Darkness. Cold. Silence.
Bara's soul drifted, weightless in the endless abyss of the Mortifsphere. He could hear whispers—distant, unintelligible, calling to him. He had always imagined that death would be painful, full of suffering. Yet, all he felt was… nothing. A hollow emptiness, as if he were floating through a forgotten void, unseen and unnoticed.
But something was wrong.
He wasn't moving toward the Great Circle, the place where all souls were judged and sent to their fates. Instead, his soul was pulled sideways, as if caught in a current no one else could see.
A different realm was calling him.
His drifting soul finally came to rest before a throne shrouded in endless night. Shadows bled from its edges, curling like ink in water, shifting and twisting into countless forms before melting back into the void.
And seated upon that throne, watching him with piercing violet eyes, was Nyxara—the Queen of the Damned.
She was both terrifying and mesmerizing, her presence an overwhelming force that felt too large for reality to contain.
She tapped her finger lightly on the armrest, her lips curving into an amused smile. "So this is the boy, huh?"
A second voice echoed through the chamber. Deep. Cold. Timeless.
"Yes," the voice answered. "His soul was never meant to die here."
From the shifting void behind Nyxara, a man stepped forward.
He was tall, his presence unnatural—not bound by time like everything else. His very existence seemed to distort the space around him, as if the universe itself struggled to define him.
Kairos, the Embodiment of Time itself.
Nyxara tilted her head. "You've already sent Malik back. Now you're meddling with this one?"
Kairos regarded Bara's flickering soul with an unreadable gaze. "This situation is… unique."
With a slow, deliberate movement, he reached out and grasped Bara's soul. A sensation like burning ice shot through the fabric of Bara's being. He wanted to scream, but he had no mouth. No body. Just pure consciousness trapped within Kairos' grasp.
Nyxara leaned forward with mild curiosity. "What are you planning, Timekeeper?"
Kairos didn't answer immediately. He simply raised his other hand, and from the void a second soul appeared.
A powerful, ancient presence.
The soul of Eva's son.
Nyxara's expression darkened slightly. "You're playing a dangerous game."
Kairos was unmoved. "It is necessary."
Without another word, he inserted Eva's son's soul into Bara's.
The moment they merged, the void trembled. A violent surge of power erupted, and Kairos immediately suspended the fusion in a shimmering, water-like filament, preventing a catastrophic backlash. The swirling currents of essence coiled around the merging souls, keeping them stable.
"Now," Kairos said, watching the suspended soul. "We wait."
Nyxara exhaled through her nose, shaking her head. "You always were a cryptic bastard."
Kairos glanced at her, his expression unchanging. "And you, Queen of the Damned, always were too sentimental."
She smirked. "Maybe."
Both of them turned their gazes back to the shifting soul of Bara—or whoever he was becoming.
And deep within the suspended filament, something stirred.Kairos let out a slow breath, slipping a flat flask from the inner pocket of his tailored suit. He unscrewed the cap and took a deep sip, the scent of something impossibly old lingering in the air.
Nyxara, still watching the swirling suspended soul with mild fascination, arched a brow. "Are you seriously drinking in front of me?"
Kairos exhaled, savoring the taste. "Drinking, yes. In front of you, not intentionally." He turned slightly, rolling the flask between his fingers. Then, as if indulging her curiosity, he spoke.
"To quell your curiosity, I'll tell you what's at stake."
Nyxara leaned back in her throne, crossing one leg over the other. "Oh? The great Kairos, the Embodiment of Time, actually explaining something? I must be special."
Kairos ignored her sarcasm. His voice remained steady, but there was a rare edge to it.
"Solmiel wants to fracture time and recreate it in his image."
Nyxara's amusement vanished. "...That's going against the will of the 'I AM.'"
Kairos nodded. "Precisely." He took another sip. "Which means I have to stop him."
Nyxara drummed her fingers against the throne's armrest. "Then why are we here discussing a dead boy's soul?"
Kairos smirked. "Because I can't get directly involved."
Her fingers stilled. "So you're playing your usual game. Moving pieces on the board."
Kairos gave a small, almost infuriating smile.
Nyxara's gaze drifted back to the flickering soul. "There's a problem, though."
Kairos let her speak.
"Before Malik became as powerful as he is, he had to endure 3000 years of suffering." She gestured toward Bara's soul. "This boy's soul would shatter if you tried to put him through the same thing."
Kairos simply smirked.
Nyxara narrowed her eyes. "What?"
Kairos finally turned his full attention back to the suspended filament. The shimmering, water-like current that held Bara's merging soul was pulsing, shifting, almost like it was breathing.
Then, without looking at her, he said, "I only need ten seconds."
Nyxara's expression flickered, then darkened with realization.
She turned to the filament, focusing deeper this time. That's when she saw it—something she hadn't noticed before.
Inside the filament, time wasn't flowing normally.
It was moving faster. Much, much faster.
Her violet eyes widened slightly. "You… accelerated time inside?"
Kairos smiled, taking another slow drink from his flask. "Now you get it."
Inside that small, shimmering current, centuries were already passing.
Bara's soul was being forged in an impossibly condensed timeline.
Nyxara let out a soft chuckle, shaking her head. "You really don't play fair, do you?"
Kairos merely drank more.
Bara's consciousness drifted endlessly in a vast, dark void. There was no sky, no ground—just an infinite abyss stretching beyond his comprehension. It felt like he had been falling forever, weightless yet bound by something unseen.
Then, without warning, light pierced through the darkness.
It wasn't blinding, nor was it harsh. Instead, it was warm—welcoming. Bara felt his body gently pulled toward it, like a moth drawn to a flame. He didn't resist.
As his feet touched solid ground, he realized he was no longer in the void.
Instead, he stood in a white expanse, endless and pure.
Bara stood in the white expanse, blinking in confusion. The air was still, almost too perfect—like it wasn't air at all but something else entirely. His thoughts swirled in a mix of exhaustion and wariness, but before he could make sense of anything, he heard it.
A voice.
Soft. Enchanting. Beyond human comprehension.
"Are you just going to stand there and stare?"
The voice was teasing, warm yet carrying an undeniable authority. Bara turned his head in the direction of the sound, his steps hesitant but drawn by an unseen force. As he walked forward, the stark whiteness around him faded, replaced by something completely different.
A garden.
No, not just any garden—the most beautiful place he had ever seen. Lush greenery stretched endlessly, intertwining with golden vines that shimmered under the sunlight. Strange yet mesmerizing flowers bloomed in colors he had no words for, their fragrance carrying an almost intoxicating effect. The sky was a soft, ethereal gold, glowing as if the heavens themselves had descended.
Under the shade of a grand tree—so large it could dwarf castles—sat a woman.
And she was breathtaking.
Long, silky hair cascaded down her back, blending between platinum and gold as if reality itself couldn't decide which was more fitting. She wore an elegant white dress, embroidered with gold patterns that seemed to shift and dance on their own. Her eyes—piercing yet kind, ancient yet youthful—watched him with amusement.
A porcelain teacup rested in her delicate fingers as she took a slow sip, her expression calm, expectant.
"Come," she gestured toward the small table before her, filled with an array of delicacies. "You must be hungry."
Bara, despite the overwhelming situation, felt his stomach growl. He wasn't sure if it was real hunger or something else, but damn it, food was food.
He moved cautiously, then sat across from her.
The moment he picked up a piece of honeyed bread, all hesitation disappeared.
He devoured it.
One bite turned into another, then another. The flavors were unlike anything he had ever tasted—sweet yet savory, light yet fulfilling. It was as if the food wasn't just nourishing his body but something deeper.
All the while, the woman simply watched him, smiling.
After finishing what must have been the best meal of his life, he finally leaned back, exhaling.
"Dying isn't easy."
He muttered the words with a wry chuckle, wiping the crumbs from his lips.
The woman laughed—a sound so gentle yet powerful it sent shivers down his spine.
"No, it isn't."
There was understanding in her tone, as if she knew exactly what he had gone through. Bara looked at her more closely, suddenly realizing how unnatural her presence was. Not in a bad way, but in the way something divine stood before a mere mortal.
"Who… are you?" he asked.
She placed her teacup down and met his gaze directly.
"Eva."
And for some reason, the name sent a pulse through his very soul.