The Diablis stepped back one pace.Its striped torso vibrated, as if ready to implode.Kael, kneeling, bled from his mouth, eyes, and arms.
But he still saw.
The fault line was there.At the center of his throat.Not a wound.A knot of instability.Like an ancient tension contained in a demonic breath.
Kael inhaled despite the pain.
And struck.
Not with force.With precision.
His hand rose, cut through the air, and touched the exact breaking line.
A strange sound resonated.Not a scream.A collapse.
The Diablis staggered.Its limbs trembled.Then curled up, as if its own body refused dissolution.
But it fell.
A black light, like an eclipse wave, escaped it.And Kael... stayed standing.
Just a breath.Just a glance.
But enough.
The void vibrated.
Then:
[Burn Resistance — Avatar Sub-Enhancement: confirmed][Paralysis Resistance — Avatar Sub-Enhancement: confirmed][Frostbite Resistance — Avatar Sub-Enhancement: confirmed]
[Fusion in progress...]
[Elemental Resistance — Avatar Sub-Enhancement: confirmed]
Followed by...
[Pain Resistance — Spirit Sub-Enhancement: confirmed][Confusion Resistance — Spirit Sub-Enhancement: confirmed]
[Fusion in progress...]
[Mental Resistance — Spirit Sub-Enhancement: confirmed]
[Latent passive ability — stabilizing...]
Kael didn't have time to understand.
The rift formed.A soft, horizontal crack at mid-height.Not violent.Not brutal.
Just... there.Like an invitation.
Gravyor, on his side, had just torn off his opponent's head with bare hands.
The superior gremlin hadn't held.Too slow.Too direct.
The Aura of Dread had crushed its will before its body realized what awaited.
Gravyor stood up.A trickle of black blood ran from his arm.
He gasped.Then burst out laughing.
— Done.
The circle beneath his feet pulsed.And he vanished.
Kiyoshi did not fight.
He resisted.
The gremlin attacking him struck with rage, spun, slid, came back...But never crossed the line.
An invisible line.Woven in the mind.In the breath.
When the last attack came, Kiyoshi simply raised his hand.
The air vibrated.
And the gremlin... fell asleep.Standing.
It collapsed silently.
In the observatory, the Guide clicked on both profiles.
[Test: completed][Survivors confirmed][Rewards transmitted: adjusted]
— Good... good.
Then he opened another screen.
Kael's.
Still active.Still glowing.
And he understood.
The other two had defeated...a boss.Designed.Programmed.
But Kael...had defeated a Diablis born from himself.
The Guide froze.And his lips whispered:
— It wasn't planned.— Not by the Tower.— And even less... by me.
An invisible breath swept through the ruins of the arena.
The cracked ground no longer vibrated.The stone was silent.But in the air...something opened.
Neither portal.Nor light.Just... a silence.Charged.Dense.Almost cosmic.
A black mist, studded with purple sparks, slowly formed above the three survivors.
It turned.Slowly.Then descended.
And each of them felt... a presence.
Kiyoshi
He did not need to look up.The presence settled on him like a warm breath.Not a power.An accord.
Something entered him without violence, without pain, like a musical wave from another world.And in his chest... a beat.
[Mark of Vishnu — Sealed Version: confirmed]
A golden point fixed itself at the center of his sternum, invisible to others.A slow circle, turning like a living clock.
Kiyoshi smiled.He didn't know what it was.But he knew... it was right.
Gravyor
For him, it was not a breath.
It was a distant laughter.An ancient, monstrous, but sincere laugh.Something fell from the sky — or another plane — and struck him in the chest.
Gravyor stepped back one pace.But did not fall.
His arms trembled.A strange heat rose in his neck.Then a shiver down his spine.
[Mark of Dokkaebi — Sealed Version: confirmed]
On his collarbone, a small asymmetrical mark, like a grimacing mask, was engraved into his flesh.It vibrated softly, like a warning.
Gravyor stared at it, amused.And murmured, in a hoarse breath:
— I don't know you... but you seem to know me.
Kael
And finally...
The silence around Kael became absolute.No breath.No aura.
Just... a pressure on his left eye.Like a cold, bony hand placed on his face.
He did not scream.But his body shivered.
A fine burn, like a thread of fire, climbed his optic nerve.Then, a beat in his skull.
[Aegis of Nyx — Sealed Version: confirmed]
A dark gleam, blacker than darkness itself, briefly crossed his gaze.
And in the shadow of his pupil, a mark.Discrete.Invisible.
But it was there.
Kael inhaled.And without meaning to... he saw.
The inside of the world.The lie of forms.And the weak points, even in the light.
The mist dissipated.The gifts were given.No words.No explanation.
The Tower did not speak.It observed.It judged.
And it had just chosen.
After sending back the others, the Guide tore open space for the three last survivors.Gravyor.Kiyoshi.And Kael.
But the moment Kael crossed the rift...
Something bent.
Not an accident.
A cosmic vibration, like a whisper forgotten by the universe.
And Kael... drifted.
The space around him was black.But not empty.A sky of stars. A suspended abyss.Absolute silence.
He breathed in.
But the air... was frozen.As if suspended in a betwixt.
Then a voice.
Calm.Out of time.Neither deep nor high.Neither man nor woman.Just... there.
— Kael.
He froze.
It was not the Guide.It was not Thana.
But she... knew him.
He wanted to speak, but the voice resumed, gentle, direct, dissociated from the world.
— I am the one you should have heard...— ...when your sleep brought you back from the Temple.— But the echo was distorted.— Your pain... silenced me.
A cold shiver ran up his neck.
— I am the Primordial Remnant... of Fate.
Space bent before him.
And a figure appeared.
Almost human. Almost divine.A gleam between light and chaos, merged in a blurry, trembling form.An aura of sadness, fragility, transparency...And yet, an ancient strength behind every pulse.
She was not here to kill him.Kael knew it.If that had been the case... he would no longer be here to ask.
He clenched his fists. And asked, in a firm voice:
— What are you... really?
The entity answered immediately, without detour:
— We are what our name says, Kael.— Remnants.— In my case... a Primordial Remnant.— Others, more unstable, more incomplete... are simply called Remnants.
She stepped forward. Space seemed to tilt beneath her movement.
— We each embody a Law.— And our creation was unintentional.— Born from the residual aggregation of the Four Absolutes.— Their power leaves traces.— And sometimes, those traces... take shape.
A short silence, almost respectful.
Then her tone grew hurried:
— We don't have much time left.
— I came to warn you of three things.
She raised an ethereal hand, and each word vibrated like a verdict.
— Trust only Thanatos.— Beware the other Absolutes. All of them.— And in the Tower... believe only those bound to him.— By blood. By soul. By oath.
She seemed to weaken. Or to fade.Her image blurred further.
— I cannot tell you more.— Your axis... is not yet ready to bear more.— Do you have a question before I leave you?
Kael slowly lifted his head.
His gaze was neither troubled nor carried away.
But cold.
Sharp.
A glacier frozen inside a human being.
— Yes.
— I want to know...
— Which one of you is responsible...
— ...for Thana's sadness.
— ...and for the state my sister is in.
The Remnant froze.
She saw in his eyes...not an emotion.But a verdict.A sentence already written.As if pity had never had a place in her judgment.
And she knew: the culprit would be condemned.
The Remnant did not answer immediately.Her image flickered.
A tremor.A contained breath.As if Kael's question had struck something older than time itself.
— ...You are not yet ready to hear that name.
Her voice did not tremble.But the space around her... did.
— The Law I embody forbids me certain answers.— But I can tell you this:
She approached.
Not with a human step.But as if the universe itself shrank between them.
— The one — or the one — who plunged Thana into silence...— The one who broke the harmony of your blood...did not act alone.
Kael narrowed his eyes.
— So it's a conspiracy?
She tilted her head slightly.
— No.— It's an agreement.— A convergence between three opposing Laws, united in a common fear.— And you... are what they tried to prevent.
Kael's heart tightened.
A beat.
— They were afraid of me?
— No.She looked at him, and for the first time... her voice became almost gentle.
— They feared what Thanatos... would do for you.
A heavy silence followed.
Then, slowly, the Remnant resumed.
— Your sister is a consequence.— Not collateral damage.— A lock placed on your nature.
Kael remained motionless.
But his fists... clenched.
— Who placed this lock?
A long moment passed.
And she finally answered:
— The one who sealed Thana... and plunged Lyana into oblivion...— ...was one of theirs.
— One of yours?
— No.
— One of the Absolutes.
The cosmic breath thickened around them.
Kael took half a step back.
Not out of fear.
But contained anger.
She finally added:
— I cannot give you his name.— But if you continue...— ...you will see it yourself.
— And that day...
She tilted her head slightly.
— It will no longer be a question.
— But a judgment.
The Remnant slowly faded.As if the universe was taking a breath after a truth too heavy.
— We may never meet again, Kael.— But I will pray... that day will come.— And that, next time... you will be ready.
Then everything went dark.
The rift reappeared behind him.Stable.Open.But different.
Kael had not moved.
He stayed frozen a moment longer.Fists clenched.Heart in turmoil.Answers... heavier than questions.
Then, finally, he breathed in.And crossed.
— ...Kael?!
The light fell.And his body dropped.
But he never touched the ground.
Two arms caught him before impact.A scent.Of ash, night, and blood... mixed with fear.The fear of losing him.
Thana had caught him.
— Kael...
She held him close.Firmly.Almost violently.But he no longer responded.
His breath was short.His eyes half-closed.Blood oozed from his arms, mouth, and temples.
His clothes were in tatters.His skin marked with black cracks, burns, bites.And a deathly pallor had settled on his face.
— ...Idiot... he murmured, barely audible.
She blinked.
— ...I said... I would come back.
Then he fainted.
And in Thana's arms, Kael... truly came home.
[...Kael has just fainted in Thana's arms.]
And in Thana's arms, Kael... truly came home.
She held him tighter.As if to glue him back to the world.As if to keep his soul from dissolving into the suffering he still carried.
But she did not see.
She could not see.
As his head rested against her shoulder,his left eye, half-closed...shone.
A black gleam.Silent.Subtle.
A thin circle, engraved in the pupil, slowly turned.Like a reversed clock, built in shadow.
And in that night...a golden light pulsed once.
Discreet.But absolute.
[Eye of Nyx — minimal activity detected]
Then, nothing more.
And the world finally resumed breathing in the night.