Kai woke up suddenly. His body felt hot and cold at the same time. Nine Echoes were fighting inside his head like angry children.
He sat up fast. The old building was dark. Mira was sleeping on a chair with her mouth open. Lira sat near the window, watching the purple cracks in the sky with her silver threads.
Kai tried to speak quietly. "Lira… I feel strange."
But the words came out wrong. Reginald's fancy voice took over first. "My dear lady, the night is simply dreadful. One requires a warm bath and—"
Then Jax cut in loud. "Shut up and fight! My fists are ready!"
Shadow whispered sneaky, "Let's steal something while they sleep…"
Razor laughed mean, "Cut their throats for fun!"
Stone Fist said slow, "...Hit hard."
Blaze shouted angry, "Burn the building!"
Gust yelled wild, "Run! Run into the night!"
Iron Fang growled brutal, "Bite! Bite everything!"
Alpha Shadow (new leader) roared, "Silence! I am in charge now!"
Kai grabbed his head with both hands. "Stop! All of you! I am Kai!"
His shout woke Mira. She rubbed her eyes and grinned big. "Morning voice party! What did I miss?"
Lira stood up fast. Her face looked serious. "Kai, your overlap risk is over 90%. The new Echoes are taking control. You must not take any more today."
Kai tried to nod, but his body moved by itself. He used wind dash and ran around the small room in circles like Gust. "Can't stop! Too much energy!"
Mira laughed hard. "You look like a spinning top! Do a flip!"
Kai did a flip in the air with wind power. He landed and suddenly spoke like a rich boss. "Servants! Bring me breakfast fit for a king!"
Lira sighed. "This is not funny anymore. We need to find a quiet place outside the city. There is an old safe house the Veil Breakers use. It can help calm your power."
Before Kai could answer, a loud explosion shook the building.
The wall broke open. Dust and stones flew everywhere.
Three men in black jackets jumped inside. They were the Echo Hunters from yesterday — the ones with red eyes and big knives. Behind them stood a tall woman with glowing purple eyes.
The woman smiled cold. "There you are, Echo Thief. We heard you took many good Echoes last night. Hand them over. Or we take them from your dead body."
Mira jumped up excited. "Hunters! Shiny fight time!"
Lira's silver threads appeared all around her. "They followed us. Be careful, Kai."
Kai felt all nine Echoes wake up at once. They all wanted to fight for different reasons.
His body moved before he could think.
He used shadow step and appeared behind the first hunter. "Surprise!" he shouted in Shadow's sneaky voice. Then he punched with fire + stone skin. The hunter flew into the wall and did not get up.
The second hunter swung a big knife.
Kai merged wind dash and knife sense. His hand became a burning blade. He cut the knife in half and hit the man hard. "Too slow, fool!"
The third hunter sent red energy balls.
Alpha Shadow took over. Kai roared loud like a leader. "Attack as a pack!" But he was alone, so it sounded silly.
The roar still made the hunter pause. Kai used that moment to dash in and bite the man's arm with Iron Fang power. The hunter screamed.
Mira threw her glowing cards everywhere. Explosions filled the room. "Take that! And that! Collect their Echoes too!"
Lira tied one hunter with her threads and pulled him to the ground. "Kai, finish them quick!"
The tall woman with purple eyes watched and smiled. She did not fight yet. "Interesting. Your power is unstable. Let me help you… by taking it."
She raised her hand. Purple light shot at Kai.
Kai tried to dodge, but Blaze's angry temper made him run straight at her instead. "You dare attack me?!"
The purple light hit his chest.
Pain exploded in his head. All nine Echoes screamed at the same time.
For a moment, Kai lost control completely.
His eyes glowed different colors. He spoke in all voices together:
"Wine! Punch! Hide! Cut! Hit! Burn! Run! Bite! Lead!"
He became a storm of power. Fire and wind spun around him. Shadow claws grew long. Metal skin shone. He moved so fast the hunters could not see him.
He knocked down the last two hunters in seconds.
Then he turned to the tall woman.
She laughed. "Yes! Lose control! The more you break, the easier it is for me to—"
Kai did not let her finish. He merged Alpha Shadow roar with Blaze fire and Gust wind. A huge fire-wind roar shot out of his mouth like a dragon breath.
The woman raised a shield, but the attack was too strong. She flew back through the broken wall and crashed into the street.
The fight was over in less than two minutes.
Kai stood in the middle of the broken room. Smoke rose from his hands. His breathing was heavy.
Mira ran to him. "That was the coolest thing ever! Nine Echoes working together! Can I have one card from the purple eye woman?"
Lira walked over slowly. She put her hand on Kai's shoulder. "Kai… are you still there?"
Kai blinked many times. The voices became quiet for a moment. The real him spoke soft. "Yes… I think so. But it was scary. For a second I did not know who I was."
A blue screen appeared. It was red this time.
**[Warning!]**
**Overlap Risk: 98%**
**New Effect: Temporary Full Takeover happened.**
**You can now merge up to three Echoes for short time.**
**But next Echo will push you over the limit.**
Kai read it and laughed a little. "Great. More power… but I almost became a crazy puppet."
The tall woman outside stood up slowly. She was hurt but still smiling. "You are interesting, thief. My name is Vesper. The Sanctum sent me. The gods are watching you. They like broken vessels like you."
She threw something on the ground. It was a small purple crystal that glowed bright.
"Take it as a gift. Or a trap. We will meet again."
Vesper disappeared into purple mist.
Mira wanted to run after her, but Lira stopped her. "No. It is dangerous."
Kai picked up the crystal. It felt warm and strong.
**Special Echo Fragment detected. From a god servant.**
He wanted to take it so bad. All nine Echoes shouted "Yes!" inside him.
But Lira held his hand tight. "Do not. Not yet. Come with us to the safe house first. We can help you control the voices."
Kai looked at the crystal, then at Lira and Mira.
Mira grinned. "If you take it, I want the card!"
Lira looked at him with soft but strong eyes. "Choose, Kai. Power… or yourself."
Kai breathed deep. The voices were still loud, but he pushed them down.
He put the crystal in his pocket. "I will keep it for now. Let's go to the safe house. I need to rest… and maybe learn how to shut these idiots up."
Mira cheered. "Road trip! I will collect many things on the way!"
Lira smiled a little for the first time. "Good choice."
They left the broken building and started walking out of the city.
Behind them, the sky cracked louder. More purple light spilled out.
Kai felt stronger than ever.
But he also felt the nine Echoes waiting quietly.
They were not done with him.
And the gods were now watching.
This was only the beginning of the real chaos.