ault Unit 01 – Unknown Depths
The doors to Vault Unit 01 groaned open with an eerie hiss. A thick fog spilled from within, swallowing the floor.
Ashline stood at the edge of the threshold, eyes locked ahead. Elira hesitated behind her, the tension between them lingering—like smoke after a fire.
"You sure about this?" Elira asked, voice low.
Ashline didn't turn. "No."
Elira gave a breath of dry laughter. "At least we're consistent."
Then, together, they stepped into the dark.
Inside the Vault – A Place Between Time
The corridor was lined with old glass chambers—some shattered, others still filled with stasis mist. Faint lights flickered overhead like dying stars.
Kael's voice crackled through their earpieces. "I'm tracking your movement. The third signal is still live. Whatever's in there… it's waiting."
Ashline touched the wall. Her fingers trembled slightly. "This place... feels like a graveyard."
Elira nodded. "Maybe it is."
They passed chamber after chamber. Inside one, a faded plaque read:
> Sleeper 01: E.H. — Status: UNKNOWN
Elira stopped. "That's me?"
Ashline shook her head. "No. That's something else."
Flashback Fragment – Elira's Memory (Fragmented)
Screams in the dark.
Christine's voice, distorted. "Subject Echoheart—exceeds threshold. We have to split the stream—"
Kael shouting. "She'll shatter if you fragment it!"
Then silence.
Followed by… her own voice. But not her.
"Let me out. Let me out. Let me—"
Present – Vault Core
A pulse echoed through the vault like a heartbeat.
In the center stood a third figure. Alone. Shackled. Breathing slow, heavy, mechanical breaths.
The moment Elira and Ashline stepped into the chamber, the figure's head rose.
A girl.
Eyes bandaged. Arms laced with faint veins of glowing light.
She spoke in a hollow whisper.
"Which version am I now?"
Elira froze. Ashline blinked.
Kael's voice came through again: "That's… that's not you, Elira. Or Ashline. That's Echo Unit 01. A prototype before either of you."
Christine's voice cut in, overriding Kael. "She was never meant to wake."
Echoheart Prototype 01 – The Forgotten Core
The girl, Echoheart 01, stepped forward slowly. Her bindings fell away like ash.
"I remember you," she said, turning her head toward Elira. "And you," she added, facing Ashline.
Ashline raised a hand, ready to defend.
But the prototype smiled—broken, tragic.
"I'm what they built before they knew what pain looked like in human form. You… you're their hope. Their experiment."
Her voice cracked. "I was their mistake."
Elira's breath caught. "You… were erased."
"I was reset." The word echoed in the chamber like thunder. "Again. And again. Until I wasn't sure which self I was anymore."
Ashline stepped forward. "What do you want from us?"
"To choose," the prototype said simply. "To decide which of us gets to live as Echoheart."
Tension Rises – Internal Conflicts + Loyalty Shifts
Elira shook her head. "We're not enemies. We're echoes of the same suffering."
Ashline, jaw clenched, muttered, "But only one gets to walk away. That's what Christine wants, right?"
The lights around the chamber dimmed.
Christine's voice came over the intercom: "Three lives. One identity. One Echoheart. Let's see what truth survives the fire."
Then the doors sealed shut.
Trial of the Three—begin.
Combat Trial — Mindscape Merge
The world around them flickered—reality bending. The floor cracked into a mirrored lake. Reflections became weapons. Emotions became storms.
They were pulled into a shared Mindscape Arena—a trial forged from their overlapping memories.
Elira saw her father's face again—blurry, fading.
Ashline saw chains. Blood. Her hand striking a wall she couldn't escape.
The Prototype stood in the center—face calm, but heart trembling.
"We fight not to destroy," she said. "But to see who we really are."
1st Round – Elira vs Prototype
They clashed in silence. Memory fragments burst around them—each attack tied to pain.
Elira's blade was memory.
The prototype's power was deletion. Every strike aimed to erase parts of Elira's mind—moments, names, feelings.
Elira gritted her teeth. "You're not just pain! You're the reason we survived this far!"
With a scream, she broke the cycle—reclaiming lost memory shards mid-fight.
The prototype fell back, shaking, whispering, "You remembered…"
2nd Round – Ashline vs Prototype
Ashline fought like a storm—fast, brutal. But each time she landed a hit, the Prototype smiled sadly.
"You're not fighting me. You're fighting yourself."
Ashline froze, mid-swing.
Suddenly, her own reflection stepped from the mist—an angrier version of herself.
"You're the shadow," the reflection said. "Not them."
Ashline's heart cracked. "No…"
Elira reached out. "You're not their shadow. You're our shield."
Ashline turned, breath shaking. Then nodded.
Final Trial – Choice of the Core
All three stood at the center of the arena.
The voice of the system boomed:
"One Echoheart must carry the truth forward. Choose."
Silence. Then, unexpectedly…
The Prototype stepped forward.
"I choose to stay."
Elira's eyes widened. "What—why?"
The prototype smiled faintly. "I've been reset too many times. But you two—still remember love. Hope. That's enough for me."
She stepped back into the core of the vault, eyes glowing.
Ashline lowered her blade. Elira held back tears.
The prototype's final words echoed:
"Live. Not just for me. For all our lost versions."
Ending Scene – Vault Doors Open
The doors opened.
Kael stood outside, soaked in rain, holding a new file.
"You survived," he said, softly.
Elira whispered, "Not all of us."
Ashline looked to her. "But maybe… that's why we still can."
As they walked out, the prototype vanished into light. Her memory… integrated into both of them.
They were not just Elira or Ashline now.
They were something new.
Echoheart… reborn.