Chapter Four: Scissors for Ten Minutes

They worked all night. Lin's first edit removed too much and made him vomit after half a meter. Another deleted spatial judgment and sent him through a cabinet. On attempt thirty-seven, he crossed ten meters silently for a cost of eight-tenths of a second. TEN-MINUTE ECHO—STAGE TWO: EDITING. SLOT LIMIT: THREE. Lin stared. He possessed four echoes, but Windspine and Rift Sense flickered as they fought for one position. B7's voice had forced all four to manifest; only three slots were stable. Su Mi drew a chart of structure, activation frame, minimum cost, contamination, and compatibility. She named it an echo score. “Three slots don't mean three powers,” she said. “Cut echoes into motions and load only the pieces needed.