Echoes From Agartha Novels & Stories

The service stairwell smelled of concrete dust and old copper wiring. Their footsteps echoed too loud off the walls as they climbed, the sound bouncing back at them like something tracking their progress. Aria's legs burned from the run through the plaza but the real burn was lower and deeper, Echo's residue still riding her nervous system from the crowd outside. Every step sent a fresh pulse through her core, her body refusing to distinguish between her own arousal and the thousand strangers' desires she had absorbed crossing the plaza. She kept her eyes on the back of Jax's jacket and breathed through her teeth.

"Sir, we found Ms. Hogan. She's in Arathum, living with her uncle, just like you thought." The pills slipped from Elton's hand and scattered across the floor. He gripped the phone, his voice shaking. "Book me a flight to Arathum immediately!"

Flashback!! Third person’s pov Bridget sat in the dimly lit hospital room, the sterile smell of antiseptic filling the air. Her mother, once vibrant and full of life, lay frail on the bed, her skin pale against the white sheets. The rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor punctuated the silence, creating an unsettling soundtrack to the reality unfolding before them. Bridget’s father, Xavier, stood by the window, arms crossed, his face a mask of worry.

This is me. I look down at my hands. A black, swollen web of veins crawls up my arms and neck. My eyes and my throat burn as I bleed from them. I stand up and the inferno grows. The shadows scream and shriek. The spirits that follow me soon echo the Darkness. Alora. Alora. Alora. Iphigenia. Iphigenia. Iphigenia. "Alora!" Hendrick makes the fatal mistake of catching my attention, "Stop!"

The patterns shifted, reformed, became something new. Something ancient. Azrael raised his weapon, desperation clear in his movements. “Stop her!” The shadow creatures surged forward. The controlled rogues attacked all together. Dark energy crackled through the air. But they were too late. Aria's voice rang out, speaking words in a language that predated time itself. Each syllable made reality shudder. And then everything went white. The white light faded slowly, leaving spots dancing in my vision. Through the pack bonds, I felt our warriors recovering, disoriented but alive.

How annoying Agatha was becoming. SLINGG! The leaves cut through her clothes and pierces her skin. Her arms and legs had deep wounds throughout. “AGHHH!” screamed Elva, she dropped down to the ground. She was being chopped up left and right. “Kill!” “Fuck!” shouted Elva. She jumped up and tried to shift. “Not a chance,” said Agatha. She lifted both her hands and summoned up some orbs. “I won’t let you.” She sent her magic towards Elva.

Then Araheen mounted her eagle and urged it toward the place where Gildeon and Yonah still clashed in the sky. She activated her Animation Sigil. At once, the Echo streamed from the needle, slick with both her blood and Kohina’s. Silver wisps unfurled into the air, twisting and gathering until they took the shape of a specter—a vast winged wolf in Yonah’s likeness, radiant and terrible. Yonah became restless at once. His wolf head snapped toward her, and his silver eyes darkened the instant he beheld his own Echo.

I opened my eyes and looked at the massive sapphire resting against my chest. I reached up, my cool fingers covering his where they gripped my shoulders, and gently pried his hands off my body. I stood up, sliding out from between him and the chair. I turned to face him, my expression a mask of flawless, terrifying apathy. "Thank you, Silas," I said, my voice completely devoid of awe, passion, or affection. "This was a very strategic investment." Silas frowned, his dark eyes snapping up to mine, the heavy vulnerability in his gaze fracturing with sudden confusion. "Investment?"

The necklace could have been dragged further away before sinking, if it was ever to. A sharp uncomfortable noice suddenly pierced into his ear and Scott fell down, holding his ears. His brain then started vibrating and he felt and excruciating migraine. He could not stand it anymore. "Arthmata, Arthmata needs you..." a feminine whisper out of nowhere said. It was actually as if the woman or whoever it was was standing right next to him. "Who are you? Leave me alone!" Scott shouted. "Arthmata, Arthmata, Arthmataaaaa." the voice had now taken an agonizing tone.

He looked like a man already grieving something he refused to name. “I’m here,” I said, a little stronger. “I’m not gone.” His jaw ticked. “But you could have been.” “I wasn’t.” “And next time?” Silence thickened around us until even the trees felt like they were listening. Lira cleared her throat, voice still shaky. “We… shouldn’t do another full dive. But we need to figure out why the Echo thinks you’re its heart. That’s not metaphor, Aria. That’s… origin-level magic. Pre-god. Pre-names.”