"Welcome back, Feroz."
The words echoed through the village.
Every person spoke at the same time.
The same voice.
The same tone.
The same expression.
Feroz froze.
A cold feeling ran through his body.
The villagers continued staring at him.
Not moving.
Not blinking.
Just watching.
The peaceful atmosphere suddenly felt wrong.
Very wrong.
Feroz slowly stepped back.
His hand instinctively moved toward Haroon's knife.
The villagers smiled.
Every single one of them.
At the exact same moment.
Then—
they returned to normal.
As if nothing had happened.
Children started running again.
People resumed their conversations.
A woman carried water across the street.
An old man sat outside his house.
The strange moment seemed to disappear.
But Feroz knew what he had seen.
And it wasn't normal.
Not even close.
He stood there for several minutes.
Trying to understand.
Nothing else happened.
No voices.
No attacks.
No shadows.
Just an ordinary village.
Finally, he started walking.
The stone road stretched through the center of the settlement.
The houses looked old.
Very old.
But well maintained.
People glanced at him occasionally.
This time they behaved normally.
No synchronized voices.
No strange smiles.
Just curiosity.
Then an elderly woman stepped out from a nearby house.
She looked directly at him.
Unlike the others—
she didn't seem surprised.
Almost as if she had been expecting him.
"You're late."
Feroz blinked.
"...what?"
The woman nodded calmly.
"Come."
Then she turned and walked away.
Feroz frowned.
He considered ignoring her.
But right now—
she was the first person who seemed normal.
So he followed.
A few minutes later—
they arrived at a small stone house near the edge of the village.
The woman entered without looking back.
Feroz followed carefully.
Inside—
the house was simple.
A wooden table.
A few shelves.
Nothing unusual.
The woman sat down.
Then pointed toward a chair.
"Sit."
Feroz hesitated.
Then sat.
The woman studied him quietly.
For several moments she said nothing.
Then finally:
"You chose the learning path."
Feroz immediately became alert.
"How do you know that?"
The woman smiled.
"Because you're here."
Fair enough.
Still annoying.
The answer reminded him of Younus.
The woman noticed his expression.
"You don't like simple answers."
"No."
"Good."
That surprised him.
The woman leaned back.
"The people who like easy answers rarely survive here."
For the first time—
Feroz became interested.
"Where exactly is here?"
The woman looked out the window.
"The village of echoes."
That name alone sounded suspicious.
Feroz immediately remembered the synchronized voices.
"...why did everyone say my name?"
The woman wasn't surprised by the question.
"They say that to everyone."
Silence.
Feroz frowned.
"What?"
"They don't say your name."
A pause.
"They say whatever name you expect to hear."
That answer sent a chill through him.
Because deep down—
he knew she might be right.
The woman continued.
"This place reflects things."
"Thoughts."
"Memories."
"Expectations."
Feroz slowly looked around the room.
Then quietly asked:
"So this village isn't real?"
The woman smiled faintly.
"Oh, it's real."
That wasn't reassuring.
Suddenly—
a knock came from the door.
The woman looked surprised.
Very surprised.
That immediately caught Feroz's attention.
Someone unexpected.
The knock came again.
Slow.
Steady.
The woman stood up and opened the door.
A young man stood outside.
Around Feroz's age.
Black hair.
Simple clothes.
Nothing unusual.
Yet the woman's expression changed instantly.
"...you."
The young man looked nervous.
Then his eyes landed on Feroz.
And widened.
"You're him."
Feroz was getting tired of hearing that.
The young man stepped inside.
Still staring.
Then quietly said:
"My name is Ayan."
Silence.
Then:
"I've been waiting three years for someone to choose this path."
The room became very quiet.
Because for the first time since entering the learning path—
Feroz realized something.
He wasn't the first person to come here.
And he definitely wasn't alone anymore.