Chapter 2

Chapter 1: Echo Pulse

The rain hasn’t stopped since last night. Rey sits at the edge of his dorm bed, staring at his hands as if they hold the answers. Studio X is sealed off by the academy. Official reason? Technical malfunction. But he knows better.

He returns to the studio anyway. The door opens for him like it remembers. He tries the routine again. The same glitch appears — a version of himself moving just seconds ahead.

Swayam catches him in the act. “Practicing or time traveling?”

Rey hesitates, then explains everything. Swayam doesn’t laugh. Instead, he watches the glitch repeat and nods slowly. “It’s like an echo... a kinetic imprint.”

They pull in Sharon, who accesses the academy’s encrypted archives. What she finds chills them: a decommissioned file named Project Parallax. And within it, a list of dancers.

Kriya’s name is at the top.

Rey’s breath catches. “She didn’t leave. She was taken.”

Suddenly, the studio floor pulses beneath their feet. Lights flicker again. A hologram flickers midair:

"Phase One: Rhythm Echo Initiated."

Something has reawakened.

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