Pathetic

I jolted awake with a sharp intake of breath. 

My chest heaved as I sucked in air, each breath burning my lungs. 

Cold sweat clung to my forehead. My hands instinctively flew to my chest, searching for the crossbow bolt that had punched through my armor.

There was nothing but intact leather armor and my rapidly beating heart.

I was lying on forest ground, surrounded by tall trees whose leaves rustled in a gentle evening breeze. The sun hung low on the horizon, painting everything in deep purples and warm oranges. Shadows stretched long across the moss-covered earth.

 I sat up slowly, brushing dirt and leaves from my cloak.

My echo drifted closer, its nervous energy more subdued than usual. "You're back." 

Come back?

Before I could process what that meant, a slow, mocking clap echoed through the trees behind me.

Then suddenly....

Clap!

A slow, mocking clap echoed from behind me.

"Had your beauty sleep?"

I turned and saw another translucent figure perched on a jagged rock, staring at me with bloodshot eyes that held nothing but contempt. 

"Pathetic," it said, voice dripping with disgust. Then turned away, dismissing me entirely.

I studied it for a moment, recognizing the expression. That was the face I'd made in my final moments, watching Adrian's team abandon me, realizing I'd been nothing more than bait. The betrayal was written into every line of its translucent features.

'Two deaths. Two echoes now.'

I stood up, dusting off my gear. 

The familiar weight of my sword on my hip, the leather armor that had done nothing to stop the bolt. Everything was exactly as it had been before those ruins. Except for the sword that Marcus gave me.

"So," I said, my voice flatter than it used to be. "Adrian and his friends made it out, I assume."

The second echo let out a harsh laugh.

 "Oh, they made it out just fine. Counted on us dying to cover their escape." Its bloodshot eyes fixed on me. "How's it feel, knowing you're disposable?"

I didn't answer immediately. 

My hands clenched into fists, knuckles turned white as the memories flooded back. Then I close my eyes, took a deep breath and exhaled.

I looked between my two echoes - one nervous and jumpy from the wolf attack, the other seething with fresh betrayal and rage.

'People in this world aren't any different from the ones back home. They'll use you and throw you away the moment it's convenient.'

"Feels about right," I said finally, checking my gear. My voice carried an edge that hadn't been there before. "Guess I should have seen it coming."

The sun continued its descent.

'Time to stop being so trusting.'

Then I looked around at the unfamiliar trees, trying to get my bearings. The forest was denser here than anywhere I'd been before.

"Which part of the forest is this?" I asked.

Echo 1 shook its head nervously. "I don't know. This doesn't look like anywhere we've been."

"How the fuck should I know?" Echo 2 snarled from its perch on the rock. "You didn't drag your sorry ass here before you died."

I blinked at the venom in its voice. The bitter echo's hostility was unsettling, even knowing it came from my own death experience. But I pushed the feeling aside for now.

"Do either of you know which way back to the ruins?"

Echo 1 looked around helplessly before shaking its head again. "We're in a completely unknown place. And..." it hesitated. "We can't go much further from you. There's some kind of range limit."

'Great.'

I sighed, scanning the darkening forest around us.

 "Guess we'll have to pick a direction and hope for the best. Or find somewhere to sleep rough tonight."

"No, not in the forest." Echo 1 flailed.

I ignored it and started to move toward what looked like a game trail between the trees, but froze as something shifted in the bushes ahead.

Rustle!

Echo 1 immediately started screaming. "Something's there! Something's moving!"

Echo 2 just stared in that direction with those same bloodshot eyes, its expression cold and calculating. "Course there is. When has anything ever gone smoothly for us?"

I reached for my hilt, muscles tensing as whatever was in the bushes continued to move. The shadows were getting deeper, and I couldn't make out what was causing the disturbance.

Three wolf-like creatures emerged from the undergrowth, but these weren't the six-legged nightmares from the cave. 

These looked more familiar with gray fur, yellow eyes, powerful builds, well, except for the unnatural size and the way their hackles seemed to shimmer with a faint green tint.

'Are these dire wolves?'

They spread out in a rough semicircle, growling low in their throats. Saliva dripped from bared fangs as they sized me up, clearly seeing me as prey.

I drew Lila's short blade. My stance shifted automatically, feet apart, weight balanced, ready to move.

Echo 1 immediately scrambled behind me, its panicked voice cutting through the evening air as it saw its worst nightmare. "Oh god, not again! Why is it always wolves?"

But Echo 2 reacted differently.

"Fuck this!" it screamed, pure rage overtaking fear as it lunged forward at the nearest dire wolf.

"Wait, that won't work!" I shouted, but it was too late.

Echo 2's translucent form slashed across the wolf's muzzle with clawed hands.

SLASH!

The creature screeched and flailed backward, dark blood oozing from three parallel gashes across its snout. Its yellow eyes went wide with shock and pain.

'What the hell?'

I stared in disbelief. Echo 1 had never been able to touch anything solid for more than a few seconds, and only with intense concentration. But Echo 2 had just torn into a living creature like it was made of flesh and blood.

The wounded dire wolf shook its head, spraying droplets of blood across the forest floor, while its two packmates snarled.

'Well. That's new.'

The other two dire wolves immediately pounced toward where Echo 2 had struck, snapping and clawing at empty air. 

I blinked in confusion. "Can they actually see you?"

Echo 2 dodged between their snapping jaws with fluid grace, its bloodshot eyes gleaming with dark satisfaction. 

"They can't see me," it replied.

 "But they're probably sensing something's off, their buddy getting slashed by thin air."

The two wolves continued their assault on nothing, powerful jaws snapping shut on empty space while Echo 2 danced around them.

"Idiots," Echo 2 muttered, then suddenly called out "Dash!"

Its translucent form blurred forward with supernatural speed, positioning itself behind the injured wolf that was still shaking blood from its muzzle.

SLASH! SLASH!

Then both of his clawed hands raked across the creature's throat in rapid succession. The dire wolf's eyes went wide for a split second before it collapsed, blood pooling in the dark fur around its neck.

THUD!

The other two wolves spun around at the sound, hackles raised, yellow eyes darting frantically as they tried to locate an enemy they couldn't see.

Echo 1 was pressed against my back, whimpering. "This is insane. How is it doing that?"

I gripped my short blade tighter, watching the remaining two dire wolves circle in growing panic. Whatever had changed about Echo 2, it was lethal in a way that my first echo had never been.

'Two wolves left. And apparently I've got an invisible killer on my side now. I should be really lucky, right?'   

Well, my question got answered almost immediately as Echo 2 began to flicker and dim, its translucent form wavering like a candle flame in the wind.

My eyes widened as I processed what was happening. The solid presence it had maintained during the fight was fading fast, becoming more ghostlike with each passing second.

Echo 2 looked at me, those bloodshot eyes losing some of their intensity. "Take care of the rest," it said, voice already sounding more distant. Then it disappeared entirely.

I gasped, and suddenly my status window materialized in front of me without being called.

Echo 2: Unnamed
Level: 7
STR: 14
AGI: 13
VIT: 12
LUK: 13
INT: 12
Energy: 0/50 (Dormant)

'Zero energy... So, it burned through everything just to kill one wolf.'

The two remaining dire wolves were still circling, confused and increasingly agitated by their packmate's inexplicable death. Yellow eyes tracked back and forth, searching for an enemy they couldn't find.

But now it was just me and Echo 1, who was still pressed against my back whimpering.

"Well," I muttered, raising my short blade as the wolves' attention finally focused on the only visible target.

My grip tightened, knuckles turned white, "It's our turn to dance, I guess."

Both dire wolves lowered their heads and charged.