Adrian didn't sleep.
He tried. At least at first.
But every time he closed his eyes, he felt it again—that faint pressure in the back of his mind, like something waiting just beyond thought. Not attacking. Not moving. Just… present.
So he gave up and sat on the edge of a desk in the ruined office, staring at the broken wall.
The others had spread out.
The red-eyed woman stood near the entrance, arms crossed, watching nothing in particular. The shadowed woman was half-merged with the darkness along the corner of the room. The third one had somehow made herself comfortable again, sitting on a desk like the chaos around them didn't exist.
Adrian finally broke the silence.
"…So this is my life now?"
No one answered immediately.
Then the third woman said lightly, "More or less."
Adrian sighed. "That was too honest."
"You asked," she replied.
He rubbed his face. "I miss when my biggest problem was bad Wi-Fi."
"That life is gone," the red-eyed woman said.
"Yeah, I noticed," Adrian muttered.
A quiet pause settled again, but it didn't feel as tense as before. More like everyone was waiting for something they already knew was coming.
Adrian looked at his hand again.
The faint sensation was still there.
Not pain.
Not exactly power either.
Something in-between.
"…I want to understand it," he said.
The shadowed woman shifted slightly. "Understand what?"
"This," he said, gesturing slightly at himself. "The thing inside me. The bond. All of it."
The red-eyed woman's gaze sharpened slightly. "That won't be easy."
"I didn't ask for easy."
The third woman smiled faintly. "He's getting bolder."
"Or stupider," the shadowed woman said.
Adrian glanced at her. "I prefer 'motivated.'"
That earned the smallest pause from her. Not approval. But acknowledgment.
The red-eyed woman stepped forward slightly. "Then listen carefully."
Adrian straightened a bit.
"This bond is not just survival," she said. "It is resonance."
"Resonance," Adrian repeated.
She nodded. "You don't control us. And we don't control you. The bond reacts to compatibility."
Adrian frowned. "Compatibility with what?"
She didn't answer immediately.
That silence again.
Then the third woman spoke softly, "Power."
Adrian looked at her. "That's vague."
"It has to be," she replied. "Because it's not stable yet."
The shadowed woman added, "It's still forming."
Adrian leaned forward slightly. "So I'm basically… a work in progress?"
The red-eyed woman nodded once. "Yes."
Adrian exhaled. "I hate that that makes sense."
A faint sound echoed through the broken room.
Not loud.
Just subtle.
Like a whisper through glass.
Adrian immediately tensed. "Did anyone else hear that?"
The shadowed woman was already moving.
The third woman's smile faded slightly.
The red-eyed woman didn't react immediately—but her eyes sharpened.
"Yes," she said quietly.
The air shifted.
That pressure returned.
But this time—
It wasn't distant.
It was inside the building.
Adrian stood up slowly. "It's here again?"
"No," the red-eyed woman said.
Adrian frowned. "Then what is it?"
The shadowed woman answered from the corner. "Something following it."
That made Adrian pause. "Following it?"
The third woman tilted her head slightly. "Or responding to it."
The walls creaked faintly.
Not from structural weakness.
From something passing through space too tightly.
Adrian stepped back instinctively. "Okay. That's not good, right?"
"It depends," the red-eyed woman said.
"On what?"
"On what notices first."
The silence that followed was heavier than before.
Adrian swallowed slowly. "I'm starting to really dislike this place."
A soft ripple moved through the air.
Then another.
The lights flickered—but there weren't many left to flicker.
The shadowed woman stepped fully out of the darkness now.
"…It's not alone," she said.
Adrian frowned. "Define 'not alone.'"
A faint distortion formed near the broken wall.
Not the same as before.
Smaller.
Faster.
More precise.
Then another appeared on the opposite side.
Then another near the ceiling.
Adrian's eyes widened slightly. "…Okay, that's more than one."
The third woman sighed softly. "It adapted quickly."
The red-eyed woman raised a hand slightly. "Stay behind us."
Adrian hesitated for half a second.
Then shook his head. "No."
All three of them looked at him.
Adrian exhaled slowly. "I already did the 'stand back and watch' thing. Didn't end well."
The shadowed woman narrowed her eyes slightly. "You're not ready."
"I wasn't ready yesterday either," Adrian said. "Still worked out better than expected."
The distortion in the room shifted again.
Now there were four.
Then five.
They weren't fully formed.
But they were stabilizing.
Adrian clenched his fist slightly. "What are they?"
The red-eyed woman answered quietly.
"Echoes."
"Of what?"
"The thing you touched."
That made Adrian pause.
"…So I broke something, and now it's sending backups?"
The third woman gave a faint smile. "Not backups."
"Then what?"
"Reactions."
The first echo moved.
Fast.
Not toward the women.
Toward Adrian.
Instantly.
The shadowed woman moved at the same time—but slower than before.
Adrian felt it.
That same bond response.
But this time it wasn't waiting for him.
It was pulling him.
"Left," the red-eyed woman said sharply.
Adrian moved.
Barely.
The echo passed where he had been standing, tearing through the air with a sound like collapsing space.
Adrian stumbled, catching himself. "Okay—these are worse!"
"Yes," the shadowed woman said.
The second echo moved.
Then the third.
The room was no longer still.
Adrian felt his heartbeat sync with something deeper again.
Not fear.
Instinct.
"…I can hit them, right?" he asked.
The red-eyed woman glanced at him. "Yes."
"That's all I needed."
He stepped forward.
The bond flared immediately.
The room sharpened.
Slowed.
And for the first time—
Adrian moved with it instead of against it.
The first echo came in.
He didn't dodge.
He met it.
His fist struck the distortion directly.
The air cracked.
The echo broke apart instantly.
Adrian staggered slightly but stayed upright. "…Okay. That felt better than last time."
The shadowed woman looked at him briefly. "You're syncing faster."
"I noticed."
The remaining echoes shifted.
All at once.
Adrian exhaled slowly.
"…Alright," he muttered. "Let's see how many I can break."
The red-eyed woman watched him carefully.
For the first time, there was something new in her expression.
Not surprise.
Not concern.
Recognition.
And somewhere beyond the room—
Something far larger than echoes shifted its attention fully.
Not toward the women.
Toward him.