The Echo door closed behind them with a soft click. The sound was small, but it felt heavy, like a lock turning inside a living wall. The air changed right away. It was colder and quieter. Even their footsteps sounded wrong, like the floor was trying to copy them a second later.
The hallway was not normal stone. The walls were smooth and pale, like white glass with silver lines inside. Those lines looked like tiny sound waves. They moved a little when Lina breathed, as if the corridor could hear her lungs.
Lina held Kai's hand so tight her fingers hurt. She did not let go. Kai stayed close, almost shoulder to shoulder. He leaned in and spoke very softly. "No talking unless we must. If the corridor asks for your name, don't answer. Look at me instead."
Lina nodded. Her throat felt dry. She kept remembering the message on the Runemap. If she speaks, the seal listens. She did not want the thing below to hear her again.
Mira walked on Lina's other side. Mira kept looking at Lina's face like she was scared it would blur. "I'm here," Mira whispered to herself, like it was a spell. "I'm here. I'm here."
Seren was behind them, one hand pressed to her own chest. Her eyes glowed a little. "It's loud," Seren whispered. "So many voices. They're not screaming. They're… waiting."
Reyon walked last with Jax. Reyon kept his eyes low, like he was scared his own reflection would jump out. "If a mirror shows me my worst fear again, I will sue this school," Reyon muttered. Jax did not laugh. Jax just looked sick and pale.
They moved deeper into the Echo route. The hallway curved and curved, like it was turning them around on purpose. Then they saw the first sign.
A small silver sign was carved into the wall. The letters were neat and cold.
SAY IT ONCE.DO NOT SAY IT TWICE.
Lina felt her stomach drop. Mira made a tiny sound. Kai's hand tightened.
"Keep going," Kai said.
Then the corridor spoke.
It did not speak like a person. It spoke like a soft bell inside their heads. The sound was gentle, but it made Lina's skin crawl.
"Identify," the corridor said.
A line of silver light appeared on the floor in front of them. It stretched across the hallway like a thin rope.
Kai stopped. "Don't answer," he said to everyone.
The corridor spoke again.
"Name."
Lina's mouth went cold. The urge to answer hit her like a push from behind. Her lips almost moved. Kai's thumb pressed into her palm, sharp and real, like a tiny warning bite.
"Look at me," Kai whispered.
Lina looked at him. His eyes were dark and steady. He did not look scared on the outside, but Lina could feel his fear in his grip. He was holding her like she was a life rope.
Seren stepped forward. She swallowed. "Echo Order," Seren said, voice shaking. "Witness by last word. Hush."
The silver rope on the floor flickered. It did not go away, but it softened, like it was thinking.
Then the corridor asked again, quieter.
"Witness."
Seren's eyes watered. "I witness," Seren said. "I witness them."
A small chime sounded. The silver rope faded.
Mira let out a breath like she had been drowning.
They walked again. The hallway got narrower. The sound in Lina's ears grew stronger, like whispers behind a door. Seren kept flinching, like the whispers were brushing her neck. She held her throat once, then her mouth, like she was scared something would speak through her.
Lina wanted to ask if Seren was okay, but Kai's earlier words stopped her. No talking unless we must. Lina kept walking.
Then they reached a part of the hallway where the walls were full of faint pictures, like memories trapped under ice. Lina saw a student crying. Then she saw the same student smiling. Then the smile disappeared like it never happened.
Mira stared too long.
The wall whispered, soft and sweet.
"Say her name."
Mira blinked fast. "I—" Mira started.
Kai snapped, "Don't."
Mira's mouth trembled. She looked at Lina, then away, then back again like Lina was flickering. "Lina," Mira whispered.
The wall hummed, pleased.
"Again," the wall whispered.
Mira's eyes went wide with fear. Her lips opened. Lina felt panic rise inside her chest like fire smoke.
Kai squeezed Mira's shoulder hard. "Stop," he said. "Rule. Don't say it twice."
Mira shook her head quickly. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I just—" She swallowed. Tears rolled down her cheeks. "It's trying to pull it out of me."
Seren whispered, voice breaking, "That's how it burns memory. It makes you repeat until the name falls apart."
Reyon took a shaky step back. "So the Echo route is basically a bully."
Jax whispered, "It's testing us."
They kept moving. The hallway turned again, then opened into a small round room. There was one door forward and one door to the left. Both doors had the Echo crest.
But only one looked real.
The left door was bright and warm. It looked safe. Lina could even hear soft music behind it. It sounded like a normal school party, like laughter and happy noise.
Lina's chest tightened because she still couldn't remember Mira's laugh. The sound behind the door felt like a cruel joke.
Reyon stared at it. "That's not real," he whispered.
Kai's eyes narrowed. "It's your residue."
Reyon swallowed hard. "I didn't mean to."
The left door shimmered. The music grew louder. It was trying to make them want it.
Seren stepped closer to the other door, the quiet one. Her eyes glowed bright. She pressed her ear to the stone like she was listening to a seashell.
Seren pulled back fast, shaking. "No," she whispered. "That one is sealed."
Lina's heart jumped. "Sealed?"
Seren nodded. "It's closing. The Echo route is closing us in."
Kai looked at the bright door, then at the quiet door, then at Lina. He did not speak for a second. Lina could feel his mind racing.
Then the room changed.
The lights dimmed. The walls leaned in, just a little. The air got heavier. The floor gave a slow, deep hum, like the academy's heartbeat.
And the voice inside Lina's bones returned, closer than ever.
Answer me.
Lina's lips went numb. She tasted ash.
A new line of writing appeared on the wall in silver letters, neat and cold.
ONE WORD WILL OPEN THE WAY.ONE WORD WILL FEED THE SEAL.
Kai read it. His face went hard.
Reyon whispered, "This is about Lina."
Seren's voice shook. "It wants her voice."
Mira grabbed Lina's sleeve with both hands. "Don't speak," Mira begged. "Please."
Lina stood very still. She felt everyone's fear around her like heat. She felt the doors closing like a trap. She felt the thing below waiting like a mouth.
Kai stepped close and pressed his forehead near hers, not kissing, just touching. His voice was low and simple. "Stay real. Stay with me."
Lina's eyes burned. "If I say one word, we get out," she whispered.
Kai's hand tightened. "And it listens."
The quiet door made a cracking sound, like ice breaking. The seal was almost shut.
The bright door's music grew louder, sweeter, more tempting.
Seren grabbed her own throat and whispered, "It's pushing you to choose."
Lina swallowed hard. Her heart was beating so fast it hurt. She could feel a word rising in her mouth like a spark.
A single word.
A key.
A mistake.
The wall whispered again, soft as silk.
"Say it."
Lina closed her eyes.
And for a moment, she almost answered.
To be Continued
© Kishtika., 2025
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