The Celestial Spire loomed like a god's finger thrust into the heavens.

Its surface shimmered between metal and mist, every reflection moving slightly out of sync — like reality itself was lagging.

Kael and Jorah stood at its base, necks craned back. The structure pulsed with a soft hum that vibrated in Kael's bones.

"Remind me again why we're not running in the opposite direction?" Jorah asked.

Kael grinned faintly. "Because the opposite direction's already collapsing."

"Right. Great. Love that."

Kael placed a hand against the Spire's smooth surface. It felt cold — not temperature cold, but conceptually cold, like touching something that existed before warmth was invented. His mark flickered beneath his sleeve, answering the Spire's rhythm.

The surface rippled beneath his fingers. "It knows I'm here."

"Yeah, and I'm guessing that's bad news," Jorah muttered.

Kael smiled. "For someone. Not sure who yet."

---

They stepped inside.

The interior wasn't built — it was grown. Crystalline ribs arched upward, glowing veins of light pulsing within. The air hummed, alive with resonance. Each sound, each heartbeat, each thought echoed infinitely, spiraling upward until lost in the endless height.

Their reflections appeared in the walls again. But unlike before, they weren't just mirroring movement — they were watching.

Jorah tensed. "Okay, seriously. If one of those things moves on its own, I'm out."

Kael said nothing. His reflection was already moving.

It smiled.

"Welcome back," it said — though Kael hadn't opened his mouth.

---

Jorah swore and stumbled back. "Nope. Nope. Not again. You already killed one of you!"

Kael's reflection tilted its head. "He did. And yet here I am."

Kael's grip tightened on the Chrono Blade. "What are you?"

"Not what," the reflection said. "Who."

It stepped forward — not out of the wall, but into existence. The air folded around it, forming flesh from light. The figure looked identical to Kael — same smirk, same eyes — except its presence carried a weight, like gravity bending around him.

"I'm you," the reflection said simply. "The first version. The one who never failed."

Jorah blinked. "Wait, first? How many versions are there?"

Kael ignored him. "You're lying. I erased every echo in the Rift."

The reflection chuckled. "You erased the weak ones. I'm the origin — the Kael who made the first cut in time."

---

The Spire pulsed brighter. The walls trembled, humming with energy.

Kael's chest burned where his mark lay. "If that's true, then why are you here?"

"To finish what you started," the reflection said. "You think you're collecting shards? Fool. The shards are you. Each one you've taken isn't a relic — it's a memory you sealed away."

Kael froze. "What?"

Jorah blinked. "Wait, you're saying—"

"Yes," the reflection interrupted. "Every time he takes one, he forgets. A piece of his timeline, locked inside the shard to keep the world stable. You're not restoring balance, Kael. You're dismantling yourself."

The air around them pulsed again — hundreds of whispers overlapping. Kael heard his own voice in all of them, repeating fragments of moments he didn't remember.

"Mother's name…"

"The gods are watching…"

"Don't let me forget…"

He staggered back. "No. No, I— I did this to stop them."

The reflection smiled. "And you did. You just forgot why."

---

Jorah looked between them, panic rising. "Okay, I'm officially lost. Which one of you is the real Kael?"

Both Kaels answered in unison. "I am."

Jorah groaned. "Fantastic. Time's broken and narcissistic."

The reflection stepped closer, its aura flickering with shards of light. "You were never meant to survive, Kael. The Chrono Blades were designed to contain what we became. Every life, every death, every loop — all feeding into one truth."

Kael's voice was low, dangerous. "And what truth is that?"

The reflection raised a hand. "We are the undoing."

---

The Spire exploded in light.

Kael barely had time to raise his sword before the blast hit. He was thrown backward through a wall of energy, slamming into a column. The Chrono Blade rang in his hands, vibrating like a living thing.

The reflection stood at the center of the chamber, glowing brighter with each heartbeat. "This world has forgotten too many times. I will fix it by ending the loop."

Kael spat blood and rose to his feet. "Over my dead—"

"—self?" the reflection finished, smirking.

They clashed.

The impact was cataclysmic — two versions of the same being colliding through timelines. Sparks of frozen seconds burst around them, moments looping, reversing, replaying. Each strike wasn't just physical — it was temporal.

Jorah dove for cover as shards of broken time rained like glass. "I swear, you two need therapy!"

---

Kael fought hard, but something was off. Every time he swung, his blade lagged — as if part of him resisted the motion.

The reflection laughed. "You're incomplete! Every shard you've taken weakens what's left!"

Kael gritted his teeth. "Maybe. But it also means I've got nothing left to lose."

He surged forward, feinting left, then drove his blade through the reflection's guard. The Chrono Blade pierced its shoulder, light spilling like liquid flame.

The reflection didn't scream. It smiled.

"Finally," it whispered. "A worthy ending."

Then it grabbed Kael's wrist and drove the blade deeper — into both of them.

---

The world froze.

Light exploded outward, swallowing the Spire in silence. Jorah shielded his eyes as everything went white.

When the brightness faded, Kael was kneeling alone, the reflection gone. The Chrono Blade hovered in the air before him, now etched with cracks that pulsed faintly with blue light.

Jorah rushed over. "Kael! Are you—"

"I'm fine," Kael said hoarsely. But his voice trembled. His reflection no longer appeared in the Spire's walls.

Jorah frowned. "Where'd he go?"

Kael stared at the sword. "He didn't go anywhere. He's in here."

The blade pulsed once, as if agreeing.

---

Outside, the Spire began to crumble. The hum faded to silence. Kael and Jorah stumbled out as the structure collapsed behind them, dust spiraling into the air.

Jorah coughed. "So what now? You absorbed yourself? Is that healthy?"

Kael looked at the horizon. "I remembered something."

"Yeah? What?"

Kael's eyes glowed faintly blue. "The gods didn't forge the Chrono Blades."

Jorah frowned. "Then who did?"

Kael sheathed the sword and turned, his grin dark and tired.

"I did."

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