Page 34 of Echoes of Eternity

In a blink, the titan and the darkness disappeared as if he was never there. I blinked a few times and rubbed my eyes.

Still, nothing.

“I told you, Mae. Get some sleep. Turn around right now, and go home. Get. Some. Sleep,” I whispered to myself like a loon.

“Mae,” A voice I didn’t recognize pierced in my mind—his voice a deep, resonant echo that sent shivers down my spine as if he was physically trailing his fingers down my back. “I have been searching for you across time and space. At last, our paths have crossed again.”

Again? What did he mean again?

Fear gripped me, and my fight or flight instincts kicked in. I turned and sprinted away from the edge of the cliff, the uneven terrain making each step a struggle. The rumbling continued beneath me, the very earth coming alive, determined to keep me from escaping.

Behind me, I could hear an eerie, omnipresent whisper that seemed to follow me no matter how fast I ran back to my car. “I have sought you for centuries. And now, I’ve finally foundyou.”

What?

When I got back on the road, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was being watched. Glancing in the rearview mirror, I saw nothing but the empty street behind me. Yet the voice echoed in my mind, a haunting whisper that wrapped around me.

“This doesn’t make any sense,” I mumbled, desperately keeping my foot on the gas while trying to avoid being pulled over by the police for speeding.

“I’ve finally found you…”

His words hung in the air, closer than they should have been, a dark promise that felt both intimate and terrifying.

“You cannot hide from what is destined. I have waited too long for this moment to lose you again.”

Why did he sound like a lost lover? The thought left me grappling with a mix of fear and a strange sense of longing.

His cryptic words did little to alleviate my fear. The sense of being hunted, of having my fate dictated by forces beyond my control, was overwhelming.

“I don’t want any part of this!” I shouted, tears streaming down my face. Couldn’t my lift let up for a hot second, at least? “I’m not ready for whatever this is!”

15

When I arrived backat my home, the silence felt suffocating. The absence of noise was almost worse than the haunting voice that had followed me. I had been afraid of it whispering dark promises in my ear, but now that it was gone, an unsettling quiet settled around me. It felt as though the air had thickened, leaving me in a void where shadows danced just beyond my sight.

Every creak of the floorboards and rustle of the wind outside felt amplified, each sound a reminder of my isolation. I pressed my hands against my temples, trying to drown out the echoes of what had just transpired, but the silence only heightened my anxiety, making me wonder what would come next in this bizarre and terrifying turn of events.

I sank into the couch, my body trembling from the adrenaline and fear. Desperation clawed at me as Ifought to pull the fragments of my research from memory. I scrambled to open my laptop, fingers shaking while I typed "bird-man deity" into the search bar, my heart racing with each click.

Images of ancient statues and illustrations of the Karura warriors flooded the screen, their fierce bird-like features both captivating and unsettling. One fan-created image in particular caught my breath—a figure with glowing eyes, standing amidst swirling flames. It was a haunting reflection of what I had seen tonight… and possibly my dreams.

In that moment, something clicked, a new level in my mind unlocked, feeling the pull of something deeper, a connection I couldn’t yet understand.

“Why now?” I whispered to the empty room, scanning the legends for clues that might explain the voice that still echoed in the back of my mind. What did it mean that I felt both drawn to and terrified of this figure? Each new piece of information felt like a puzzle that was only just beginning to take shape, and I was desperate to find the answers before the silence swallowed me whole.

The night dragged on, and sleep eluded me. I laid in bed, staring at the ceiling, the pendant on my nightstand feeling metaphorically heavier than usual. My mind raced with thoughts and possibilities. How was I supposed to defend myself against a deity?

My sanity must be unraveling. How else could I explain the strange calm that washed over me in the wake of such chaos? Just moments ago, I had been gripped by fear, my heart racing with every thought ofthat bird-like figure and his haunting words. But now, nestled in my sheets, a disconcerting serenity seemed to settle in. I felt like I was floating in a pool of still water, detached from the world around me.

Was this dissociation?

Why was I so calm all of a sudden? Was I simply too exhausted to feel anything more? Or was it denial creeping in, an attempt to shield myself from the overwhelming reality that I was somehow entangled with a deity? I couldn’t tell if this tranquility was a gift or a curse, a moment of clarity or a dangerous illusion.

I let out a shaky breath, running my fingers through my hair, trying to gather my scattered thoughts. Maybe this was just my brain’s way of coping with the impossible. After all, who wouldn’t want to step back from the edge of terror? Yet, the deeper I delved into that notion, the more I felt a tightness in my chest. What if this calm was just the eye of a storm, a deceptive pause before catastrophe erupted once more?

The questions swirled around me, echoing the haunting voice from before. I was caught in a strange limbo—part of me wanted to dive into the depths of this mystery, while another part was desperate to escape it entirely. My reality felt like a fragile illusion, and beneath that calm surface, I was sure anxiety simmered, waiting for the right moment to strike.

“What do you even do in that situation?” I mused aloud, my voice barely above a whisper. “Do you negotiate? Offer something in return?” The absurdity of theidea made me chuckle darkly. What could I possibly offer a being that existed beyond time and space?

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