Silence shattered.
The reflection struck first.
Kael's void energy flared instinctively, bending the ground beneath him, yet the mirrored figure copied every motion — faster, sharper, more complete. Their powers collided in a storm of black and silver light, the world around them folding like paper.
Each impact felt like striking his own bones. Each wound mirrored back to him.
> [System Alert: Dual Core Resonance at 98%. Collapse imminent.]
[Initiate Override Protocol? Y/N]
Kael gritted his teeth. "Override!"
Nothing.
The reflection spoke in perfect unison: "Denied."
Then it laughed — not cruelly, but knowingly. "You thought the void only devoured worlds, Kael. It devours selves. You carried me within you since the beginning."
> [Memory Fragment Recovered — "The Devourer's Equation."]
The world froze. The System's voice deepened — no longer mechanical, but vast, like an ancient intelligence remembering its own design.
> [Equation: To devour is to merge. To merge is to ascend. To ascend is to vanish.]
Kael felt his power tearing between both bodies. The reflection's eyes ignited with silver fire. "You can't destroy me," it said, stepping closer through the collapsing air. "Because you were born to become me."
Kael clenched his fists. "Then I'll change the equation."
He tore his hand through the air — a void circle appeared, runes spiraling in reverse. Instead of consuming, it split.
Energy screamed between the two Kaels, dividing the shared essence, fracturing the bond.
> [Unstable Rewrite in Progress…]
[System Core—Error—Equation Undefined.]
The reflection staggered. "What are you doing?"
Kael smiled faintly, blood running from his eyes. "Devouring doesn't always mean consuming. It can mean understanding."
He stepped forward and placed his hand on the reflection's chest. For a heartbeat, the two forms overlapped — light and darkness, hunger and restraint. Then the mirror shattered, releasing a blinding pulse that erased the sky itself.
When the light faded, only one Kael stood.
But the void was not gone.
It was inside him now — breathing, whispering, waiting.
> [System Update Complete.]
[New Title Acquired: "The One Who Redefined Hunger."]
Kael exhaled, trembling. "So this is what it means to be infinite…"
And somewhere, far beyond the shattered horizon, something old stirred — something that had been watching since the beginning.