Kael awoke in a world without gravity.

Light curved around him, not shining but folding. The air—if it could be called that—hummed like a pulse from a dying star. He floated, suspended in what looked like shattered glass and spilled memories.

Each shard reflected a different him.

There was Kael the soldier, bloodstained and defiant. Kael the scholar, bent over ancient scripts. Kael the emperor, crown heavy on his brow. Kael the child, eyes too wide for the war around him.

And standing among them, the one he feared most—Kael the betrayer.

The one who had become Kieran.

"Welcome home," said the voice that wasn't his but still was. Kieran stepped forward from the light, composed, sharp, immaculate. His mirrored eyes gleamed like calm oceans over a storm. "I've been expecting you."

Kael straightened slowly, the Chrono Blade flickering in his grasp. "You should've stayed in the fracture."

Kieran smiled. "And you should've learned that nothing stays broken forever. Not even us."

Kael's gaze swept the void. "What is this place?"

"Our beginning," Kieran said simply. "The gap between the first choice you made and the last consequence you denied."

Kael's jaw clenched. "You talk like a philosopher who forgot he's a ghost."

"Not a ghost," Kieran corrected softly. "An echo. The truth you buried when you chose control over compassion. I didn't come from nothing, Kael. I am the sum of everything you refused to face."

Kael took a step forward, the light trembling around him. "Then you're just a mistake waiting to be undone."

Kieran's laughter was quiet, almost kind. "That's what makes you so predictable. You destroy what you don't understand. You killed for peace. Lied for loyalty. Burned the world to save your friends."

The shards around them rippled, flashing scenes from a thousand timelines. Kael saw himself kneeling before the ruins of his empire. Saw Eira screaming as time tore her away. Saw the Six walking into fire.

Each memory hit like a blow.

"Stop it," he said through gritted teeth.

"Why?" Kieran asked. "This is who we are."

"No," Kael said sharply. "It's who I was."

He raised the Blade, its glow fierce, unstable. "And I'm done letting you define me."

The light shifted. The reflections stirred. One by one, the other Kaels lifted their heads, their eyes hollow and bright.

"You can't fight what you are," Kieran said, spreading his arms. "You'll only cut yourself to pieces."

Kael lunged.

The Blade met its mirror in an explosion of light. The void screamed as reality folded, the impact rippling through the infinite. Kieran blocked effortlessly, sparks cascading from the clash.

"You've grown stronger," Kieran said, pushing back. "But strength isn't the same as truth."

Kael snarled, twisting the Blade. "Then let's find out which matters more."

They collided again, their duel echoing through eternity. Every strike tore through timelines—brief flashes of cities burning, empires rising, stars collapsing. Kael felt every life he'd lived shatter behind him, every choice unravel into dust.

Kieran moved like water, effortless and cruel. Kael fought like fire, desperate and raw.

Each time their blades met, another version of Kael flickered into being—some helping him, others turning against him. The battlefield became chaos incarnate: dozens of Kaels clashing, screaming, bleeding through time.

"This is what you made!" Kieran shouted, his voice booming across the void. "A multiverse of regrets wearing your face!"

Kael staggered, parrying a blow from one of his own echoes—a grim-faced Kael wielding two blades. "Then maybe it's time to put them to rest!"

He spun, slicing through the false selves one by one, each vanishing into light. For every echo that fell, the void grew quieter.

Until only two remained.

Kael and Kieran.

Their blades locked once more, pressing close. Kieran's smile faltered for the first time. "You can't kill me, Kael. You'd have to kill yourself."

Kael's breath came harsh. "Maybe I've been doing that all along."

And then—he let go.

He dropped his weapon.

Kieran blinked, startled. "What are you—"

Kael stepped closer, hands open. "You said you're everything I buried. Then take it. Take the anger. The pride. The guilt. I'm done running from it."

The void shuddered. Light flickered violently.

Kieran stumbled back as cracks split his perfect form. "No… you can't—"

"I'm not destroying you," Kael said quietly. "I'm accepting you."

The silver glow around Kieran began to dissolve, drawn into Kael's chest. Their reflections merged, their light fusing into one. The echoes screamed once more—and then, silence.

The world went still.

Kael stood alone in the void. The Blade of Paradox floated before him, quiet, no longer flickering. Its edge was steady now. Whole.

He exhaled slowly. "I remember now," he whispered. "The first moment I broke time."

And then the world began to collapse.

The shards of memory fell inward, spiraling toward him. Kael turned, searching for a way out, but the light was closing fast.

He reached out—and his hand met something soft. Warm.

A voice. "Kael!"

Eira's.

Light exploded. The void shattered.

—

He gasped awake.

Cold air hit his lungs like fire. He was lying on solid ground, the Verge's stillness replaced by wind and sky. The scent of earth and ash filled his senses.

Eira knelt beside him, pale but alive, gripping his hand tightly. "You idiot," she breathed. "You actually did it."

Kael blinked up at her. "Define 'did it.'"

Jorah's voice called from behind. "He's alive! That's good news, right? Because the sky's bleeding light and I'm ninety percent sure the universe is rebooting."

Kael sat up slowly. The horizon shimmered, fractured but mending. Time was moving again—unevenly, but moving.

He touched his chest. The silver glow was gone. Only faint warmth remained.

"He's gone," Kael murmured. "Kieran's gone."

Eira met his eyes. "No. He's part of you now."

He managed a small, weary smile. "Maybe that's how it should be."

A rumble rolled through the air, deep and distant. The Verge trembled beneath them.

Jorah pointed toward the horizon. "Uh, not to ruin the moment, but something big just woke up out there."

Eira rose, hand on her weapon. "Then we finish what he started."

Kael stood beside her, the Chrono Blade steady in his grip. For the first time, it felt like an extension of him—not a curse, not a wound, but a promise.

He looked toward the light breaking across the sky, and said quietly, "Then let's find whoever forged these Blades—and make them tell us why."

The wind moved again.

Time flowed.

And the war for reality was far from over.

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