The silence after battle was the worst part.
Not the screams. Not the blood. Not even the horror of the fight itself.
It was the stillness—the emptiness—that followed. It pressed into Kael's ears like a vacuum, making every breath feel too loud. Every heartbeat felt like a reminder: You survived. You shouldn't have. And yet, you did.
The sixth fragment hovered in the distance now, nestled within a broken monolith at the edge of the Wraith Hollow. Pale, almost transparent, it pulsed in sync with his heartbeat.
It was calling to him.
"You should rest," Lira said, kneeling beside him. Her tone was calm, but there was something beneath it—a tightness. Worry.
Kael shook his head. "No time. That Alpha wasn't the only thing in this place. There's more. I can feel them."
Lira looked at Ilya, who sat curled up beside a ruined column, her arms wrapped around her legs. She hadn't spoken much since the fight. Her eyes were wide, but dry—too shocked for tears.
The soul tether still pulsed faintly between them, but weaker now. Fading.
"She burned too much of herself," Kael said quietly. "To pull me back."
"She saved your life," Lira replied. "But it's not sustainable. That bond of yours… it's not a tool. It's a bridge. Every time you use it, you trade a part of yourselves."
Kael didn't respond. He already knew that.
He approached the sixth fragment.
It shimmered like frozen starlight—utterly silent. No sound. No whispers. No dreams.
Just silence.
He reached out.
The moment his fingers brushed the fragment, a cold spike drove into his mind.
---
> Fragment Absorbed: 6/7
Current Echo Field Sync: 93%
Status Effect Gained: Dream Dissonance
Warning: Fragment contains conflicting timelines. Immediate anchoring required.
Initiating Echo Trial…
---
The world shattered.
Kael blinked—and found himself alone.
Again.
But this time, he was in a mirror of the world. The same broken monoliths. The same scorched ground. Only… everything was reversed. Colors inverted. Light came from below, and the sky above was a cavern of writhing darkness.
A figure stood at the center of it all, where the fragment had been.
It was him.
No… it looked like him, but older. Worn. Broken.
His reflection's eyes glowed pale white, hollow and filled with nothing.
"I chose power," the doppelganger said. "You chose people."
Kael took a step back. "What are you?"
The echo-self drew a blade shaped like the Revenant Edge—but twisted, corrupted, dripping with black oil. "I am who you'll become… if you keep caring. If you keep dragging others with you. This path is meant to be walked alone."
Kael clenched his fists. "That's not true."
"Isn't it?" The echo raised the corrupted Edge. "Prove it."
---
The Echo Trial began with fury.
Kael's double struck like lightning—precise, brutal, and merciless. Each swing carried echoes of all Kael's pain, his regrets, his doubts. Every wound he had ever suffered was mirrored and amplified in this dream-world.
The fight wasn't just physical. It was emotional.
Mental.
You can't save her.
You couldn't save Elira.
You won't save Ilya.
Each voice chipped at his resolve, trying to break him.
But he didn't yield.
Because in the silence… he heard something else.
A heartbeat.
Not his own.
Ilya's.
Even here, in this fractured echo, her bond with him still pulsed.
A reminder.
He wasn't alone.
Kael roared and charged. Not with rage, but with clarity. With will.
Their blades clashed, and the corrupted Edge cracked.
His reflection faltered.
"You don't get to decide who I become," Kael spat. "I do."
He struck once more—straight into the echo's heart.
The reflection shattered into thousands of fragments, each vanishing into the inverted sky.
---
Kael gasped, stumbling back into the real world.
Lira caught him before he fell.
"Welcome back," she said. "You were out for nearly an hour."
He looked around. Ilya was asleep now, breathing shallow but steady. The tether pulsed stronger. Something had changed again.
"She's stabilizing," Lira added. "Whatever happened in there… it helped."
Kael nodded slowly. His hand brushed the hilt of his weapon. The Edge felt lighter now. Clearer. As if it had shed a weight he hadn't known it carried.
---
> Echo Trial Complete
New Ability Acquired: Dual State – Mirror's Edge
Effect: Temporarily duplicate user's intent into a reflective spectral form. Limited control. Cooldown: 48 hours.
Warning: Excessive use risks identity bleed.
Fragment Status: Stable
Fragments Acquired: 6/7
Final Fragment Location: Unknown – Locked Behind Dreamgate
Condition to Unlock: Soul Alignment (2 Required)
---
Kael exhaled slowly.
Six down.
One left.
But now… it wouldn't just be him going after it.
He looked at Ilya.
He looked at Lira.
And he realized something.
This wasn't just his ascent anymore.
It was theirs.
Together.
Even if the final step broke them.
---