As dawn broke across the scarred horizon of Sector Null, a thick mist clung to the broken remnants of forgotten cities. The sky, tinged with burnt orange, mirrored the unspoken tension inside everyone preparing for what lay beyond the sealed gate.
Aiden stood motionless before the colossal obsidian structure embedded within a canyon wall. Unlike anything he had seen in the previous Realms, this one pulsed with slow, rhythmic energy—like a heartbeat. Engraved runes blinked dimly, and every pulse seemed to respond to Aiden's presence.
Beside him, Kael adjusted the straps of his reinforced gauntlet, the newer version they'd looted from the Ashborn Arsenal after their clash with the Forsaken Blades. His eyes never left the Gate.
"This thing gives me the creeps," Kael muttered, kicking a loose rock that immediately disintegrated as it rolled near the base of the Gate.
"You feel that too?" Mira asked, stepping forward. Her voice was steady, but her knuckles were white around her staff. "It's like... it's watching us."
Aiden nodded. "It is."
The group fell silent. Behind them, the Protocol interface hovered faintly over Aiden's right shoulder.
[System Notification]Gate of Transference DetectedRequirements:
[Authority: Commander] – Verified
[Key Fragment: Protocol Seal] – Verified
[Ascension Level: 30+] – Verified
Proceed with Transference?Y/N
Aiden reached out mentally, and the Protocol hovered closer in his vision, waiting.
"You're really doing this?" asked Mira. "We have no idea what's beyond that thing."
"Exactly," Aiden said quietly. "Which means no one else does either. That gives us a chance."
He thought of Dr. Lysara—her warning before disappearing into the Mirror Shard Realm. "Ascension isn't linear, Aiden. The deeper you go, the more your choices ripple."
His finger hovered over the ethereal "Y" symbol. One click. That's all it would take.
But he turned to face the group first. "This is the last chance to turn back. Once we go through, we don't know what we're stepping into. There might not be a reset button."
Kael scoffed. "You think I'm giving up now? We've come too far."
Mira hesitated. Then nodded. "Let's face it together."
Aiden pressed Y.
The Gate responded instantly.
A mechanical groan echoed through the canyon, followed by a deep, thrumming vibration. The obsidian runes flared into brilliant gold, and the center split open—not with a mechanical hinge, but like reality itself was being peeled apart. Behind it, a churning vortex of stars and geometric glyphs spun in impossible patterns.
"Whoa," Kael muttered, his bravado dimming as the sheer immensity of the portal dawned on him.
[Protocol Update]Gate of Transference ActivatedDestination: Realm Delta-0Estimated Risk Level: UnquantifiableTraveler Integrity Protocols: PartialReality Anchor Required: Active
Aiden's Reality Anchor flickered to life on his wrist, pulsing in sync with the Gate.
Mira held her breath. "Here we go."
And together, they stepped through.
For a moment, there was nothing.
Then—pain.
Aiden felt every atom of his being twist, stretch, reassemble. Memories surged—some not his. Visions of civilizations long dead, of wars never fought, of timelines that bled into one another. He screamed but no sound came.
Then—stillness.
He landed on solid ground, gasping.
Grass.
He blinked up at an unfamiliar sky—a dark teal dome glittering with twin moons and constellations that shifted as he stared.
A forest surrounded them. But the trees weren't natural. Their trunks were made of polished crystal, and their leaves shimmered like liquid metal.
"Kael?" Aiden coughed, pushing himself upright.
Kael groaned nearby, covered in leaves. "Still alive... I think."
Mira rolled over, coughing. Her cloak was glowing faintly. "That... was worse than a dimensional rupture."
They stood together, stunned by the silence of this new realm. No wind. No birdcalls. Just the slow hum of... something beneath their feet.
Aiden's Protocol interface returned with a flicker.
[Location Confirmed]Realm Designation: Delta-0 – The Cradle of OriginsTimeflow Ratio: 4:1Environmental Integrity: HighEther Density: [Unstable]Warning: Reality Inconsistencies Detected
Before they could make sense of the message, the ground beneath them pulsed. A grid of faint golden light formed beneath their feet and extended across the entire visible forest, shifting, flickering. It wasn't natural—it was programmed.
Kael muttered, "I think we're inside a simulation."
"No," Mira whispered, scanning with her staff's crystal. "Worse. I think this is reality now. A reality written by something else."
Suddenly, the trees around them shifted.
Branches folded backward. Leaves crystallized and shattered. The forest rearranged itself like a puzzle solving in real time.
From within the tree line emerged them.
Silhouettes.
Familiar.
And yet not.
Aiden's heart sank.
"No... it can't be."
His clone stepped into the light, an exact mirror of himself, except... the eyes. Hollow. Unblinking.
Mira gasped as a duplicate of her emerged, mouth moving in sync like a puppet.
Kael cursed as his own doppelgänger loaded a rifle identical to his own.
[Protocol Alert]Encounter Type: Reflective HostileClassification: Echo EntitiesObjective: Assess, Replace, Assimilate
"They're... us," Kael muttered.
"They're better than us," Aiden corrected grimly. "At least—they think they are."
The clone-Aiden smirked.
Then everything exploded into motion.
The fight was chaos.
Aiden and his Echo clashed in a flurry of strikes—sword against sword, movement against perfect mimicry. Every step he took, the clone predicted. Every feint, countered.
But Aiden had something his clone didn't—imperfection.
He gritted his teeth and deliberately misstepped—drawing a slash across his arm, leaving an opening. The clone lunged to exploit it—
—only to walk straight into a Feedback Rune Mira had etched on the ground behind Aiden's back.
The detonation sent the Echo flying.
Kael, meanwhile, had pinned his twin to a tree, both rifles out of ammo, fists flying. "You think you can replace me?" he shouted. "Try surviving Sector Gamma without pissing your pants, then we'll talk!"
Mira finished her Echo with a burst of prism energy that refracted reality around the target—warping it until it phased out of sync.
One by one, the Echoes disintegrated into streams of code and light.
The group collapsed, breathing heavily.
Aiden stared at the last remnants fading into the wind.
[System Notice]Echo Entities DefeatedPath to Cradle Core UnlockedRemaining Trials: 3Warning: Core Intelligence is Aware of Your Presence
Kael wiped blood from his lip. "This Realm doesn't mess around."
Aiden didn't respond immediately. His clone's face still lingered in his mind—so confident, so sure.
He turned to the others. "We need to find the Cradle Core. Fast."
Mira nodded. "Before it sends something worse."
And in the distance, as the forest rearranged again, something massive stirred.
A new trial awaited.
But so did the answers Aiden had been chasing since he first heard the word "Ascension."
And this time, the system wouldn't be the only one watching.