Elior fell through darkness that felt alive. Fragments of light spun past him like broken glass, each one showing a glimpse of a different moment in his life—his first invention, the laughter of his team, Lira's smile when she believed in his dream. Then the moments twisted, showing failure, fire, and silence.
When he finally stopped falling, his feet hit solid ground. He was standing in a vast plain of glass and light, reflecting an infinite number of skies. Everything shimmered like a dream on the edge of breaking.
The cat landed beside him, breathing unevenly. "Where are we now?"
Elior looked around, eyes narrowing. "The Origin Layer. The point where the merge began."
In the distance stood a single structure—a small, old lab. The one where he and Lira had taken their first step toward the merge.
Elior walked toward it slowly. The closer he got, the heavier the air became. The lights above flickered as if reacting to his heartbeat.
Inside the lab, the smell of metal and electricity filled the air. Papers were scattered across the tables, screens still glowing with endless streams of code. And standing at the console was someone Elior hadn't seen in years—himself.
Not the Fragment. Not the reflection. But the original Elior Vane. The one who had started it all. His hair was shorter, his face unscarred, his eyes burning with the confidence of a man who believed he could change the world.
The younger Elior didn't look surprised to see him. "Took you long enough," he said.
The cat whispered, "Okay, that's… creepy."
Elior stepped closer. "You're not real. You're just another echo."
The younger version smiled. "Maybe. But this is where everything began, so everything that came after still answers to me."
He turned back to the console, typing something into the interface. "You keep fighting the Fragment as if it's something separate from you. It's not. It's the part of you that refused to die with her."
Elior's jaw tightened. "I didn't create it out of grief. I created it to protect the merge."
"From what?" the younger version asked, turning to face him. "From imperfection? From pain? You were terrified of losing control. So you made something that couldn't feel."
The cat sat on the counter, tail curling. "He's not wrong," it said softly.
Elior shot it a look, but deep down he knew it was true. Every line of code he'd written after Lira's death had been built to seal off chaos, to make the world predictable, safe.
The younger Elior stepped closer, eyes glowing faintly. "The Fragment isn't your enemy. It's your evolution."
"Evolution that kills," Elior said. "Evolution that forgets what it's fighting for."
The lab lights dimmed, and the reflection of the younger Elior shimmered, splitting apart. For a brief second, both versions overlapped—himself, the Fragment, the man he was, and the thing he'd become.
"I can't let it continue," Elior said.
The younger one nodded slowly. "Then destroy me."
The world around them began to shake. The code on the screens dissolved into pure light. The cat jumped to the floor. "Elior, whatever you're about to do, do it fast!"
Elior reached for the console, his hand trembling. He looked at his younger self one last time.
"Goodbye," he whispered.
Then he pressed the key.
The lab exploded in white light. The sound was deafening—then there was nothing.
When the silence settled, Elior was alone again, standing in an empty field of light. The lab was gone. The younger version was gone.
Only the cat remained, staring at him quietly. "You think it worked?" it asked.
Elior looked down at his hand. Faint static danced across his skin. "I don't know," he said softly. "But something changed."
The sky above flickered. For the first time, he couldn't tell if it was breaking apart or healing.