They landed in chaos.

One second, the world had been collapsing behind them — mirrors falling like rain, echoes screaming into silence — and the next, they stumbled into the outskirts of an abandoned citadel. The air was cold, heavy with the scent of rust and lightning.

Eira hit the ground first, rolling onto her knees. "Tell me we didn't just tear through another dimension."

Jorah groaned beside her. "Define 'tear.'"

Kael stood motionless, staring at the horizon. The skyline was cracked — towers suspended mid-collapse, time frozen mid-motion. A storm churned overhead, but its lightning never struck; it hung there, forever waiting.

"This is the Fracture," Kael said quietly. "The border between what was and what's trying to be."

Eira rose slowly, brushing off the dust. "You brought us here on purpose?"

Kael didn't answer. The Blade of Paradox flickered beneath his skin like molten light, shifting in color from blue to crimson to silver. He pressed a hand to his chest, grimacing.

"Kael," she said carefully, "you're losing control again."

He turned to her, and for an instant — just a flicker — his eyes were not his own. They were mirrors.

Jorah swore under his breath and took a step back. "Okay, that's new."

Kael blinked, forcing a breath through clenched teeth. The glow dimmed. "It's the backlash. Kieran's touch in the Garden left something behind. I can feel him trying to anchor himself through me."

Eira frowned. "Anchor? As in—"

"As in he's not just haunting the echoes anymore," Kael cut in, voice harsh. "He's inside the timeline now. Riding the fractures."

Jorah looked around uneasily. "So we're basically walking through a minefield where time itself might explode?"

Kael's mouth twitched. "That's the optimistic version."

Eira gave him a look that was equal parts worry and fury. "And you brought us here why, exactly?"

He met her gaze. "Because if Kieran's feeding on echoes, he'll come for the Nexus next. The Fracture's the only route left that isn't under his control."

She folded her arms. "You could've led with that instead of the ominous staring."

"I like the dramatic buildup."

"Of course you do."

Jorah groaned. "Please tell me I'm not the only one who misses when our biggest problem was Kael accidentally summoning angry time ghosts."

Kael smirked faintly. "You're improving. That was a full sentence without complaining about pay."

"I'm reconsidering my career options."

"Too late," Kael said. "You're chronologically bound to me now."

Jorah muttered something unflattering.

Eira sighed and turned to scan the ruins. "All right, what's the plan? Please tell me it involves less dying than last time."

Kael's gaze darkened. "We find the Anchor Stone."

Eira blinked. "The what?"

"The core that stabilizes this fracture. If we destroy it, Kieran can't use the echoes to re-form himself."

Jorah frowned. "And if we don't destroy it?"

Kael's voice softened. "Then the timelines collapse. Every version of us, every loop, every memory — gone."

"Fantastic," Jorah said flatly. "No pressure at all."

---

They moved deeper into the citadel. The halls twisted in impossible geometry, corridors looping back on themselves. Statues of winged figures lined the walls — each frozen mid-motion, faces obscured.

Eira brushed dust from one. "They look almost… alive."

Kael glanced at it. "They are."

Before she could question him, the statue's eyes opened.

Eira leapt back, blade drawn. Jorah stumbled behind her. The statue stepped forward, joints cracking like ice breaking. Its face shifted, morphing between a dozen expressions — all familiar.

"Kael Vorrion," it whispered, voice layered with a thousand echoes. "You have returned."

Kael's jaw tightened. "Guardian of the Fracture. I was hoping you'd still be asleep."

The figure tilted its head. "Sleep is for the innocent. You are not."

Eira's blade glowed faintly, humming. "Friend or foe?"

"Neither," it said. "I am memory given shape. I serve the balance. You, Kael Vorrion, broke it."

Kael stepped forward. "And I'll break it again if it means stopping Kieran."

The guardian smiled — a terrible, knowing thing. "He is what you left behind. The part of you that believed salvation required control."

Kael's hand tightened around the hilt of his blade. "I didn't make him."

The guardian raised an arm, and time stopped. Eira froze mid-step, Jorah mid-breath. Only Kael remained moving.

"You forged him the moment you refused to let go," the guardian said softly. "Kieran is not your enemy. He is your echo."

Kael's voice was sharp. "He betrayed me. He killed everything we built."

"And what did you do, Kael?"

Kael's silence was answer enough.

The guardian lowered its arm, and time surged forward again. Eira gasped, blinking in confusion.

"What—"

"Don't," Kael said shortly. "Keep moving."

She frowned but obeyed, exchanging a wary glance with Jorah.

---

They reached the citadel's heart — a vast chamber split by fractures of light. Floating above the cracked floor was the Anchor Stone: a sphere of pure Chrono energy, humming with every second that ever was.

Kael stepped forward. The light reflected off his face — and for a heartbeat, Eira saw two shadows in his place.

Kieran's voice echoed faintly from nowhere and everywhere. "Always the destroyer, never the creator."

Kael's hand trembled. He clenched it into a fist. "Get out of my head."

"Why?" Kieran's tone was almost gentle. "You put me here."

Eira's eyes darted between Kael and the Anchor Stone. "He's inside the fracture," she whispered. "Kael, if you touch that thing—"

"I know."

"Then don't!"

Kael laughed softly. It wasn't cruel — it was tired. "If I don't, Kieran wins. If I do, I lose myself. Either way, someone breaks."

Jorah took a hesitant step forward. "Then maybe let someone else—"

Kael turned, and the look in his eyes silenced him. "This is mine."

He raised his hand, and the Blade of Paradox flared — light spilling across the chamber, warping the walls, rewriting the air. The Anchor Stone responded, pulsing like a living heart.

Eira's voice was faint. "Kael—please."

He didn't stop.

The energy lashed out — lightning of raw time wrapping around his body, burning through his veins. His reflection shattered into a thousand faces — all versions of himself, all screaming.

He saw Kieran — laughing.

He saw Eira — dying.

He saw the first empire fall, and the last sunrise fade.

He saw everything.

And for the first time, Kael understood: the Blades hadn't broken time. He had.

The chamber erupted in light.

When it cleared, Kael was on his knees, steam rising from his skin. The Anchor Stone had cracked. Not destroyed — just wounded.

Eira ran to him. "Kael! Are you—"

He looked up slowly. His eyes were mirrors again. "He's in," Kael whispered. "Kieran's in the fracture."

Jorah's face went pale. "You mean—"

"He's coming," Kael said. "And next time, he won't be a ghost."

The walls began to hum, fissures spreading outward. The citadel was falling apart, reality groaning under the strain.

Eira grabbed Kael's arm, hauling him up. "We need to go now."

He didn't resist — not fully. But as they ran, his reflection in the collapsing shards of glass followed a beat too late.

And in the deepest crack of the Fracture, Kieran's voice whispered — calm, inevitable:

"You can't destroy me, Kael. I am you."

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