Gematrail — Echo Observer — Lævateinn Chapter 14: Echo12 – The Golden Bullet Hole

Read chapter 14 of Gematrail — Echo Observer — Lævateinn by ⛰️ Mt.Kongou_Ragnarok on NovelPedia.

↓↓↓ Click here ↓↓↓ 📀 the soundtrack and theme songs 💿 🎶🎧 Spotify 🎧🎶 track Num : 19 / 20 My consciousness hadn’t fully surfaced yet — still adrift in that murky shallows between sleep and waking — when I became aware of a strange, feverish heat clinging to my skin. Whatever was pressed against me was soft and smooth, adhering like a second layer of warmth, and through every point of contact I could feel another heartbeat drumming directly into my own. A light, clean scent drifted to my nose — the fresh, slightly damp fragrance of soap, the kind that lingers after a bath. “Onii-chan… I love you… I love you so much…” I forced my heavy eyelids open. Through the blur of half-sleep, I tried to make out who was curled against me, flushed and warm — “…Mika…?” “…Mmnh.” She pushed herself upright, the fabric of her loosened clothes falling aside to bare a strip of pale skin. She looked at me through drowsy, unfocused eyes. “Ehehe… morning, Onii-chan.” “I — what is this, exactly.” “What do you mean? You get it, don’t you? I just… couldn’t hold back anymore.” With that, she pressed both hands into my shoulders and pinned me flat against the futon. The force that came out of those slender arms was absurd — a vice-grip that drove the breath from my lungs and cracked my back against the tatami through the bedding. (…And is that — alcohol? She smells like alcohol.) “Come on, Onii-chan. Let’s pick up where we left off.” I tensed every muscle I had and shoved back against her warm shoulders. She hadn’t expected resistance — her eyes went wide as my push threw her balance. But something was off. She made herself small, twisting her body with deliberate vulnerability, pulling the open collar of her shirt closed over her bare skin — performing frailty. The gesture was practiced. Calculated. “…Who are you.” I drew a slow, soundless breath and stepped back exactly one pace. No hostility from her — but still. “Huh? Onii-chan, you’re still half asleep. It’s me. ” My instincts spoke before my reason could. “No. Mika wouldn’t do this.” My throat went sandpaper-dry. My heart slammed against my ribs. When I spoke, the words came out hard and sharp. “Where is Mika?” “GOOD MORNING!!” A cheerful voice detonated through the taut silence of the tatami room like a physical shockwave. Ayane stood at the sliding door. “Oh — did I walk in on something fun~? My bad, my bad.” She reached for the door handle, already pulling it shut again. “No — wait! I actually need help here!?” “Oh, fine~ You could’ve just said so earlier — hm?” The moment she slid the door back open and stepped inside, her entire body locked up, like someone had dumped ice water over her head. “Um, hold on. Wait — Nee-chan?! ” “WHAT?!” She has a sister?! “Welp — can’t hide it now, I guess.” The girl shimmered — a ripple of iridescent color — and where Mika’s double had been, there was now someone who looked almost exactly like Ayane. “Heyy~ I’m Maya, Ayane’s big sister! You can call me Maya-chin if you want!” Maya’s full, soft figure pressed against my chest, her shape unmistakably clear through the thin fabric of her shirt. “Could you — I mean — can you get off me?! ” Every point of contact burned. The rustling sound of her half-open shirt was doing measurable damage to what remained of my self-control. She retreated with an exaggerated look of disappointment and tugged her clothes back into place. “Hey, Maya-nee — when did you even get here?” “Hmm~? I woke up inside a futon, found some liquor, drank it, blacked out — and here I am!” Maya announced this with cheerful, shameless energy, framing the room with both index fingers like she was unveiling a grand exhibit. “That explains literally nothing.” (Wait — Mika and the others were all with me until yesterday. Maya definitely wasn’t there.) Then it clicked. “Ayane — you came out from inside me, right?” “Yep, that’s right.” “Then wouldn’t that mean Maya also came out from inside someone? ” “Oh… yeah, that actually tracks.” “Hey — stop look