Kazuki passed out the moment they reached safety.
And by "safety," we mean a crumbling barn on the edge of town that smelled like regret and horses that failed job interviews.
Kaelith patched his wounds in silence. Mistral curled up on a hay bale, grumbling something about "amateur cultists" and "bad kidnapper etiquette."
Then the system clicked.
[Corruption Threshold Passed – New Vision Unlocked]
[Dreamscape Initiated: Path Echo Memory No. 3]
Kazuki's mind was ripped out of his body like a poorly written metaphor.
He stood in a sky made of glass.
Below him: a chessboard the size of a continent.
Above him: gods.
Not metaphorical ones. Actual, bored, glowing beings seated in impossible chairs made of time, logic, and weaponized irony.
One of them wore sunglasses and a bathrobe. Another was entirely made of paper and leaking ink. One was just... a giant eye.
"Place your bets!" the Eye boomed."Ten favor on the Vessel snapping before the fifth shrine.""Pfft. He's already broken. I'm betting he embraces it.""You're all wrong," said the Ink God. "He'll defy the system. He has... free will."
Every other god laughed.
Kazuki, floating like a confused ghost, screamed, "CAN YOU MAYBE NOT GAMBLE ON MY LIFE?!"
They didn't hear him.
Or they did.
And didn't care.
Then he saw it—his other self.
Not just angry. Ascended. Wrapped in shadowfire. Standing on a mountain of shrines, eyes hollowed out with purpose.
"The cycle ends with you," someone whispered.
"But which you?" another answered.
Kazuki woke up in a cold sweat, fists clenched, the Echo Sigil glowing against his chest.
Mistral opened one eye. "Ah. Dream gods. You got the 'cosmic betting lounge' flavor, didn't you?"
Kazuki panted. "They were placing bets. On my meltdown. Like I'm some divine gacha unit."
"To be fair, your skill set does have SSR energy."
Kaelith approached, holding a half-burned scroll.
"We found this near the cult base," she said. "Mentions something called the Forking Point. A choice you'll have to make."
"Between what?"
"Breaking the cycle... or becoming it."
Kazuki sat back against the barn wall.
"What if I don't want to be chosen? Vessel? Broken One? Any of it?"
Mistral crawled onto his lap.
"Then you fight it. Or break it worse. Or rewrite it. That's kind of your whole thing now, darling."
Outside, the wind howled like it knew what was coming.
Kazuki stared at the stars and whispered, "I'm gonna punch a god in the face before this is over."
Kaelith didn't look up. "Just make sure I get to watch."