Light burned — not painfully, but with a cruel familiarity.
Kael opened his eyes to find himself standing in a world that no longer remembered war. The sky shimmered with golden mist. The air carried hymns sung by unseen voices.
[Temporal Rift Activated][Timeline: Year 0 — Before the Fall]
He staggered, gripping his chest. His armor was gone. Instead, he wore divine robes — white and gold, heavy with purity. His wings were whole again.
Kael looked around. The Celestial Court.
The place he once called home. The place he betrayed.
Before he could move, a voice cut through the air — gentle, warm, and achingly familiar.
"Kael?"
He turned — and time stopped.
Lyra stood at the edge of the garden, wrapped in silver light. Not the scarred survivor he had come to love — but the goddess she once was. Her eyes were the same: soft, endless, and unguarded.
She smiled. "You're early today."
He froze. She didn't remember.
[System Notice: You have entered a protected timeline.][Interaction with original events may alter destiny.][Mission Objective: Recover Lyra's soul fragment.]
Kael swallowed hard. "Yeah," he said softly. "I… couldn't stay away."
They walked together through the garden. Flowers turned to light as she touched them. The air shimmered with power, but between them — silence.
Lyra turned to him. "You've been restless lately. Is something troubling you?"
He wanted to tell her everything — about the curse, the centuries, the deaths. But he couldn't. This was before the end. Before the sin.
Instead, he whispered, "I've seen the world without you. It's unbearable."
Her expression faltered. "Kael…"
But before she could answer, the sound of bells filled the air — the divine summons.The High Order. Judgment.
Kael's chest tightened. This is it. The day it began.
[Warning: Divergence Approaching. Event — 'The Trial of the Fallen Star.']
He followed her to the Hall of Light, where a thousand gods gathered under a ceiling of burning stars.At the center stood the Heavenly Throne — and chained before it, Kael's other self.
His breath caught. There were two of him.
One — the righteous Archangel Kael, kneeling in shame.The other — himself, the traveler, watching from the crowd.
The voice of the gods thundered:
"Kael of the Third Host, you stand accused of consorting with mortals and defying divine law. How do you plead?"
The chained Kael raised his head. "I plead guilty… to love."
Gasps rippled through the hall. Lyra's face turned pale.
The gods' voice roared:
"Then by decree of the Eternal Light, your love shall be your damnation. She shall forget you, and you shall kill her in every life she is reborn!"
Lyra screamed, running forward — but divine hands restrained her."No! Please—don't!"
Kael's mind shattered. He rushed toward the dais — trying to stop the moment he already knew was inevitable.
[Timeline Stability: Critical][Warning: Interference Detected]
He didn't care.
As the chained Kael's blade was raised — divine light poised to strike Lyra — the traveler lunged, shouting her name.
The world broke apart.
Lyra turned toward him, eyes wide, as two Kaels collided in one blinding flash.
Time folded. Space screamed.
When the light cleared, Lyra stood trembling — and both Kaels were gone.
Only a single sword remained, buried in the marble floor, engraved with one line of ancient script:
"Every love must begin with an ending."
[Mission Status: Unknown][Soul Fragment Status: Unretrieved]
The system's voice cracked through the silence.
[New Timeline Detected: Parallel Cycle — 'The Mortal Era'][Next Jump in 00:06:00]
Wind howled through the empty hall as Lyra fell to her knees, tears shimmering like stars.
Far above, in the collapsing sky, Kael's voice echoed faintly:
"Even if I kill you again, I'll find a way to love you first."
The light faded — and the world fell into darkness.