The world didn't feel real.
Arin walked.
No destination. No plan.
Just… movement.
Each step echoed faintly against the uneven ground, a mix of cracked stone and dark soil that seemed stitched together by something unnatural.
The sky above remained broken.
Fragments drifted slowly, lazily, like they had nowhere else to go.
And between them—
That void.
Arin tried not to look at it.
"…Focus."
His voice steadied him.
Barely.
"That thing… that creature…"
He clenched his fists.
"I didn't touch it."
But he had.
In a way that didn't make sense.
"…Stop."
That one word replayed in his mind.
Over and over.
And then—
That moment.
The stillness.
The silence.
The way reality itself had obeyed him.
"…No."
He shook his head.
"People can't do that."
A flicker.
His hand glitched again.
Just for a second.
Arin froze.
"…I saw that."
He slowly raised his hand in front of his face.
Nothing.
Normal.
"…I'm losing it."
A distant rumble interrupted his thoughts.
Not thunder.
Something heavier.
Something… collapsing.
Arin turned toward the sound.
Far ahead, beyond jagged terrain and rising cliffs—
A structure stood.
Or what was left of one.
A tower.
Tall.
Broken.
Leaning like it could fall at any moment.
"…A building?"
Hope flickered in his chest.
"If there's a building… there might be people."
And right now—
He needed answers.
The closer he got, the stranger the world became.
The ground shifted subtly beneath his feet.
Not visibly.
But enough to feel wrong.
Like gravity itself couldn't decide where it belonged.
Arin nearly stumbled.
"…What the—"
A rock beside him lifted slightly into the air.
Hovered.
Then dropped.
"…Yeah. Definitely not normal."
The tower loomed closer now.
Its structure was unnatural.
Not fully ruined.
Not fully intact.
Parts of it looked ancient.
Others… untouched.
As if time had forgotten how to work properly.
"…Hello?"
Arin called out.
No response.
He stepped inside.
The air changed instantly.
Colder.
Heavier.
The walls were cracked, but symbols faintly glowed across their surface.
Lines. Shapes. Patterns that didn't resemble any language he knew.
"…What is this place…?"
His voice echoed—
But the echo came back wrong.
"…this place…?"
Arin froze.
That wasn't delayed.
That wasn't normal echo.
It was… responding.
"…Okay."
He took a slow breath.
"Don't panic."
Too late.
A sound came from deeper inside.
Footsteps.
Not his.
Arin turned sharply.
"Who's there?!"
Silence.
Then—
Movement.
A figure stepped into view.
A girl.
Around his age.
Her eyes were sharp.
Alert.
Dangerous.
A faint orange glow flickered around her hand.
Fire.
"…Don't move."
Her voice was cold.
Arin raised his hands immediately.
"Wait—I'm not—"
"I said don't move."
The fire in her hand intensified.
"…Okay."
Arin swallowed.
"I won't."
The girl studied him carefully.
From head to toe.
Her gaze lingered on his hands.
"…You're not from here."
It wasn't a question.
"…Yeah."
He gave a weak smile.
"I figured that part out too."
Her expression didn't change.
"…Then how are you still alive?"
"…What?"
"You came from outside."
She nodded toward the entrance.
"You should've been dead already."
Arin blinked.
"…That's… not comforting."
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"…What did you encounter?"
Arin hesitated.
That creature.
The way it…
"…Something."
"Describe it."
"It… glitched."
Her body tensed.
"…A Fragment."
"…A what?"
She took a step closer.
"Did it touch you?"
"No."
"Did you touch it?"
"…No."
A pause.
"…Then how are you alive?"
Arin's throat tightened.
"…I don't know."
That wasn't entirely true.
But he didn't understand it himself.
The girl stared at him.
Long.
Silent.
Then—
"…You're lying."
"I'm not—"
"You are."
The fire in her hand flared brighter.
"…People don't survive Fragments."
Her voice dropped.
"…Unless something is wrong with them."
Silence filled the space between them.
Arin's chest tightened.
"…I didn't ask for this."
"…Neither did anyone else."
Her response was instant.
Sharp.
The tension thickened.
Then—
A scream echoed from outside.
Both of them froze.
"…That's close."
The girl turned toward the entrance.
Another scream.
Closer.
Panicked.
"…There are more."
Her expression hardened.
"…Stay here."
"What? No—"
"If you follow me, you die."
"…Or maybe I don't."
The words slipped out before he could stop them.
The girl paused.
Slowly turned back to him.
"…What did you just say?"
Arin hesitated.
"…Nothing."
But it was too late.
She had heard it.
"…You're not normal."
"…You keep saying that."
"…Because it's true."
Another scream.
Cut short.
The girl clicked her tongue.
"…Damn it."
She moved.
Fast.
Toward the exit.
Arin stood there.
Frozen.
"Stay here."
Her words echoed in his mind.
Then—
Another sound.
Closer.
Inside the tower.
Arin's breath caught.
"…No."
Something had followed.
A shadow stretched along the wall.
Glitching.
Breaking.
"…You've got to be kidding me."
The air distorted.
And then—
It appeared.
Another Fragment.
Closer than before.
Its form unstable.
Twisting.
Arin's heart pounded.
"…Okay… think…"
The girl was outside.
He was alone.
Again.
The creature lunged.
Too fast.
Too sudden.
And once again—
Time slowed.
That same feeling.
That same silence.
[Echo Activated]
"…No…"
Arin's eyes widened.
"…Not again—"
But it was already happening.
The world froze.
The Fragment halted mid-motion.
Its distorted form suspended in space.
Arin's breathing grew uneven.
"…I don't understand this…"
His hand trembled.
"…What am I supposed to do…?"
No answer came.
Only that cold, empty stillness.
And somewhere deep inside—
That voice.
Waiting.
Watching.
Outside—
The girl stopped.
Her eyes narrowed.
"…What is that feeling…?"
The air shifted.
Wrong.
She turned back toward the tower.
"…That guy…"
Inside—
Arin took a step forward.
Toward the frozen Fragment.
"…If I don't do something…"
It would kill him.
Again.
"…Think… think…"
Then—
A thought.
Clear.
Sharp.
"…Disappear."
Reality broke.