The world shattered like glass.
Fragments of light drifted in slow motion, glimmering like the remains of a broken star. Kael fell through them, weightless, silent, as if sinking through liquid light. Every breath echoed in his chest — distant, hollow, unreal.
And then, sound returned.
A heartbeat.
Not his own.
> "Welcome back, Origin."
The voice lingered, vibrating through the fragments around him. Each piece of light flickered, forming visions — memories, maybe dreams. A battlefield of gods. A world burned to ash. A man standing defiant beneath the collapsing sky.
Kael's hand trembled as he reached toward one shard. The moment his fingers brushed it, the vision flared.
He saw himself, but older — eyes cold, face scarred, carrying a sword of light so bright it cut through the heavens.
> "If the gods won't change the world…"
"Then I'll erase it and start again."
The memory dissolved. Kael gasped, clutching his head as pain stabbed through his mind.
"No—no, that's not me…!" he growled. But the shard of Eos pulsed within his chest, its rhythm syncing to his rising heartbeat, whispering yes in the back of his mind.
He wasn't sure which was worse — that it might be true, or that some part of him agreed.
The light vanished, and he slammed hard onto solid ground. The sound of his landing echoed across a desolate plain.
The sky was split — half golden light, half endless void. Rivers of molten mana ran through cracks in the ground. The air burned with raw energy. It wasn't the Celestial Realm anymore.
It wasn't the mortal world, either.
It was the in-between.
"The Rift…" Kael muttered, standing shakily. "The space between creation and the end."
> [System Reboot Successful.]
[Warning: Dimensional Instability Detected.]
[Recommendation: Locate anchor point within 10 minutes or risk dissolution.]
"Ten minutes," he breathed out, half-laughing. "Guess the System still likes its deadlines."
He scanned the horizon. There — a faint shimmer of blue light, pulsing weakly among the ruins. It looked like a tear in reality, maybe a path out. But as he took a step forward—
Something moved in the void.
A shape crawled out of the black horizon, twisting, reshaping itself into something vaguely humanoid — featureless, smoky, with eyes that glowed crimson.
Kael's pulse spiked.
"Manifestations," he muttered. "Residual souls pulled into the Rift."
Dozens of them emerged, crawling toward him on broken limbs. Their whispers filled the air, a chorus of pain and memory.
> "You broke it…"
"You began the cycle…"
"Origin must end."
Kael raised his hand. Light flickered across his palm as golden sigils spun into existence — instinctive, natural. The shard within him responded to his intent like an extension of his own will.
"Sorry," he said quietly, summoning a blade of shimmering energy. "But I'm not done yet."
The first creature lunged.
Kael moved without thought — fluid, precise, the motion guided by something older than memory. His blade cut through air and shadow alike, dispersing the creature into dust. Two more came from behind — he spun, parried, and slashed in a single motion.
Each strike released golden sparks that rippled across the field.
Each kill awakened something deeper in his soul.
> [Skill Acquired: Origin Blade]
[Passive Unlocked: Fractured Recall Lv.1]
The notifications flickered faintly in his vision. He didn't even have to focus on them — the System had changed. It no longer spoke to him as an external force. It responded to him.
He wasn't following it anymore.
He was rewriting it.
The creatures kept coming — hundreds now, their forms merging into one vast shadow. The sky screamed with the force of their collective wail. Kael braced himself, raising the blade.
But before he could strike again — a flare of silver light split the darkness.
The wave of energy scattered the monsters like ashes in the wind. Kael turned sharply, eyes widening.
"Lira…?"
She stood not far away, her armor cracked, her sword glowing with faint silver runes. She was pale, trembling — but alive. Barely.
"You really…" she gasped between breaths, "…can't go five minutes without breaking the world, can you?"
Kael laughed — short, breathless, half in disbelief. "You found me."
"Found? You dragged me into this cosmic mess, genius."
She staggered closer, wincing. "What happened to you? Your aura— it's… terrifying."
He hesitated. "I remembered something."
"Something good?"
He looked away. "No. But maybe something necessary."
Before she could ask, the ground beneath them cracked again — deep fissures glowing with violent red light. The Rift was collapsing faster now.
> [System Alert: Dimensional integrity—5%]
Kael clenched his jaw. "We need to move. That light over there— it's an anchor."
Lira followed his gaze. "That's our exit?"
"Maybe. Or it's another trap. Either way, it's our only chance."
They ran.
The Rift howled around them, waves of mana slamming against the ground. The air itself tore apart in strips of light. Each step felt heavier, like running through water made of magic. Kael's barrier flickered, threatening to shatter.
Then, as they neared the anchor, something massive emerged from the void.
A colossus — easily the size of a mountain, made of fractured armor and bleeding shadow. Its face was a broken mask, its voice a roar that shook reality.
> "ORIGIN… RETURNS…"
Lira's grip on her sword tightened. "I'm guessing talking won't help."
Kael's eyes glowed faintly. "Not unless you speak apocalypse."
The creature slammed its fist down, tearing a crater in the ground. Kael dodged, rolling across the cracked surface. Lira followed, swinging her blade to deflect a shockwave that nearly tore her arm off.
They were hopelessly outmatched.
Kael glanced at the anchor — so close, yet unreachable under the monster's shadow.
"Lira," he said quietly. "When I say go, you run."
"Not this again."
"I mean it. If I can hold it off—"
"You won't," she snapped. "Not without me."
He looked at her — and for the briefest second, she saw it.
The flicker of the man he once was. The one who had stood before gods and defied fate itself.
She cursed under her breath. "Fine. But you owe me a drink after this."
Kael smiled faintly. "Deal."
He lifted his hand.
The world stilled.
Every fragment of light, every echo of mana, froze around him. His body burned from the inside out as golden energy burst from his core — the Origin Force, unfiltered and raw. It radiated like a second sun.
The colossus reared back, roaring in pain as light consumed its shadow. Kael raised his blade — now pure white, its edges singing.
> "Origin Skill: Soul Sever."
The strike wasn't loud.
It didn't explode with color or sound.
It simply erased everything in its path.
The monster's body disintegrated into dust. The void screamed once more, then fell silent.
Kael dropped to his knees, gasping for air. The blade vanished from his hand. His vision blurred, but he could see the anchor now — glowing brighter, pulsing rhythmically.
Lira rushed to his side, catching his arm. "You're insane," she muttered. "But effective."
"Story of my life," he rasped. "Let's get out of here."
They stepped through the anchor.
The sensation was like falling and flying all at once — light folding around them, pressure, warmth, and then—
Darkness.
---
When Kael opened his eyes, the scent of rain greeted him. He lay on grass, damp and cool. The sky above was cloudy, but real — blue-gray and imperfect.
They were back. The mortal world.
Lira sat nearby, staring at the horizon. "We made it."
Kael sat up slowly, rubbing his head. "Barely."
There was silence for a long moment. The sound of wind, of birds, of life returning.
Then Lira said softly, "What now?"
Kael stared at his hands. The glow beneath his skin was still there — faint, but alive. "Now… I find out why the gods brought me back. And what they're so afraid of."
She gave a tired smirk. "You sure you want that answer?"
He looked toward the horizon, where faint golden light shimmered like dawn breaking. "No. But I think it's already coming for me."
---
High above the clouds, in a realm unseen by mortal eyes, Seraphine stood before a vast mirror of light. Her body was wrapped in bandages of divine energy, her wings dimmed.
In the reflection, Kael's form shimmered faintly — the golden glow of his reborn soul pulsing like a heartbeat.
A figure approached behind her, cloaked in silver.
"Is it him?" the figure asked.
Seraphine nodded slowly. "Yes. The Origin has awakened."
"And the cycle?"
Her voice was almost a whisper. "Breaking."
---