed a length of rebar, ducked a jab, and jammed the rod through the Echo's arm. It hissed.

"You are not prey," it whispered. "You are the gate."

Ren's breath was short. Blood ran from his elbow. The wound from earlier had opened.

But his eyes never wavered.

He baited the creature into the center chamber, where the ceiling was partially collapsed. Steam hissed from exposed vents. Pools of seawater lapped at their boots.

He stepped onto the slick surface and waited.

The Echo charged.

Ren ran—toward the old control panel jutting from the rubble. He slammed his hand into it. Sparks flew.

Then he ducked.

A burst of steam erupted upward, catching the Echo Caller full in the chest.

It screamed, limbs flailing. Ren didn't waste the opening.

He vaulted off the panel, kicked off a steel beam, twisted in the air, and brought his elbow crashing down into the base of the creature's skull.

They both hit the floor hard.

The creature twitched. A shriek shook the facility. It rose on too many legs, dragging its body like a half-broken puppet.

Ren's chest rose and fell.

His hand brushed the floor—found a jagged steel plate. His fingers closed around it.

The Echo Caller lunged again—silent now. Desperate.

Ren met it halfway.

He slid low, sliced across its midsection with the steel. Shadow-blood sprayed across the concrete. The creature reared up—

And Ren jumped.

High.

Higher than any human should.

He twisted midair, came down with the plate in both hands, and drove it down—through the creature's head, down its spine, through the floor.

The impact rang through the earth.

Dust exploded outward. Stone cracked. Water boiled.

The creature twitched once.

Then fell still.

Ren stood over the corpse, blood mixing with seawater, panting hard. The plate clanged beside him as he let it drop.

"…Mission complete."

Juno walked forward slowly. She knelt beside Ren, didn't speak. Just watched him.

Daisuke whispered, "How strong is this kid...?"

Kara just looked at Ren

They all looked down at the crater left behind.

And at the boy who made it.