Welcome to the ECHO's World, Commander
Isekai reincarnation.
The staple cliché of trendy fantasy games and novels these days.
Pulled in while sleeping.
Pulled in while gaming.
Pulled in after posting a 5,500-character rant against the author.
Or just plainly getting smashed by the infamous Isekai truck-kun.
Any reader with even a passing interest in fantasy novels—genre fiction—has seen this cliché at least once.
In truth, it was nothing more than a lazy writer's convenience. A shortcut to kick off a new story without any pesky setup or logic.
A worn-out trope, repeated across countless works beyond the point of absurdity.
But who would've thought...
I'd end up as the protagonist in one of those unrealistic tales.
"Welcome to the ECHO's world', Commander!"
And of all places...
[ECHO FESTIVAL]
At the ECHO Festival, where gamers swarmed with arms full of merch.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The sweltering August heat shimmered off the asphalt in the afternoon haze.
But to the massive crowd packing the convention hall, the heat was no obstacle at all.
What they all had in common? Each clutched colorful merch in one hand, while their phones displayed tickets held by smiling waifus.
And I was just one face in that massive line.
"4 PM Slot. Please enter the venue now."
"Woooh!"
"Hurry up!"
"Emma-chan~!"
Cheers erupted at the usher's announcement.
The crowd ahead surged like a wave, sucked into the venue entrance. I let the flow carry me along.
Meanwhile, I checked the items in my hand.
Got everything from the pop-up store.
The hefty shopping bag felt oh-so-satisfying.
The official ECHO artbook.
The 3rd anniversary limited edition package.
Three acrylic stands per character, plus the mug set from the D-Class ECHO Squad, 'Infinity'.
And if I could just snag the venue-exclusive preorder for the 1/7 scale figure of 'Isol, the Wanderer of the Ashes', I'd have nailed every goal for this festival.
Over half my paycheck would be gone in a flash—but who cared, really?
A true Commander who loved and cherished ECHOs didn't skimp on spending.
Here I come! Sol-Sol!
Money could always be earned back.
Missing a limited edition figure? Then it would be gone forever.
"Ticket confirmed."
Passing through the massive gate on the staff's guidance, the outside noise and heat vanished like a lie.
The world had changed.
Buildings I had seen numerous times in the game and the sound of the ever familiar BGM filled the entire space.
And here and there, I could see the eerily familiar silhouettes of the ECHOs.
It was as if the world of 'Echoes of Humanity — ECHO' had unfolded into reality.
"Whoa, damn..."
An awe-struck sigh escaped me.
The guys back home should've seen this.
They claim they love ECHO just as much, but they couldn't even travel to Seoul just because of the sweltering heat?
What a bunch of clowns.
But sentiment could wait.
First things first, I needed to get on top of preordering that Isol figure.
And others also had the same idea as me as one corner already had a despairingly long line of folks waiting to shop for limited merch and figurines.
"Thank you, Commander."
After what felt like an eternity, I finally clutched my preorder slip and took in the surroundings.
"They nailed it. Aram must've poured some serious effort into this."
"It's the 3rd anniversary. Yoon Min-seok said that they'd go all out."
Just like the ECHO fans said, this 3rd anniversary really festival felt like stepping into the ECHO's world— crafted with insane attention to detail.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
[Team Geist]
[Black River]
[Infinity]
Under familiar ECHO squad banners, cosplayers dressed as ECHO units waved to the fans.
E.C.H.O. (Existential Contingency Humanoid Operative)
ECHO's lore was your standard dystopia— Earth ravaged by undead zombies, mechanical monstrosities, and alien races.
With 99% of humanity wiped out, soldiers and ECHO units waged a desperate war to reclaim the planet.
I strolled the hall, replaying the story I knew by heart.
On impulse, I even bought the 'Nameless Commander's Relic' compass.
A playable item in-game that linked to the cash shop when opened— beloved and hated as the 'Money Compass' among players.
About an hour of festival fun later...
Heading for the exit, I spotted my favorite character, Isol, standing alone in a deserted corner.
What the—?
Unlike the mobbed booths of popular ECHO units, this one was strangely empty.
It was a stroke of heavenly luck that I spotted her.
I hurried over, voice trembling.
"C-Can I get a photo?"
"Of course, Commander. I'll take it for you."
At her permission, I carefully set down my bags I had been holding. Then, I noticed her gaze land on my new Money Compass.
"Oh! You purchased 'that person's' relic? The brave Commander who sacrificed himself to save humanity during the Great Cataclysm."
I knew all about it.
From the game prologue to Chapter 50, which I had recently cleared.
I couldn't even count how many Commanders had died.
Lore-wise, about 87% got shredded?
At that rate, total annihilation of humanity wouldn't be surprising.
But with humanity's fate on the line, the ark carriers churned out Commanders, sending them planetside with the ECHO squads.
Survival rate on ground ops?
The lore stated about 11%.
And that was for the Commanders, not the brave Combat ECHO units.
What a hopeless, dogshit story. But the ECHO girls were cute, so whatever.
The danger and hardship of the commanders were not any of my concern.
We snapped the pic. She handed back my phone.
"You'll treasure it, right?"
"Huh? Oh, of course."
A photo with my favorite charcter?
My plan was to instantly upload it to the cloud, print out a physical copy, and display it proudly in an album right on my computer desk.
Satisfied with my answer, the Isol cosplayer smiled faintly.
"And you'll fight for Earth and us, the ECHO units, won't you, Commander?"
"Naturally."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I'm grinding hard."
My Commander level was already maxed at level 500 afer all.
The main ECHO squad was also fully upgraded and maxed, I was a solid veteran.
"Really, truly?"
That instant.
The head of the, Wanderer of the Ashes — Isol, cosplayer erupted in flames.
"...?"
Her hair blazed wildly, tangling with the flames.
It was iconic to Isol's original design, but that was just in-game effects.
It's actually on fire?
Something felt really off. I could only stare blankly at that scenario, just then, the Money Compass in my hand spun like a top.
Then the Isol cosplayer locked eyes with me and opened her mouth.
"Welcome to the ECHO's World, Commander! We've been waiting for someone like you for such a long time!!!"
Something was definitely wrong here.
Her eyes weren't sane.
"Urk!"
I tried to bolt, but a vicious dizziness crashed over me.
The festival clamor faded. My vision churned like ink-black blood.
"Welcome to the ECHO's World, Commander! We've been waiting for someone like you for such a long time!!!"
"Welcome to the ECHO's World, Commander! We've been waiting for someone like you for such a long time!!!"
"Welcome to the ECHO's World, Commander! We've been waiting for someone like you for such a long time!!!"
Her voice echoed in my ears, pounding my skull.
My body felt like it was disintegrating and reassembling at the atomic level. Her voice hammered my brain relentlessly.
When the head-splitting reverberations finally stopped...
There was no crisp scent of the AC in the air anymore. Instead, the stench of blood and burning flesh assaulted my nose.
"C-Commander... Z Virus infection confirmed. I-Initiating t-treatment p-protocol..."
And what met my eyes was...
"...???"
A pale-faced beauty crawling toward me, revving a medical chainsaw with a guttural roar.
It looked like a scene straight out of a horror movie.
"???"
The chainsaw was bad enough...
But the girl wielding it had one arm blown clean off.
"N-No... w-wait, wait, wait!"
Her lower body half-gone, sparking and fizzing.
An ECHO. A mass-produced one, to be exact.
"I-It's fine, Commander. The operation failed, but rescue's en route. If we just excise the Z Virus, y-you can survive."
Z Virus?
That zombie plague from the ECHO lore?
95.5% fatality on bite? And 100% for males?
Sudden pain flared in my forearm at that instant and I immediately turned to look.
...Fuck?
A fresh, dark bite mark scarred my arm.
Necrosis was already setting in— skin turning black rapidly.
"S-Sorry, Commander. There are no spare systems for anesthesia right now. It'll hurt, but..."
BZZZZZZ—!
The saw blade screamed toward my arm.
"F-F-F-Fucking insane! Wait! Hold on!"
"If we don't amputate, it's only a matter of time before the infection hits the brain. So..."
The woman—no, mechanical monstrosity—spoke in a weary, tear-choked voice.
"You must survive no matter what, Commander."
Fuck... shit...