Everything was over.
No screams.
No ash.
No explosions.
Only silence.
And within it—
I remained.
Aren Kael.
---
The floor of the Spiral Core had turned to black glass.
As if every flame, every memory, every burn…
had been sealed beneath it.
Tomo floated gently beside me.
His voice—finally calm.
---
Tomo (soft):
"Bro… Spiral flux is normal.
Cindros' signature… completely erased."
---
I nodded.
But inside…
a faint vibration still pulsed.
As if the Spiral wasn't empty—
Just preparing for something else.
---
Then, without warning—
a crack appeared across one of the walls.
There was no force.
Just… air shifting.
And the Spiral symbol on the wall—
it shifted.
A new sigil formed:
> "Echo_17.T"
---
Tomo (confused):
"...Bro, this isn't a Spiral code.
It looks more like… a corrupted audio file."
---
Me:
"Play it."
---
Tomo blinked once.
A static hum escaped from his body.
Then—
a voice came through.
Distorted… but familiar.
---
Voice (blurred):
> "...Aren… can you hear me?
The Spiral isn't over.
I… I'm speaking from somewhere else…"
---
Me (in shock):
"That voice… it…"
---
The audio repeated.
But this time—
the pitch changed.
And the voice—
was my own.
---
Aren (Echo voice):
> "I'm you.
But not the you… that exists now."
---
Suddenly—
a silhouette formed in the wall's reflection.
Black.
Shaped like me.
But instead of Spiral fire in its eyes…
There was void.
---
Tomo (voice cracking):
"Bro… that's another version.
But Spiral isn't able to trace it.
It's not from your future… or your past.
It's something else."
---
Me (internally):
> "Cindros… was just one chapter.
But Spiral…
has already turned the page."
---
Final Line (whispered thought):
> "Time has burned.
Spiral has paused.
But now…
the echo will speak."
---
[Volume 3 — END]