Timeline B — Inside the Scarlet Choir Dimension
The dimension convulsed around them. Red light fractured into jagged shards, each shard carrying whispers of madness and distorted memories. Every step Kael and the Devil took threatened to collapse the ground beneath them — yet the two moved as one force, their bond solidified through trust and necessity.
The Choir's minions surged, no longer simple echoes of flesh and geometry. They became storms of living sound, shaping reality around each strike.
> "They are anticipating us," Kael shouted over the cacophony. "They can feel our synchronization!"
> "Then we must move faster," the Devil replied, eyes glowing gold. "Strike first, strike hardest."
They leapt together, cutting through the first wave. The halberd's white fire clashed against the Choir's energy; the Devil's shadow-sword carved voids into the very geometry of the dimension. Each strike sent tremors echoing across the dimensional folds, destabilizing the Choir's control.
From the fractured sky above, Choir lieutenant after lieutenant emerged, each an impossible shape, singing a song of unmaking. Yet, every attack they launched was anticipated, countered, or absorbed by the bond between father and son.
> "Focus, Kael!" the Devil barked. "Every strike we make must preserve our return path — we cannot be trapped here!"
Kael nodded. He felt the thread connecting them to the mortal realm — to Adrian — tugging at him. The convergence was coming, but first they had to survive the Choir's core.
---
The Choir Core Awakens
At the center of the dimension, the Choir's core began to pulse violently. It was no longer simply red. Light of every color flickered within it, images of the city, of Adrian, of the Red Moon, and of Kael's past mistakes — all twisting together in impossible, overwhelming geometries.
The core sang in a thousand harmonics, each note tearing at the mind. Kael stumbled, dizziness threatening to throw him into the folds of collapsing space.
> "We cannot let it overwhelm us," the Devil said, gripping Kael's shoulder. "Lean on me — trust me — now!"
Kael drew a deep breath, letting the bond between them flow through him, lending him strength and clarity. They advanced as one, moving in perfect synchronization. Every swing of the halberd and shadow-sword shattered Choir minions, severed echoes, and tore at the edges of the core.
The Choir screamed — a sound that bent reality — and the dimension quaked violently. Space folded in on itself, threatening to crush them. Yet they pressed forward.
> "We fight not just to survive," Kael shouted, white fire blazing along his weapon. "We fight to save the mortal realm! To save Adrian!"
---
Mirrored Echoes of Timeline A
Far away in the Red Moon Realm, Timeline A Kael continued to fight, repairing fractures in time and battling spectral echoes of his father.
For the first time, he sensed the other timeline — the Choir dimension. Every strike he made sent vibrations that subtly aided the survival of his alternate self. Every repaired fragment in the Red Moon Realm eased the distortions in the Choir dimension.
> "Two Kaels… two realities… one path," he whispered. "I see it… the convergence is near."
Adrian, sensing something beyond sight, felt power flowing toward him from both Kaels, giving him a fleeting surge of clarity against the Red Moon's hidden self.
---
Breaking Through the Choir's Defenses
Kael and the Devil reached the outer shell of the Choir core. The very air shimmered with hostile energy. Choir minions struck from every direction, each attack bending space and time unpredictably.
> "Kael! Over here!" a disembodied voice cried — one of the mortal realm's echoes, or perhaps a projection of their own fears.
Kael leapt, swinging the halberd in a wide arc. The Devil followed, the shadow-sword slicing through multiple minions simultaneously. Each strike tore open the Choir's dimensional fabric, allowing glimpses of the mortal realm to bleed through — fragments of streets, Adrian's struggles, crimson rain.
The Choir shrieked in discord. Its core pulsed violently, destabilizing, yet it remained alive — a fractal of impossible geometries and tortured souls.
> "We are close," the Devil said. "One final push — for Adrian, for the world!"
---
Bond at Its Peak
Kael felt exhaustion gnawing at him. Every heartbeat, every muscle screamed. Yet the bond with his father surged through him like a lifeline. The Devil's strength became his own, their attacks perfectly synchronized.
> "Together," Kael whispered, halberd glowing.
> "Together," the Devil echoed, shadow-sword radiating void energy.
They advanced into the Choir core itself. The air split around them, time folding in impossible angles. Choir minions struck like living instruments of chaos, but each blow was countered, absorbed, or redirected.
For a moment, father and son moved as one being, a storm of white fire and black void, their presence warping the dimension itself.
> "Almost there…" Kael gasped. "We will return… we must!"
---
Climactic Surge Toward Convergence
The Choir core pulsed violently, sensing the dual threat of father and son. The Red Moon's hidden self, observing from the mortal realm, twisted reality in response — its influence spilling into both timelines.
Kael and the Devil's synchronized strikes tore through the core's defenses, sending shards of corrupted reality flying outward. Each shard destabilized the Choir's dimension, allowing glimpses of the mortal realm to seep through. Adrian's presence became stronger in their senses — the threads of the two timelines converging.
> "The collision… it's beginning," Kael whispered.
The Devil nodded. "Then let us survive, and return… to guide him."
---
Chapter Conclusion — Preparing for the Return
The Choir dimension trembled violently. The core began to fracture, reality splitting in jagged shards. Kael and the Devil, battered and bloodied but unbroken, readied themselves for one final synchronized strike — the one that would allow them to leave this dimension and intervene in the mortal realm.
> "Adrian… we will be there," Kael whispered, eyes burning white-gold.
> "And together," the Devil said, "we will turn the tide."
The shards of the Choir's dimension twisted violently, red light screaming, and for a moment, the mortal realm, the Red Moon Realm, and the Choir dimension seemed to tremble as one.
Threads of reality began to pull, the timelines inching toward collision. The ultimate convergence — where Kael's sacrifice, his bond with his father, and Adrian's evolution would finally merge — had begun.
> Next, everything changes.