The storm had no sky anymore.
Lightning carved wounds through the air, ripping open fragments of memory that fell like shattered glass.
Below, the floating city of Arkanveil was coming apart — towers bending, streets folding into themselves, whispers of forgotten lives swirling like dust.
Kael stood at the edge of the glass bridge, his breath short, his hands trembling.
The Nexus pulsed above him, a heart made of light and shadow.
Every beat shook both worlds — this one and the one beyond the hospital ceiling.
> "Reach the beginning… even if it kills me,"
he whispered, and began to climb.
---
The bridge groaned under his weight. Each step sent a ripple through reality — echoes of the hospital room flashing before his eyes: the sound of a ventilator, a doctor's voice, someone crying his name.
He climbed higher, lightning reflecting in his eyes.
Halfway up, the bridge cracked — and from the clouds below, his reflection rose again.
Now it wore a cloak of white light, the same symbols the Architect once carried.
It smiled — cold, confident.
"So, you still think you can change what's already written?" the reflection said.
Kael steadied himself. "I don't care what's written. I'm taking my life back."
"Your life?" the reflection laughed. "Look around you, Kael. You built this place out of lies. Every tower, every memory, every breath in Arkanveil — it's all your guilt screaming for attention."
Lightning struck between them, scattering shards of mirrored light.
Kael clenched his fists. "If this world is my guilt… then I'll burn it down myself."
---
The reflection tilted its head. "You still don't understand who I am, do you?"
Kael frowned. "You're me — the part that escaped."
The reflection shook its head slowly. "No. I'm the one who never escaped."
Before Kael could react, the reflection pressed its hand to the bridge — and the world convulsed.
Suddenly Kael was no longer on the glass path; he was back in the burning classroom from his memories. The air was thick with smoke. Screams echoed.
A young version of himself knelt beside a girl with golden hair pinned under debris.
Her voice was faint. "Kael… it's okay. Save yourself."
He reached for her hand. "I won't leave you again—"
But the reflection stepped between them. "You already did. You ran when the fire broke out. She died waiting for you."
Kael's throat burned. "I didn't know! I tried to—"
"You lied to yourself," the reflection said sharply. "And when your mind couldn't handle the truth, it built this coma world to hide the pain. That's why you're here."
Kael fell to his knees. The memory dissolved into smoke, leaving only ashes and silence.
---
When he looked up, the reflection was standing by the heart of the Nexus, its glow washing over everything.
"You can't erase guilt," it said. "But you can bury it so deep that even your soul forgets where it started."
Kael stood slowly. "Maybe I can't erase it… but I can accept it."
He stepped forward, and for the first time, the reflection hesitated.
"You don't want to do this," it warned. "If you merge with me, you'll remember everything. Every scream, every breath, every moment she died."
Kael looked up at the storm. "Then it's time I stopped pretending."
---
He charged. The reflection mirrored him instantly — two Kaels colliding in a burst of light.
Energy exploded across the bridge; shards of glass and memory rained around them.
Their fists met, echoing like thunder.
Kael felt the reflection's strength — raw, perfect, merciless.
But he also felt something else — fear.
The reflection fought like someone protecting its existence.
"You think you can take my place?" it hissed. "You're the lie, Kael! I'm the one who kept you alive!"
Kael caught its arm and slammed it into the ground. "Then we'll live together — no more lies!"
He pressed his hand against the reflection's chest. The Nexus flared — their bodies began to merge, streams of light intertwining.
The reflection screamed, its face twisting between rage and sorrow.
For a split second, Kael saw its true form — the same boy he once was, before the fire, before the guilt.
And then — silence.
---
Kael woke lying on the glass bridge, surrounded by light.
The reflection was gone. The Nexus now pulsed steadily, calm and warm.
In the silence, he heard a heartbeat — not the world's, but his own.
He looked at his hands. They shimmered faintly, fading between solid and transparent.
"Am I… alive?" he whispered.
A familiar voice answered behind him.
The Architect stood there again, mask cracked, light spilling from within.
"You found the truth," it said. "And you accepted it. That's what holds a traveler together."
Kael looked at the Architect. "What happens now?"
"The collapse has already begun," it said.
Below them, the world of Arkanveil was tearing apart — buildings falling into a sea of white light, time unraveling.
"The coma world exists only as long as you need it. Now that you've faced yourself… it no longer has a purpose."
Kael felt a lump in his throat. "So, this is goodbye."
The Architect nodded. "Every architect must destroy their design once it's complete."
---
Kael looked at the Nexus one last time. "And her? The girl… will I see her again?"
The Architect paused. "You already are. She's the reason your heart never stopped beating."
Kael closed his eyes. A tear drifted upward into the light instead of falling.
The Architect raised a hand, touching Kael's forehead. "When you wake, remember: dreams don't lie — they only reveal what truth is too afraid to say."
The world began to dissolve — light swallowing shadow, sound fading into silence.
---
Kael gasped.
His lungs burned. His eyes opened.
White light. Beeping machines.
A hospital ceiling.
His fingers twitched, and for the first time in months, his chest rose on its own.
He heard a gasp — someone calling his name.
"Kael? Oh my God— he's waking up!"
A woman rushed to his bedside — golden hair tied back, eyes wide with tears.
She looked exactly like the girl from his memories.
Kael's throat ached as he tried to speak. "You… you were—"
She smiled through her tears. "I'm here. I never left."
He reached for her hand, but before he could touch her, something glimmered in her eyes — a faint blue light.
And in the reflection of her tears, Kael saw himself — the reflection — standing behind the glass of the heart monitor, smiling faintly.
The monitor beeped once.
Then everything flickered white.
---
> "When the dream dies… the traveler wakes.
But sometimes, the dream wakes too."