The Godscar didn't let them go forward.
It let them sink.
Every step Kael took was heavier than the last, like the ground wasn't just pulling his body down—but his past, his memories, his fears. His system flickered more than usual. The interface glitched, symbols half-translated, edges twitching like they couldn't hold form.
And then the names appeared.
They were carved into stone.
Hundreds of jagged pillars rose from the earth like broken teeth—each one engraved with a name, each name familiar.
Kael.
Kael Ashmark.
Kael of Hollowreach.
Kael the Unwritten.
Kael the Broken.
Kael the Betrayer.
Kael the Godslain.
He stared.
[ Warning: Identity Fragmentation Detected ]
[ Reality Layer: Overlap of Multivariant Echoes ]
[ Cognitive Dissonance Imminent ]
"System…" he whispered. "What the hell is this?"
[ You are walking through what never was. What might be. What may yet become. ]
[ You are not meant to see this. ]
[ They are watching. ]
Kael's chest tightened.
"Who's watching?"
[ Recording Entities Present: 1... 2... 3... ]
[ Designation: RECORDKEEPERS. ]
[ Level: UNDEFINED. THREAT: UNKNOWN. ]
He turned to Lyra.
But something had changed.
Her silhouette shimmered for just a second—long enough for Kael to glimpse something beneath her skin. Another face. A different expression.
And then it was gone.
He stepped back.
"Lyra?"
She turned, perfectly calm. "Yes?"
"Tell me something only you would know."
Her eyes didn't blink.
"I found you beneath Hollowreach. You were bleeding. You didn't want to live, but you wanted to fight."
Kael hesitated.
That was… true.
But not enough.
[ Caution: Subject Resonance Inconsistent. ]
[ This version may not be stable. ]
He said nothing.
She said nothing more.
They walked on.
And then Kael saw his name again—not on stone, but in the sky.
A ripple of starlight. A curve in the void.
It spelled out a sentence, not spoken but understood.
"You die here, again."
Kael stopped walking.
He turned slowly, scanning the stone field.
One pillar stood taller than the rest.
On it: Kael Ashmark – Burned by His Own Will.
Kael stepped closer to the tall pillar.
The name carved into it shimmered—not with light, but with intent. Every letter felt heavy, as though the stone remembered more than it should.
KAEL ASHMARK – BURNED BY HIS OWN WILL
Below the name, in smaller script:
"He could have become anything. But he chose to become the end."
Kael swallowed.
He reached out to touch the stone—
[ SYSTEM INTERVENTION: MEMORY LOCK APPROACHING ]
[ You are attempting to access a projected fate. Caution advised. ]
He touched it anyway.
And the world cracked.
Suddenly, he was alone.
No Lyra. No pillars. No Godscar.
Just darkness.
And ahead, a mirror.
In it—himself.
Older. Broken. Eyes glowing with something inhuman. Half of his face etched with runes. A crown of ash on his brow.
The older Kael looked at him.
And spoke.
"You're still soft," he said.
Kael flinched. "Who are you?"
"I'm what you become if you keep going."
"That's not an answer."
The older Kael's voice dropped. "You think the system gives you power? It gives you choices. And every choice becomes a knife."
He stepped closer.
"And eventually, you forget which ones you meant to use… and which ones were always meant to cut you."
Kael clenched his fists. "I won't become you."
The older self laughed.
"No one ever thinks they will."
He raised his hand—and light exploded.
Kael jolted awake on the stone field, gasping.
Lyra was kneeling beside him.
"You blacked out again."
Kael sat up, groggy. "I saw… myself. But not me. Another version."
She said nothing.
He looked at her. "How many of me have you seen?"
She hesitated.
"Five," she said softly. "One begged for help. One tried to kill me. One tried to save the Empire. One became a god."
Kael stared. "And the fifth?"
Her voice was cold.
"You."
The wind howled across the Godscar.
Kael stood.
He looked out at the endless rows of names—Kael after Kael, path after path.
And he made a choice.
"I'm not following any of them."
He drew a line across the stone with his finger.
Etched new words:
KAEL ASHMARK – THE ONE WHO REFUSED.
[ SYSTEM INPUT RECEIVED. ]
[ New Sub-Path Created: NAMELESS WARDEN ]
[ Resonance Adjusted. Echo Suppression Stable. ]
Far above, in the recordless dark, something blinked.
And began to take interest.