Theo
The Guardian · "The one who stands in front"
Theo is the protector of the five friends at the heart of Overlayed Echoes. He's the one the others call to fix a car, a fridge, or get a cat out of a tree — and the one who once carried a friend a full mile home from a bad party, then showed up the next morning with a bagel and a gentle lecture.
Enormous and gym-built, he's described as having "a face like a cliff and a heart like a wet sponge": he cries at sappy commercials and believes crying is honest. When the group steps into the first full session of the game they built together, Theo does what he always does first — he counts the exits.
- Angela — his sister, the healer.
- Kael — the friend who built the game; the one Theo carried home.
- Marcus & Lena — the rest of the five.
Theo and Marcus share an unspoken arrangement: Marcus keeps them laughing so they never get scared; Theo keeps them safe so they never have to be.
Stage One · The Calm Before — Theo in the hour before the first session, 2045. His story continues as the world of Overlayed Echoes unfolds.
