The Hall of Echoes
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Liu's body froze.
The dorm room remained silent except for her uneven breathing. Sweat still clung to her skin. Her fingers trembled against the bedsheet.
Another knock came.
"Kid."
Diana's voice.
"Open the door."
Liu swallowed hard.
For a second, she almost didn't move. Her mind was still trapped inside that burning field. The screams. The chains. The woman.
The words.
"You were never supposed to exist." Scar in her mind not leaving.
Liu slowly stood up and walked toward the door. Slightly trembling from the overwhelming thing she saw in her dream.....was it really a dream?
The moment she opened it—
Diana's expression changed slightly.
Liu looked horrible.
Pale. Shaking. Breathing too hard.
Like someone had just ripped the ground out from under her.
Diana frowned immediately. "…You okay?"
Liu looked away. "…Yeah."
It was a terrible lie.
Diana stared at her for another second but didn't push further. "There's been an emergency."
Liu's stomach tightened instantly.
Diana stepped back. "All teachers were ordered to gather the students near Hall C."
The moment Hall C was mentioned—
Liu felt her chest tighten painfully.
"…Why?"
Diana's face darkened slightly. "Something happened after tonight."
Neither of them spoke again after that.
They walked through the academy corridors in silence.
But the academy no longer felt normal.
Students were awake everywhere now. Confused voices echoed through the halls. Some looked scared. Others irritated. Teachers moved quickly between corridors while magical barriers flickered faintly across the walls.
Nobody looked calm.
And underneath all the noise—
Liu felt it.
That pressure again.
Faint.
But growing.
Her breathing became uneven.
Diana noticed. "You sure you can walk?"
Liu nodded once.
Then suddenly—
Her footsteps stopped.
The corridor ahead blurred.
The academy disappeared.
And flames replaced it.
Liu's eyes widened.
The burning field returned.
Black fire spread endlessly across dead flowers while shadow-like figures twisted inside the flames, screaming in agony.
But this time—
There was no burning woman.
Only someone standing at the center of it all.
Tall.
Still.
Watching her.
Liu stopped breathing.
The figure was a woman.
A woman. A beautiful woman.
No—
Calling her beautiful almost felt wrong.
Her appearance carried something unnatural. A terrifying kind of beauty that made Liu's instincts scream danger before her mind could even process her face.
Long dark hair moved slowly within the flames.
Cold eyes stared directly at Liu.
And somehow—
That stare felt worse than the screaming.
Liu felt a chill crawl violently down her spine.
The woman smiled faintly.
Then the vision shattered.
"Liu."
Diana grabbed her shoulder suddenly.
Liu gasped sharply and stumbled backward.
The corridor returned.
Students. Walls. Voices.
Diana frowned deeply now. "You blanked out."
Liu couldn't answer.
Her heartbeat was uncontrollable.
"…I'm fine."
Another lie.
Diana clearly didn't believe her this time.
But before she could speak—
A loud noise echoed somewhere ahead.
The crowd near Hall C suddenly became restless.
Liu looked up slowly.
And froze.
Hall C was surrounded by students and teachers now.
Protective symbols glowed across the walls. Several teachers were speaking urgently near the entrance while academy guards blocked students from getting too close.
Fear spread through the entire hallway.
Everyone could feel something was wrong.
Whispers spread everywhere.
"What happened?"
"I heard the seal reacted."
"No, someone tried opening it—"
"That's impossible—"
Liu barely heard them.
Because the moment she looked toward the massive iron door—
She saw it.
A faint red energy leaking from the cracks around the chains.
Nobody else reacted.
Nobody else seemed to see it.
But Liu did.
The red glow pulsed slowly like something alive.
Her breathing immediately became unstable again.
Then—
The whispers started.
Soft.
Distant.
Agonized.
Liu flinched.
"…help…"
"…hurts…"
"…let us out…"
Her eyes widened.
The voices were coming from the door.
No—
From behind it.
Liu took a shaky step backward.
Around her, students looked nervous.
But normal nervous.
They couldn't hear it properly.
Couldn't feel it.
But Liu could.
And with every second—
The screams became louder.
Pain.
Rage.
Begging.
Thousands of voices twisting together inside her head.
Liu grabbed her head painfully.
Her vision blurred.
The red energy around the chains suddenly spread wider in her eyes.
The whispers became screams.
And then—
For one horrifying second—
Liu saw burned shadow-like hands pressing against the other side of the iron door.
Her body gave out instantly.
She collapsed to her knees.
The screams inside her head became unbearable.
Tears formed in her eyes before she even realized it.
Not from sadness.
From pain.
Pure overwhelming pain.
Someone grabbed her shoulders.
"Liu!"
Diana.
Her voice sounded distant now.
Liu could barely breathe.
The chains on the iron door trembled slightly.
Only once.
But the entire hallway fell silent.
Every teacher froze.
Even the air itself felt wrong.
Then—
One of the ancient symbols carved into the wall beside the door cracked slowly down the middle.
Silence.
Complete silence.
And deep behind the iron door—
Something laughed quietly...