The third and final discipline was The Echo Chamber.
Heh.
This was supposed to be the true heart of the training here.
This was where they tested your soul.
The room wasn't some fancy arena or a maze.
It was just a circle of small, polished black stones on the floor.
There was no crystal.
There was no instructor barking orders at us.
Just this low, humming sound that seemed to come from the walls themselves.
It made the air feel all heavy and thick.
It felt like walking into a server room for ghosts.
The same boring-faced instructor stood before us, though he somehow looked even more tired today.
"Your body is a weapon," he droned, his voice totally flat.
"Your mind is a weapon."
"But your soul… your soul is the hand that wields them."
"If the hand shakes, the blade will miss its mark."
He waved a hand at the circle of stones.
"Here, you will face the echo of your own breaking."
"The moment that brought you to the Corps."
"The memory that fuels your fire."
