The cave was silent, save for the soft crackle of the dying embers. Alis had fallen asleep leaning against the
wall, her sword across her lap, chest rising and falling in an oddly peaceful rhythm. It was the first moment of
peace they'd had since entering the Nether.
Hinata, however, couldn't sleep.
His mind was spinning. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw the leering face of the goblin chieftain, the
bloody remains of those demons they had fought, and the smirk of the goddess who sent him here in the first
place. No reincarnation, huh? he thought bitterly. So this is just... it? A slow crawl through hell?
He glanced at his hand.
It was still marked-glowing faintly from that last battle. The same eerie light from earlier. That wasn't normal.
He knew that much. Not for a human, not for someone like him. And yet, it had saved him.
Was it the Nether mutating him? Or...
A shadow stirred in the corner.
He looked up, expecting to see Alis, maybe half-awake or tossing in her sleep. But no.
The air thickened.From the darkness emerged a figure cloaked in tattered robes of abyssal black. A hood obscured its face, but
Hinata could feel eyes-piercing, ancient-gazing into him.
"You're awake," the figure said, voice a rasp that echoed like a whisper from a tomb. "Good."
Hinata scrambled to his feet, summoning what little mana he had left into his palm. "Who the hell are you?"
"A friend. Or an enemy, depending on your next words." The figure stepped closer, the firelight now revealing
a mask etched with otherworldly runes. "You used a fragment of Soul Echo during your last battle."
Hinata blinked. "Soul... Echo?"
The figure tilted its head. "Interesting. You did it instinctively. That shouldn't be possible."
The flames flickered unnaturally. Alis didn't stir.
Hinata took a cautious step back. "You're from the Upper Realms, aren't you?"
"No," the figure replied. "I was cast out of them. Like you."
That froze Hinata in place.
"You... were denied reincarnation too?"The figure chuckled, dry and bitter. "Worse. I was unmade. Stripped of divinity. A god in exile."
The realization struck him like a lightning bolt. "You're... Val'Kyros."
The Cursed Soul of the Titans' Heart. The fallen god. The one the other gods never spoke of unless in warning.
Val'Kyros nodded slowly. "You've attracted my attention, Hinata. You, a hollow soul with no fate, have done
what should be impossible. You've stirred the Nether's memory."
Hinata hesitated. "What do you want from me?"
"I want to offer you a deal," Val'Kyros said. "No riddles. No lies. Power. In exchange for... cooperation."
Hinata narrowed his eyes. "What kind of power?"
"The kind that lets you rewrite the laws of your existence. The kind that can make even the gods tremble."
It was tempting. The firelight danced across his face as memories of a cold city street and cruel stares flooded
his mind. No purpose. No home. No legacy.
And now...
"Why me?" he asked.
"Because," Val'Kyros whispered, "you're already broken. And only broken things can be reforged."Silence.
Alis stirred but did not wake.
Hinata clenched his fists. "Fine. What do I have to do?"
Val'Kyros extended a hand. In his palm was a dark shard-shimmering, pulsing like a heartbeat.
"Accept this. A fragment of my soul. With it, you'll gain the foundation of Soul Echo: Rewrite Existence. A
proto version... fueled not by divine essence, but hate."
Hate.
He had plenty of that.
Hinata reached out and touched the shard.
Pain. Blinding, searing agony ripped through his chest. He collapsed to the ground, vision swimming with
ancient visions. Titans screaming. A city burning. Gods turning away in disgust. A name whispered a
thousand times, cursed into eternity: Val'Kyros.
And then it was over.
Hinata gasped for air, eyes wide.The figure was gone.
Only the fire remained-and a glowing brand now etched over his heart, shaped like a broken circle.
Alis sat up, sword in hand. "You okay?" she asked groggily. "You're sweating like crazy."
Hinata looked at her, then down at his chest.
"Yeah," he lied. "Just a nightmare."