Kai stood in the ring. Six Echoes now lived inside him. His body felt strong and hot from the fire power. But his head was noisy.
The crowd cheered his name. "Funny Voice! Funny Voice!"
Brock smiled wide. "You are popular, kid. One more fight? The winner gets a big Veil shard and money."
Kai's voices shouted at the same time:
Reginald: "Accept it with class."
Jax: "Smash him!"
Shadow: "Sneak and win."
Razor: "Cut him quick."
Stone Fist: "...Hard."
Blaze: "Burn everything!"
Kai held his head. "Too loud! Fine… I will fight!"
Mira jumped up and down. "Seven Echoes soon! I can feel it!"
Lira stepped closer. "Kai, please stop. Your fate threads are twisting. You will not be you soon."
Kai looked at her. For a second, the old Kai spoke. "I know… but I need power. The world is breaking. I must get stronger."
Then Blaze's voice took over. "Move, girl! Or I burn you too!"
Lira sighed and stepped back.
A new fighter entered the ring. He was short but fast. His hands glowed with wind power. "I am Gust. I will blow you away, crazy man."
The fight started.
Gust sent strong wind blades at Kai.
Kai used shadow step and disappeared into a dark corner. He appeared behind Gust and punched with stone skin. The hit landed hard.
Gust flew back but spun in the air and sent more wind.
Kai felt angry fast. Blaze's temper was strong. "You dare?!" he shouted in a mix of all voices. It sounded funny and scary.
He mixed his powers. Shadow step + fire punch + stone skin. His fist burned and became hard. He dashed forward.
Gust tried to fly away with wind, but Kai caught him and hit him in the stomach.
Gust fell down hard. He coughed and could not stand.
The crowd went wild again.
Brock raised Kai's hand. "Seven wins in a row! This kid is a monster!"
A blue screen appeared right away.
**[New Echo Found!]**
**Name: Gust Wind**
**Skills: Wind control, fast movement, air slash**
**Personality: Free and wild**
**Will you take it? (Y/N)**
Kai chose Y. He could not stop himself.
Wind power entered him. He felt light and fast, like he could fly.
**[Echo Taken!]**
**Active Echoes: 7/10**
**New Skill: Wind dash – Move very fast with air.**
**Side Effect: You feel wild and want to run everywhere.**
Kai laughed loud. The laugh came out as a mix — fancy, angry, sneaky, tough, hot, and now wild.
He jumped high with wind dash and landed next to Mira. "More! Give me more fights!"
Mira's eyes shone. "You are the best collector! Let me see your status!"
Kai opened his screen for her.
**[Fractured Echo Weaver – Level 3]**
**Active Echoes: 7/10**
**Overlap Risk: High (62%)**
**Current mix: Rich snob + Fighter + Sneaky + Mean + Tough + Fire angry + Wild wind**
**Warning: Voices are getting louder. Next Echo may cause full takeover for some time.**
Mira clapped. "So cool! Overlap Risk is high. That means funny things will happen!"
Lira looked worried. "Kai, come outside with me. We need to talk alone."
But Kai felt too wild. He used wind dash and ran around the ring fast. "No time! I want to fight again!"
The crowd loved it. They shouted for more fights.
Brock laughed. "Okay, one last fight for tonight. Against our champion — Iron Fang!"
A huge man walked in. He had metal teeth and heavy armor. He looked very strong.
Iron Fang pointed at Kai. "You talk too much with many voices. I will shut you up."
Kai grinned with all seven voices. "Try it, metal mouth!"
The fight began hard.
Iron Fang punched like a truck. Kai dodged with shadow and wind, but one hit grazed him. It hurt a lot, even with stone skin.
Kai got angry. Fire burned in his hands. He punched back. Sparks flew when fire met metal.
The crowd screamed loud.
Kai mixed everything — wind for speed, shadow for surprise, fire for burn, stone for hard hits, knife sense for sharp cuts.
He looked crazy. He moved like smoke, burned like fire, and hit like rock.
After a long fight, Kai landed a big fire-stone punch on Iron Fang's chest. The big man fell down.
The underground hall went silent for a second, then exploded with cheers.
Brock shouted, "Unbelievable! The new kid beat our champion!"
Kai stood breathing hard. His body shook. Seven Echoes were fighting inside his head. He felt happy, angry, sneaky, wild, and fancy all at once.
A new blue screen appeared.
**[New Echo Found!]**
**Name: Iron Fang**
**Skills: Metal body, strong bite, heavy armor**
**Personality: Brutal**
**Will you take it? (Y/N)**
Kai's hand moved by itself again.
He chose Y.
Power filled him. His teeth felt sharper. His skin became harder like metal.
**[Echo Taken!]**
**Active Echoes: 8/10**
**New Skill: Metal skin – Your body is now very hard.**
**Side Effect: You may act brutal and want to bite things.**
Kai roared loud. The roar was a mess of eight voices.
Then he suddenly spoke in a perfect rich voice, "This victory calls for fine wine!"
Next second he roared like a fighter, "More! I want more blood!"
He jumped around wild with wind power, then hid in shadow, then burned a small fire in his hand.
The crowd cheered, but some looked scared.
Mira laughed hard. "Best day ever!"
Lira grabbed Kai's arm tight. "Enough! We are leaving now."
She pulled him toward the exit. Mira followed, still smiling.
Kai tried to speak normal, but only a mix came out. "Wait… I… fine… let's go… but tomorrow more fights!"
Outside in the dark street, the voices became quieter a little.
Lira looked at him with soft eyes. "Kai, your power is strong, but it is dangerous. You are collecting too fast. One day you may wake up and not know who Kai is."
Kai breathed deep. For a moment, the real him spoke. "I know… but the world is breaking. I need to be ready."
Mira patted his back. "Don't worry! When you go crazy, I will collect your Echoes too!"
Kai laughed. It sounded almost normal.
But deep inside, he felt the eight Echoes waiting.
They wanted more.
And Kai was not sure he could say no.