Ren didn't sleep that night.
Not because he wasn't tired.Not because he was afraid.But because every time he closed his eyes, the silence felt too close.
He sat on the edge of his bed, faint moonlight coming from the small window.The village slept—he didn't.The Shadow was still far… but her echo was near.
Too near.
Lyra knocked softly before entering — she always did, even knowing Ren probably wouldn't answer.
"Ren?" she called, stepping inside.
He didn't look at her.
He sat still, as if the night itself was easier to face than her presence.
Lyra sat beside him without asking.
"You didn't sleep."
"No."
"You didn't try."
He inhaled.
"I can't try."
She studied the lines of his face — the same boy she knew, yet not the same anymore.The moon revealed exhaustion too old for his age.
"Is it the echo?" she asked.
Ren closed his eyes.
"It won't let me rest.""Does it hurt?""No."He opened his eyes."It calls."
Lyra felt her chest tighten.
"Ren… I'm here."
He turned his face toward her.
She saw — clearly — the thin gray gleam in his eyes.Not bright.Not violent.
Just present.
"Why are you here?" Ren asked, not coldly, but with a strange, heavy sincerity.
Lyra didn't hesitate.
"Because you're suffering alone."
Ren looked away.
"I don't want you to suffer with me."
She held his hand.
"That's not how this works."
Ren gently pulled his hand back — not harshly, not rejecting her, but afraid.
"But it should."
Something broke inside her — not because he pulled away, but because he was genuinely trying to protect her from himself.
"Ren… I'm not leaving."
He closed his eyes.
The broken echo vibrated inside his chest, responding to her proximity.Lyra placed her hand over his chest, exactly where the echo was.
Ren's eyes widened.
"Lyra, don't—"
"I want to feel it," she said firmly.
And she did.
It wasn't pain.It wasn't darkness.It wasn't corruption.
It was… emptiness.
An emptiness that throbbed like a heart.An emptiness that pulsed like a summoning.An emptiness that was growing.
Her fingers trembled.
"Ren… this… this isn't normal.""I know."
"It's getting stronger.""I know."
"It's pulling you.""I know."
"And you—""I won't follow."
She exhaled in relief.
Then he added:
"Not yet."
The word made her freeze.
"Ren…"
He stood up, stepping away from the bed.
"I don't want to go. But I feel… like the path is waiting for me."
Lyra rose too.
"Then we'll break that path."
Ren gave a sad, soft smile.
"It's not a path you break."
She grabbed his arm tightly.
"Then we'll make another one."She leaned closer, her voice trembling but firm."You won't become what she wants."
Ren felt his heart race.
And for the first time that night, the echo softened.
"Lyra…""I'm here."She pressed her forehead to his."And I'll stay here."
Ren let her breath touch his.
For a moment —just one moment —the echo vanished.
But then it returned.
Stronger.
Faster.
Like something had noticed the attempt to silence it.
Ren stepped back, breathing sharply.
"She noticed."
Lyra frowned.
"The Shadow?""No."He placed a hand on his chest."The echo. The trace. The piece of her that stayed behind."
The echo pulsed so hard his body trembled.
Lyra held his arms.
"Ren… look at me."Her voice was half love, half desperation."I'm here. Awake or asleep. Afraid or not. I won't leave you alone."
Ren wanted to believe.
Part of him did.
Part of him didn't.
He touched her face with a trembling hand.
"Lyra… if I follow—"
She held his face too.
"If you follow, I follow you."
Ren's eyes widened.
"You can't.""I can.""You shouldn't.""I should."
His voice broke.
"Lyra…"
She smiled gently.
"The path isn't hers alone."She touched his chest."The path is yours."
Ren felt his body loosen.
Inside, though, the broken echo surged like a wave ready to break.
He grabbed her shirt without realizing.
"I'm afraid of what I might become," he whispered.
Lyra pressed her lips softly to his forehead.
"Then I'll remind you of who you are."
Ren breathed, grounding himself.
His hand rose and held hers.
"Thank you."
She smiled.
"You don't have to thank me."
The echo vibrated again — but this time, Ren sensed something different:
It wasn't just calling him.
It was warning him.
He lifted his face slowly.
Lyra noticed.
"Ren…?"
He looked toward the window.
"She moved."
Lyra stiffened.
"The Shadow?"
His voice dropped to the quietest whisper she had ever heard:
"No.""Then wh—""The path."
Silence.
A silence so heavy it felt like the night stopped breathing.
Ren looked back at Lyra.
And said:
"It's beginning."