For Adam, seeking out a psychiatrist felt like an admission of failure. As a theoretical physicist who lived and breathed logic, the idea of turning to someone who dealt in the ambiguities of the mind seemed like surrendering to chaos. He had spent his life unraveling the secrets of the universe, believing that every phenomenon had a measurable, material explanation. But what he was experiencing now defied every physical law he had ever known. The echoes weren't mere hallucinations; they were full sensory intrusions—vivid and undeniable—crashing into his reality and leaving behind a trail of confusion and disorientation.
After that night—the collapse, the simultaneous convergence of three distinct realities—Adam knew his life as he'd known it was over. Sleep became impossible. Every time he closed his eyes, the echoes assaulted him: images, sounds, and even scents from places he had never visited. He saw unfamiliar cities, heard languages he couldn't identify, and inhaled the perfume of strange worlds. Sometimes, the echoes carried overwhelming emotions—grief, ecstasy, terror—as though the feelings of others were seeping into his very soul. He felt like a vessel, a bridge between realms that should never have touched.
In the beginning, he tried to explain it scientifically. He locked himself in his library, devouring books on neurological disorders, perceptual anomalies, and even supernatural phenomena. But nothing he read could fully account for what he was experiencing. The echoes weren't illusions generated by a misfiring brain. They felt terrifyingly real. The details were too precise, the conversations too coherent, the scents too distinctive. It was like living in a layered, multidimensional film where reality itself had become subjective.
His daily life began to fall apart. At the university, he could barely concentrate during his lectures. Sometimes, he would see strange faces among his students or hear unfamiliar voices merging with his own. Once, while explaining Einstein's theory of relativity, he suddenly found himself standing in an old lecture hall, surrounded by students dressed in early 20th-century clothing. He was speaking fluent German about quantum mechanics. The vision lasted only seconds, but it left him paralyzed in front of his class.
He avoided crowded places. Echoes intensified around people—as if every human being carried their own resonance from another world. In cafés, he would sometimes see someone walk past him and vanish, replaced by another figure dressed completely differently. The city had become a kaleidoscope of overlapping universes, and Adam was the only one who could see the terrifying beauty of it.
He no longer trusted his senses. Was what he saw even real? Were the sounds truly there? He began to doubt everything—his surroundings, his memories, even his own existence. The questions gnawed at him, dragging him to the edge of madness. Was he losing his mind? Or was he perceiving a truth no one else could see? That question haunted him day and night, leaving him feeling utterly alone.
His physical health deteriorated rapidly. Loss of appetite, chronic insomnia, and a constant migraine became his daily companions. His body was screaming for rest, but his mind wouldn't stop racing—still trying to make sense of this incomprehensible phenomenon. He knew he couldn't go on like this. He needed help—not just to save his sanity, but to survive.
That night, after hours of staring at the ceiling in the dark, Adam made a difficult decision. He remembered the name Dr. Layla—a psychiatrist who had worked with Dr. Sara at the university. He didn't know her personally, but her reputation preceded her: intelligent, calm, and known for dealing with complex cases. The idea of putting his fate in the hands of someone who didn't understand physics felt deeply uncomfortable. But desperation had left him with no other option.
He knew this decision might change everything. Still, he had to find an explanation—or risk collapsing entirely. With trembling fingers, Adam reached for his phone and searched for Dr. Layla's clinic. As the first light of dawn crept through his window, announcing yet another day of relentless echoes, he made the call that would begin his journey into the unknown.