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Chapter 22: Echoes of the Soul
The world had always felt… distant to Torren.
His earliest memories were of quiet rooms filled with soft beeping monitors and a mother who barely had the strength to smile, but always did. Her name was Aelra—a woman with kindness etched into her every breath, even when breathing became a struggle.
Torren grew up beside hospital beds and echoing white corridors. Every week, another test. Every month, another diagnosis. Yet she held his hand through it all, even as her grip weakened.
On the final night, just before her heart finally gave up, she whispered:
> "People forget voices… but never how a soul made them feel. Find that, Torren. Feel them."
And then she was gone.
From that day, he never cried. Not when his relatives passed him around like obligation. Not when he slept on floors, under leaking roofs, or with the ache of unanswered questions. He simply… remembered her. Not the face. The soul.
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When the Pillars called to him in the First Sleep, others grasped at power. He didn't. He listened—and the Soul Pillar whispered back.
It didn't promise glory. It didn't shine.
It hummed like a heartbeat.
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Tier One Soul Pillar Abilities:
1. Soul Resonance
Allows him to sense deep emotional pulses within people nearby—fear, rage, grief—turning them into brief power surges or insights. When honed, it can detect hidden emotions or lies, but overuse strains his mind with ghosted feelings.
2. Echo Walk
For a brief moment, he can step where someone emotionally "left a mark"—like memories frozen in place. He can phase through terrain or strike at a foe's last "intent," appearing where their strongest desire was felt last.
3. Flicker Fade
A defensive maneuver allowing him to dissolve into a translucent echo when struck, redirecting the blow to a phantom version of himself. Once per cooldown, but costly in stamina.
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Now, two days before the finale, eight remain. The tension hangs over the camp like fog.
As the others rest, Chester sharpens his blades and whispers into the dark.
Torren sits alone, back against a cold rock, eyes half-closed.
He watches Veyla laughing too loudly—faking comfort. Keen tracing invisible lines in the air, calculating escape paths. And Chester, ever-smiling, yet something in his soul pulses like pressure behind glass.
Torren listens—not with ears, but with the Soul Pillar's touch.
Each teammate... echoes.
Then, he hears it—a void. Someone among them has no pulse. No emotional weight.
A liar.
He exhales and whispers to himself:
> "They're not just dying out here. They're vanishing... like she did. I won't let it happen again."
> "Not without feeling it."
And for a moment, Torren feels Aelra's hand on his shoulder.
Not her body.
Her soul.
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