Echo staggered, nearly collapsing. His breath hitched, his chestachingas waves of recollectionassaultedhim.

A life that didn’t belong to this world.

A system.

A mission.

He saw himselfstanding in front of a screen, a glowing interface that displayed information beyond his comprehension.

A message blinking in front of him.

[Host Acquired: Elliot Crown]

[Initiating Intergalactic Transport...]

Panic.

He had reached for the screen, but before he could react

Apulling forcehad torn him from his reality, ripping him from Earth, from his body, from hislife.

He had beensent elsewhere.

To another world.

To anotherexistence.

His vision refocused. His hands trembled. His breath was ragged.

He lifted his gaze, meeting the entity’s eyes.

"...Why?"

The question was barely above a whisper, but itcarried the weight of everything.

The entity nodded slightly, as if he had been expecting this reaction.

"You were the experiment. The first to ever receive the system. You were chosen to test its limits—to see if a human could survive the transition across worlds."

A cold chill slithered down Echo’s spine.

"And?" His voice was hoarse. "Did I survive?"

The entity’s eyes darkened.

"You tell me."

A sharp exhale left Echo’s lips. His chesttightened.

Was this life even real?

Had he ever been Echo?

Or was he justElliot, thrown into a fabricated existence?

A test subject lost in an experiment far beyond his comprehension?

No.

No he couldn’tacceptthat.

This world. This life. His struggles, his choices

They werereal.

He had fought. He had bled. He hadsurvived.

Whatever Elliot Carter had been whoever he had been beforeit didn’t matter now.

He wasEcho.

And he would not let someentity from a forgotten paststrip that away from him.

Reyna was still watching him, her brows furrowed in frustration.

"I don’t like this," she muttered, placing a hand on her sword. "This... whatever this is, it’s dangerous."

Echo didn’t disagree.

But what could he do?

He was standing on the precipice of somethingfar greaterthan himself.

A truth that could shatter the very foundation of his existence.

Yet, even as his mind swirled with doubt, one thought grounded him.

He was stillhere.

Stillfighting.

StillEcho.

He looked at the entity, his eyes hardening.

"I don’t care what I was." His voice, despite everything, was steady. "I don’t care about your system, your experiments, or the past you say I’ve forgotten."

He exhaled sharply.

"I am Echo. That’s all that matters."

For the first time, the entity truly smiled.

Not in mockery.

Not in amusement.

But inunderstanding.

"You truly haven’t changed," he murmured. "No matter how many lifetimes pass."

Echo didn’t reply.

He didn’t need to.

Becausethis was his life now.

---

The world stood still.

Echo’s breath was uneven, his heart pounding so loudly it threatened to drown out everything else.

The entity’s words hung in the air, heavy and suffocating.

"Your system was not a mistake... You are not the hero of a story. You didn’t get a superpower by luck.I gave you that power... I created your journey, from the moment you died on Earth."

Silence.

Not a mistake.

Not luck.

His fingers clenched into fists. His mind struggled to keep up.

Every battle. Every struggle. Every moment ofpainwas it allplanned?

His rise from nothing. His slow, relentless climb to power. His victories, his losses, the choices he made...

Allhis.

Or so he thought.

But if what the entity said was true...

Had he ever truly hada choice?

His stomach twisted. A deep, gut-wrenching feeling took hold of him.

He wanted todeny it.

Tofightagainst the idea that everything he had become everything he hadsuffered forwas nothing more than adesigned path.

Like a rat in a maze.

Like apuppeton invisible strings.

The entity didn’t stop. His voice was calm, almost sympathetic.

"Now, you have two choices, Elliot. Either return to Earth and learn the whole truth... or continue thislie, and live like a hero in a fantasy world."

Alie.

That wordhit deeper than anything else.

Echo stared at him. His breathing was shallow. His mind a storm.

Two choices.

One road led back—toEarth.

To the place where it all started.

Toanswers.

The other...

This world.

The power he fought for.

The people who had become his allies.

Reyna.

His army.

His enemies.

Everything he had built.

Everything he had become.

It was all on this side.

The entity waited. He did not rush Echo. He did not push.

Because in the endthis choice was truly his.

And that, somehow, made it even harder.

Reyna’s voice shattered the silence.

"What the hell is he talking about?"

She stepped forward, her golden eyes burning with frustration.

Echo looked at her.

For the first time since the conversation began, he trulylookedat her.

She wasn’t confused.

No she wasangry.

Not because she understood the entity’s words.

But because of what it was doing tohim.

She could see the storm raging in his eyes.

She could see the battle taking place inside him.

And shehated it.

She wasn’t the type to get emotional. She never let anything shake her.

But now, she was gripping the hilt of her sword so tightly her knuckles were turning white.

She took another step forward.

"If this is some kind of trick "

"It’s not," Echo cut her off, his voice hoarse.

He couldn’t explain how heknew.

He justdid.

Reyna’s eyes narrowed.

Echo turned back to the entity.

"...If I go back," he asked, his voice unsteady, "do I lose everything?"

His power.

His undead army.

The world he hadcarved a place in.

The entity tilted his head slightly.

"Yes."

A single word.

Sharp. Absolute.

Echo swallowed.

If he chose Earth... if hechose the truth...

He would return asElliot Crown.

Nothing more.

And the power he had now? The strength he had built, the name he hadforged in blood and war?

Gone.

Reyna stiffened. She understood enough.

"What kind of choice is that?" she snapped. "He’s built too much to throw it away!"

The entity looked at her.

Then,he smiled.

It wasn’t cruel. It wasn’t mocking.

It was simply the smile of someone who had seen this play outmany times before.

Echo exhaled slowly.

His thoughts were still a mess.

But now, at least, he could see the crossroads clearly.

Truth.

Or power.

Answers.

Oreverything he had become.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com