The world was quiet again.
Too quiet.
The divine flame had vanished, leaving only a crater that stretched like a scar across the academy ruins.
Ash floated in the air, glowing faintly blue — remnants of divine energy mixed with something else… something human.
Lyra stumbled through the smoke, coughing. "Arven! Where are you?!"
Her voice echoed, swallowed by the wind.
Then — a flicker of light.
A silhouette stood at the center, motionless.
Daren tightened his grip on his plasma spear. "Careful, that might not be him anymore."
They approached slowly.
The air around Arven shimmered unnaturally, like reality itself was bending. His back was to them, his coat half-burned, his hair drifting as if underwater.
He was whispering to himself.
> "The resonance… it's not ending… it's inside me…"
Lyra reached out. "Arven—"
The moment her hand touched his shoulder, a burst of light threw her backward.
She hit the ground hard, eyes wide in shock.
The voice that came next was Arven's — and not.
> "Unit Kaelis_01: memory access level 2… partial consciousness restored."
The tone was mechanical, layered — emotionless.
But beneath it, another voice spoke, softer… almost pleading.
> "Lyra… don't come closer…"
Arven turned around. His eyes glowed like twin galaxies — too bright, too alive.
Lines of luminous code crawled across his neck and hands, pulsing in rhythm with his heartbeat.
Lyra bit her lip. "Arven… you're— changing."
He smiled faintly, though it didn't reach his eyes.
"Changing? No… this is what I've always been."
Daren stepped forward, defiant. "That thing inside you — it's rewriting your body. You need to shut it down before it kills you!"
Arven tilted his head. "You think I haven't tried?"
He clenched his fist — and the air fractured, sending shockwaves across the ruins.
The ground beneath him cracked in perfect geometric lines, as if reality itself was following a design written inside him.
> "Every time I resist… I remember more."
The wind howled.
Fragments of memory flashed in his mind — a tower of crystal, voices chanting his name, the moment of creation itself.
> "Kaelis… the Lightbearer…"
The world around him rippled like water.
Lyra's voice trembled. "You're… one of them, aren't you? The ones who made the world?"
Arven looked at her, his expression torn between pain and clarity.
"I don't know if I made the world…"
He paused — then whispered,
"…but I know I broke it."
The sigil in his chest pulsed again — violently.
Light burst from his body, cracking the ground, twisting the sky above them.
Daren cursed, pulling Lyra back. "He's losing control again!"
The resonance built to a scream — then, suddenly, stopped.
Everything froze.
The wind halted. Dust hung still in the air.
And from behind Arven, a shadow formed — humanoid, featureless, but radiating divine energy.
> "Fragment recognized: Kaelis_01. You are incomplete. Return to the Source."
Arven turned slowly, his voice a whisper filled with defiance.
"…Not yet. I haven't remembered why I existed."
The entity extended its hand — but Arven mirrored the gesture.
Blue met gold.
The collision of light tore through the air, splitting the horizon for an instant.
---
When the dust settled, the shadow was gone.
Arven fell to his knees, smoke rising from his body. The mark on his chest had dimmed — but not disappeared.
Lyra ran toward him, tears in her eyes. "You idiot… you're killing yourself!"
He looked up weakly, his tone calm.
"If remembering who I am means dying… then maybe I was never meant to live peacefully."
She held his hand tightly, refusing to let go. "Then I'll remind you — you're not a god. You're Arven."
He smiled faintly, the glow in his eyes flickering.
"…Then promise me," he whispered.
"When I stop being me… you'll end it."
Silence.
The only sound was the faint hum of the sigil… still pulsing, faintly alive.