Kael stepped through the sealed door of the bunker. With a guttural sound, as if it were torn from space-time itself, it closed behind him. Pale blue light filtered in from the other side, illuminating his face.
His eyes shimmered for an instant. As if recognizing something familiar.
— What do you see? — Mira's voice came through the radio.
He didn't answer right away. He was seeing something beyond the present. Something that shouldn't exist.
— I see broken threads. Fractured memories. And a voice… calling me by a name I no longer use.
He turned around. Looked toward the exit, though he could no longer see it.
— If something goes wrong… if I stop being myself… promise me you won't let me become a monster.
Mira tightened her grip on the communicator. She couldn't respond. Because she knew Kael had already begun to disappear.
The Chamber of the Dormant Chronophore
The interior was immense. A ceilingless hall with translucent walls projecting images of past and future battles. Ancient wars, futuristic cities burning, even scenes of Kael at different ages and states. In the center, suspended in midair, lay the Dormant Chronophore , a figure made of liquid light and pure shadow. Its body seemed crafted from fractured glass, with flowing energy running through its veins. Every time it breathed, the air trembled.
Kael walked slowly toward it. Each step left glowing blue cracks on the floor. In his right hand, the Reality Dagger vibrated slightly, as if recognizing the place.
"Warning: Existential fragmentation level detected. Probability of identity loss: 8%"
Kael swallowed hard. He wasn't just a tool anymore. He was a man whose very self was beginning to break apart.
Voice of the Chronophore
A voice echoed in his mind. Deep. Ancient. As if it came from a place where time made no sense.
"You have returned, Kael Riven."
"But I don't remember meeting you."
"Because it hasn't happened yet. You haven't decided who you are."
Kael frowned. This wasn't a normal conversation. It was as if the Chronophore was watching all of his possibilities at once.
— Who am I to you?
"You are the last thread. The only one who can cut yourself."
"You are not human. But you are not one of us either."
"You were created… to seal what should never have been opened."
Kael felt a chill. Another piece of the puzzle of his life clicked into place… but brought no answers—only new questions.
The Forgotten Past
As he touched the Chronophore, Kael was pulled into a vision. Not of a future… but of a past he didn't remember living.
He saw himself as a child, in a white room. A man dressed in military uniform watched him from behind a desk. Wires were connected to his body. Distant voices argued about him like he was an experiment.
"He is not human. He is a tool."
"And if he fails?"
"Then he will be discarded. Like all the others."
Suddenly, a woman appeared before him. She wore no uniform. No weapons. Just a look filled with pain.
"Kael…"
"Trust me."
It was the same name he'd heard before. In the forest. In the dark. In every dream he couldn't explain.
— Aria? Kael asked, confused.
The image shattered. Fragments of black light filled his mind. When he opened his eyes, he was on his knees. Blood dripped from his nose. The air trembled around him.
"Memory partially recovered. Warning: Fragmentation increased. Level: 12%"
Kael struggled to stand. The Chronophore still slept—but now there was a crack across its chest. From it emerged a sphere of light that entered Kael's chest directly.
"System activated: 'Internal Judgment'"
A new power awakened inside him. It wasn't like using the Reality Dagger . This time, it was different. Deeper. More dangerous.
He could see alternate versions of himself. Each represented a different decision. A possible path.
One was happy. With Aria. Outside the system. Living a normal life.
Another was dark. Covered in blood. He led a revolution against the Chronophores. Destroying everything.
A third… showed nothing at all. A complete void.
"Only the version that makes the best choice will survive."
Kael closed his eyes. And chose.
One by one, he eliminated the versions of himself he didn't want to become. With each removal, something inside him died.
Finally, only one remained. Him.
But he wasn't sure who he was anymore.
Outside – Mira and Lira Wait
While Kael was inside, Mira and Lira waited beside the armored vehicle. The atmosphere was tense. The lights of the bunker flickered irregularly. The air smelled of ozone and dampness.
Lira broke the silence.
— Do you think he'll come out? she asked Mira.
Mira didn't look away from the bunker.
— He'll come out. But I don't know if he'll be the same.
— And if he doesn't return? Lira continued, her voice low, almost melancholic.
— Then maybe that wasn't the Kael who really mattered.
Lira looked at her in surprise.
— Do you know him?
Mira nodded slowly.
— Enough to know he's losing something that will never come back.
Inside the Chamber – The End of the Internal Judgment
Inside the chamber, Kael completed the Internal Judgment . He returned to reality with a new ability pulsing in his chest.
"Ability unlocked: 'Time Mirror'"
Returns damage, predictions, and temporal attacks. Cost: Increased existential fragmentation.
Kael looked at the sleeping Chronophore. Now he understood something more. He hadn't been chosen at random. He had been created. Programmed. Shaped to contain something no one else could bear.
"I am not human."
"I am a walking prison."
"And time… is my warden."
He fell silent. The air vibrated. The ground cracked beneath his feet. Then, he heard a distant scream from outside. The others were in danger.
Kael ran from the bunker.
Battle Outside
Outside, temporal creatures attacked. Beings made of reflections and eternal loops. They struck in impossible patterns, as if they knew what would happen before it did.
Vark fought furiously, slicing with his energy sword. Lira fired with precision, protecting Mira, who tried to access the bunker's defense system.
— Riven! Vark shouted as he blocked a brutal attack.
— You got anything for this too?!
Kael didn't answer with words. He simply raised his hand.
— I'll return what they tried to take from me.
He used his new ability: Time Mirror .
An invisible wave detonated outward. The enemies recoiled, confused. Kael didn't kill them. He returned their own attacks to them. One by one, they were destroyed by their own actions.
When it was over, Kael collapsed to his knees. He was breathing heavily. Part of his left arm had turned transparent. Invisible for a second.
"Existential Fragmentation: 15%"
Mira ran to him. She knelt beside him.
— What was that?
Kael lifted his gaze. His eyes glowed white.
— I learned how to give them back what they deserved.
Lira looked at him with fear—not of the threat, but of him.
— Do you realize what you just did?
Kael nodded.
— I just learned I can face destiny… and win.
But he didn't smile. Because he knew every victory brought him closer to vanishing completely.
The Cracks Within
Kael looked at his reflection in a metallic surface. A small crack appeared on his face. Like part of a broken hologram.
"Existential Fragmentation: 16%"
"Memory erased: 'Final conversation with Aria'"
Kael closed his eyes. He no longer remembered her voice.
Clutching the rusted amulet, he murmured:
"I am not human… but I still have a mission."
"To protect those who remain."
"Even if it means forgetting who I was."
Sunlight filtered through the clouds. The journey had barely begun.
But Kael was no longer the same