Her helpless, quivering panic.
I could hide it from you,she said at last, the thought trembling.I could make it so you don’t see.
Echo… who are you? Are you real? What are you?
Silence.
Fleeting.
Fragile.
Then—
Real, real… what is real?
Her confusion cut like glass.
Echo,I tried again, gentler.Please.
I dream of you,she whispered.In the long light. I see you. Friend.
My breath faltered.
Of course,I whispered.
And something more,Echo breathed, as if she was remembering herself in real time.
Like me… you are like me.
A shiver ran down my spine.
Echo— my thoughts shook —you are flesh? You are alive?
A ripple went through the white.
I live,she said slowly, like she was testing the shape of the truth.But flesh… the vessel?
Yes,I breathed.
Another tremor. This one soft. Almost shy.
I feel things.
A pause.
Pain… empty… and…
And what?I pressed.
The brightness flickered.
And you,Echo whispered.You have feelings inside — warm. I see faces.
My heart lurched.
Aboy with different eyes,she murmured, images bleeding through the connection like spilled ink.Another with strange blood. And—
And?
