I think you are going to like this chapter!! 😉😄
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[ Three Days Before the Festival – Downtown Screening Room ]
The screening room held only about thirty seats, but the tension inside it could have filled an auditorium.
No one spoke as the final cut of Echo Maze began to roll.
For most present—industry veterans, critics, festival scouts—it was just another private screening ahead of the official premiere. But for Elian, sitting alone in the back row, it felt like standing in front of a firing squad.
The newly added narration—his voice layered over the final act—played as the train disappeared into the fog.
> "We spend our lives writing exits and entrances. But sometimes, the only real story is in the hallway between the two."
The screen faded to black.
Silence.
One second. Two.
Then applause.
Measured, but rising.
A few people nodded thoughtfully to each other. One scout scribbled in a notebook furiously. A pair of young critics exchanged hushed remarks about "haunting restraint" and "layered subtext."
Miraal, seated with Shaan near the middle row, glanced back at Elian. She didn't smile. She just gave him a slight nod.
It meant more than any applause.
---
[Outside the Theater ]
The cool evening air felt like a reset button.
Miraal stepped out first, eyes on her phone already, monitoring early reactions from private viewers. Shaan followed, talking with a representative from the distribution wing of a streaming platform. Arya lingered behind, her arms folded, gaze fixed on the city skyline in the distance.
Elian eventually emerged, quiet, unhurried. He didn't rush to ask for feedback. He didn't even check his phone.
Arya walked up beside him.
> "They liked it," she said softly.
He gave a small nod. "I know."
"Why don't you look happier?"
He looked toward the skyline. "Because something still feels unfinished. Not in the film. In me."
Arya didn't press. "You'll know when it's time," she said.
---
[POV: Miraal ]
"Best cut we've had since the merger," she whispered into her Bluetooth mic, driving through Bandra's late-night streets. "The color grading matched the tone, the performances landed. This isn't just a debut—it's a statement."
The voice on the other end asked, "And the director? He holding up?"
Miraal paused. "He's… coming together. In ways I didn't expect."
Another beat. "Are you worried?"
She glanced in the rearview mirror at nothing in particular. "I'm intrigued. And that's always more dangerous."
---
[Elian's Apartment – Later That Night]
The apartment was quiet, lit only by the soft reflection of city lights bouncing off the windowpanes.
Elian sat at the edge of his couch, holding his phone. The system interface hovered just behind it, dim but alert.
Then the message came.
A number he didn't recognize. One that wasn't from this world.
{ Unknown Number:
"You really thought you could run from your old life?"
"Nice rewrite."
"Shame if something leaked."
[ Attachment: LINK ]. }
He didn't open it immediately.
He stared at it like it might explode.
"System," he said quietly, "do people from my past life exist in this world?"
[ Processing...
Low probability. However, emotional echo constructs from unprocessed memories may persist in adjacent timeline variations. ]
> "So... fragments of people I once knew? Or once was?"
> Correct. Especially if linked to suppressed memories or pivotal regrets.
> "And they can interfere?"
> Yes. But only indirectly. Emotionally. Symbolically. Not through system access.
He tapped the link.
A compressed video loaded.
---
[Video Contents – Social Media Compilation]
It started with the train scene from Echo Maze. Not the final edit—an early version, with raw audio, unreleased anywhere publicly. Someone had access to protected footage.
Then it cut to shaky camcorder footage. A boy—barely seventeen—backstage at a small theater.
The camera trembled as the boy clutched a script. His name echoed in the background. The curtain began to rise.
But the boy turned.
And fled.
Out the back door.
Away from the light.
The caption: "#RunawayDirector"
It had already crossed 100,000 views.
---
[System Alert – Sentiment Analysis]
[ System Notice: Leak Detected
Parsing response...
➤ 63% Positive:
"This makes the film even deeper."
"He's been through it. Makes sense now."
➤ 28% Mixed:
"Odd way to market a film."
"Feels like a sympathy ploy."
➤ 9% Hostile:
"Coward trying to act like a genius."
"Manufactured trauma sells, I guess.". ]
---
[POV: Shaan – Editing Office, Early Morning]
Shaan stared at his screen, mouth open.
"Who the hell got access to the private cloud?"
He immediately called Miraal.
"What's the damage?" she asked before even saying hello.
"Massive. But… weirdly, it's boosting the film."
Miraal groaned. "Don't tell me we're now in the cursed artist redemption genre."
Arya, leaning against the doorway, said, "It's not a curse. It's a hook."
Shaan frowned. "You think Elian leaked it?"
She shook her head. "No. He doesn't run from the truth anymore."
---
[Festival Office ]
An emergency meeting was held.
Instead of punishing Echo Maze for the leak, the organizers decided to capitalize on it.
Tickets sold out in under four hours.
The screening hall was upgraded from a 200-seater to the 700-seat main auditorium.
A banner went up across the digital front page:
"Closing Night Feature – Echo Maze by Elian Varis."
---
[Elian – Watching the Buzz Unfold]
He sat calmly in a café, sipping black coffee. Across the room, college students debated whether the leak was real or a marketing stunt.
He didn't care.
The system whispered lightly in his mind.
> Would you like to issue a press statement? Clarify your history? Position yourself positively?
> "No," he said. "The film speaks."
> "I don't need to rewrite the past anymore. Just direct what comes next."
---
[POV: Unknown Woman – Rooftop Lounge]
A woman in dark sunglasses leaned over a hotel balcony, watching the city lights shimmer in waves of gold and silver.
Her phone buzzed.
She smiled as she read the trending hashtags.
> "You finally faced it, Elian."
She turned her gaze to the sky.
> "Let's see if you're ready for what comes next."
---
End of Chapter 22 – "The Leak" (Extended)
Cliffhanger: A mysterious leak from Elian's past goes viral—triggering exposure, attention, and speculation. But instead of retreating, Elian embraces the moment. However, a shadow still watches, and the premiere is only days away...