The storm finally broke.Silence followed, too heavy to breathe.
Kael landed on the barren cliff, his wings tattered and smoking. Lyra slid from his arms, her knees buckling against the cold stone. The air smelled like burned heaven — the scent of divinity undone.
For a while, neither spoke. Only the system's faint hum lingered:
[Quest Active: Rewrite the Beginning][Destination: The Lost Archive][Countdown: 00:24:59]
Lyra wiped her bloodied lips. "It's counting down again."
Kael nodded grimly. "The system doesn't forgive delays."
She gazed at him — the flickering light outlining his face, half shadow, half tenderness. "How many times have we done this?" she whispered.
He met her eyes, the sadness in his smile older than time. "Enough for the gods to call it blasphemy."
The path ahead shimmered — a bridge of light leading into a floating ruin, suspended between time and eternity. The Lost Archive.
Each step toward it felt wrong, as if the world itself recoiled. The air buzzed with whispers — countless voices trapped between life and memory.
Lyra's pulse quickened. "Do you hear that?"
Kael drew his blade. "They're not alive. They're echoes."
As they entered the ruins, golden dust swirled around them — forming shapes, figures, moments. Faces flickered in the air: a goddess in white, a prince in armor, both standing in a circle of flame.
Lyra froze. "That's… us."
[System Notice: Memory Reconstruction – 41% Unlocked]
The illusion shifted. She saw herself, divine and radiant, standing before Kael's fallen body. Her past self's voice trembled through the air:
"If loving him is sin, then let my soul burn forever."
The image shattered — and Lyra collapsed, clutching her head.
"Lyra!" Kael knelt beside her.
"I saw it," she gasped. "The first death. You… you were executed by the gods. For me."
Kael's hand tightened on hers. "Then nothing's changed."
Before she could answer, the system flickered violently.
[Error Detected: Unauthorized Memory Sync][Warning: Divine Oversight Detected][Initiating Defense Protocol – System Mode: ECLIPSE]
The air turned crimson. The walls of the ruin trembled. A massive seal broke open at the heart of the Archive — revealing a glowing orb chained in celestial fire.
The system's voice distorted. "Do not touch the Core."
Lyra took a step forward, drawn to it. "It's the heart of this place. The truth is in there."
Kael grabbed her wrist. "You touch it, and it could erase you."
Tears shimmered in her eyes. "I'd rather vanish knowing why we suffer than live never knowing."
She tore free — and laid her hand on the Core.
A surge of light exploded. Kael shouted her name, but it was too late.
[System Alert: User Lyra – Disconnected.]
Her body fell limp in his arms — her soul pulled into the blinding heart of the Archive.
Kael's scream echoed across the shattered ruins.
Then, the system spoke one last time:
[New Mission Unlocked: Retrieve Her From the Beginning.][Access Granted: Temporal Rift.]
Kael's eyes blazed black and gold. "Then I'll break time itself to find you."
He stepped into the light — and vanished.