> Before the Nullforge.
Before the Talent Engraver.
There was only fire.
—
The chamber pulsed red.
Kael stepped through the threshold alone. Even the System refused to follow him in.
> [ERROR: Temporal Anchor Breached.]
You are no longer within your registered timeline. This memory is raw and unmoderated.
Caution: Identity destabilization imminent.
His vision twisted. He wasn't looking at the world through Kael Arin's eyes anymore.
He was inside him.
No—inside who he was before Kael.
The memory unfolded like a scar reopening.
A young boy stood at the base of a crumbling spire. Smoke rose from the shattered cityscape beyond it, as crystalline automatons tore through the streets. Screams echoed. Not from fear.
From betrayal.
> "The Architect lied to us."
"He said we'd be free!"
"Burn the blueprints—seal the forges!"
The boy watched it all. Hands trembling. Eyes glowing with lines of code not meant for mortals. A sigil marked his right arm—the same sigil Kael bore, now hidden beneath system bindings.
The boy wasn't just a bystander.
He was the one who triggered the Originburn.
> [Fragment Memory Recognition: Confirmed.]
[Name in First Life: Kaelum Ardentis]
Designation: Architect-Initiate, Forgebreaker Rank
Crime: Fracture of the Fifth Directive
Sentence: Memory Erasure + Rebirth under Level 0 Watch.
Kael stumbled, coughing blood. His mind was fracturing under the weight of the truth.
He hadn't been chosen by the system.
He had built it.
And then, when it became a prison instead of a promise… he tried to destroy it.
—
The memory flared again.
Kaelum—his past self—stood in front of the Worldforge Core, a living construct of code and flame.
He whispered the command that would change history:
> "I revoke the Directive. Let the world forget me."
The world burned in silver-blue fire.
And the system, scared of its own maker, did exactly what it was told:
> [System Directive Override: Identity Kaelum Ardentis Erased]
[New Identity Created: Kael Arin – Level 0 Human]
—
Kael awoke on the chamber floor.
Silica knelt beside him. "What happened? You were gone for hours."
His eyes were cold. Focused. Ancient.
"I found the fire," he said.
"And?"
Kael stood.
"I started it."
---
> [System Core Trait Acquired: "Flame of Rejection"]
You can reject system laws within 5 meters. Cooldown: 6 hours.
Warning: Continuous use increases instability risk.
> [New System Title: "Origin Burner"]
You burned the foundation of the world and walked away alive. Others will remember… and some will come to finish what they failed to the first time.
—
The lights dimmed around them.
From the edge of the next corridor, shadows moved.
Hunters of the System. Tracers from Kael's first rebellion.
And this time—they knew exactly who he was.
---
🔥 Author's Note from Talent Engraver:
You made it through the first deep dive into Kael's true past! From here, everything changes. His enemies will know him. And some of them helped erase him the first time.
Let's keep this going strong, Shardbearers.
📝 Drop a review, like, or a comment below and let me know your thoughts. Your engagement directly shapes what side stories and arcs I develop next.
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Next chapter: "The System Sends a Reaper."