The next day, Adam sought out Iyan.
"Train me. Please," he said, bowing.
Iyan sighed. "As I said before, I am of the Third Fold. I cannot create echoes."
With a wave of his hand, Adam suddenly felt weightless. His feet left the ground, his body floating effortlessly in the air.
"Gravity?" Adam asked, stunned.
Iyan nodded. "This is all I can do." He lowered Adam back down. "But if you truly want to learn, I know someone who can train you."
He led Adam down the hall to a familiar classroom.
"This is Bezarak. He's a great teacher," Iyan said. "Bezarak, you remember Adam."
Adam glanced at the man in front of him.
Bezarak looked… ordinary. Older, sure, but wasn't he just a teacher for kids? Adam pulled Iyan aside.
"I need someone intense. Not a schoolteacher," he muttered.
Iyan gave him a knowing look. "Bezarak was a Thirstian—an Idea Being of Loki. He's the only one of his kind. And the most motivated to create copies."
Adam frowned. That meant nothing to him. It sounded like gibberish.
But he wanted to learn.
"Fine," he said, sitting down at one of the desks. It was barely two feet high, clearly meant for children.
Bezarak studied him. "Have you ever made an echo before?"
"Yes. Back at the Bakanna, we call them splits," Adam said, shifting in his seat.
Bezarak raised an eyebrow. "And what kind did you make?"
Adam hesitated. They don't know about the Invisible Hand. He decided to keep it a secret.
"I'm not sure. He was like me—strong, maybe smart."
Bezarak nodded. "Then let's start with the basics."
He raised his hand, and suddenly, five versions of himself appeared.
Adam's eyes flicked between them. They were all Bezarak—but different.
One was visibly stronger, its muscles straining against the seams of its shirt. That one must be the Body Echo.
Another looked thinner, its eyes sharp with curiosity. The Intelligent Echo.
The third one seemed… wrong. Off. Almost intangible. The longer Adam looked, the more he realized it wasn't fully solid. The Shadow Echo.
Adam's pulse quickened. There were two more left.
"Tell me," Bezarak said, "which is which?"
Adam swallowed.
He had a feeling this was just the beginning.
Two echoes remained, but Adam couldn't tell which was the Perfect Echo and which was the Emotional Echo.
"For your first time, you did really well," Bezarak said. "Most people can't even tell apart three."
Adam appreciated the compliment, but his mind was elsewhere.
"I have a question," he said carefully.
Bezarak gestured for him to go on.
Adam took a slow breath. "What would you call an echo that's invisible, but can choose to be tangible or intangible at will? One that can fly—and heal the wounds of its prime?"
Bezarak's expression sharpened.
"Invisibility could be a variation of the Shadow Echo," he said, stroking his chin. "But I've never heard of an echo that can switch between being tangible and intangible. The closest would be an advanced form of the Ghost Echo, something we call the Phantom Echo."
Adam nodded, but Bezarak wasn't finished.
"Flight might come from a Ghost Echo as well, but… healing?" He shook his head. "Only the prime can heal. No echo has ever done that."
Adam felt a chill.
Unheard of.
Bezarak studied him. "That was an oddly specific question for a hypothetical."
Adam forced a shrug. "Just curious."
Bezarak didn't push, but something was known in his gaze. Instead, he changed the subject.
"Speaking of healing… do you know how echoes heal?"
Adam hesitated. "Medical care?"
Bezarak chuckled. "Not quite."
He gestured toward his Body Echo and, without hesitation, cut its arm with a small knife. The wound bled, but the echo didn't react.
Then, Bezarak stepped forward and merged with it.
The moment he did, the cut appeared on his own arm—but within seconds, it began to heal. When the wound was fully closed, Bezarak separated from the Body Echo again.
The cut was gone.
No scar.
Adam stared.
Bezarak smiled. "You know the Seventh Fold has regeneration abilities. If I reunite with an echo, the healing process transfers. That's how we recover."
Adam's mind raced. This changes everything.
If echoes could carry wounds back to their prime…
What else could they carry?
What else could the Invisible Hand do?
Fascinated, Adam sat back, absorbing everything.
He still felt it was only the beginning. He wanted to know more.
"It can help in my fight against Sern." Adam smiled as he felt a glimmer of hope.
"Now it's time to practice," Bezarak said, motioning Adam forward.
Adam stretched his legs, shaking off the numbness from sitting too long. He walked to the front of the room, rolling his shoulders.
"We're going to create a Body Echo," Bezarak instructed. "Envision the you that you want—your ideal form. Then, let it take shape."
Adam nodded and closed his eyes.
Minutes passed.
Nothing happened.
He exhaled sharply, shifting his stance.
"Relax," Bezarak said. "Don't force it. Let it come to you."
Adam tried. He let his breath slow, let his mind settle. He envisioned a piece of himself—just a fragment, something to separate.
Still, nothing.
Frustration tightened in his chest. His fingers curled into fists.
He pushed harder.
Suddenly, a deep, pulsing sensation spread through his body, like a second heartbeat vibrating beneath his skin.
The air around him rippled.
A sharp pressure built in his skull, in his chest—like something was clawing its way out of him.
Adam's eyes snapped open.
"Come forth!" he roared.
A shockwave burst outward, rattling the room.
When the dust settled, a copy of himself stood before him.
Bezarak's eyes widened.
Something was wrong.
Adam's echo challenged him.
Its stance was tense, its expression unreadable.
Bezarak took a step back, stunned. He had trained many students, and seen countless echoes.
But never one that challenged its Prime.
"Now we test to see, the type of echo you have created." Bezarak tried to diffuse the tension in the room.
It did not work they stared at each other intensely.