The tower stood in the distance—black as obsidian, cracked like scorched earth, and pulsing like a living heart. Each throb echoed in Kael's bones, reverberating deeper than sound, touching something ancient within him.
He didn't know how, but he could feel it watching him.
> "Neriah," he said, barely above a whisper. "Do you see it too?"
She stirred, groaning as she sat up, a hand clutching her ribs. Her eyes followed his gaze.
> "That wasn't there before... was it?"
Kael shook his head.
> "No. But I think... it was waiting."
---
The sky was dead quiet. No birds. No wind. Even the air felt afraid.
Kael stood, his body still humming with residual divine energy from the battle. But this was something else—something darker. His new runes shimmered faintly, and the system responded with a jolt of static.
> System Alert: Unknown structure detected.
Analyzing...
Warning: Eld-Origin Resonance spike detected.
Caution: User is being observed.
That last line made his heart skip a beat.
> "Observed by who?" he asked aloud.
> Unknown. Proceed at your own risk.
He took a step forward.
> "I'm not stopping now."
---
They traveled toward the tower in silence. The land around it was broken—grass withered, trees petrified into black stone. A few twisted creatures roamed aimlessly, their bodies warped, eyeless, some with too many limbs. Yet none dared approach the tower's base.
> "This is a scar," Neriah muttered, "a wound in the world."
> "No," Kael corrected, "this is a gate."
He didn't know how he knew. But he did.
The tower wasn't just an ancient ruin.
It was waiting to be opened.
---
As they reached its base, the air shifted.
The front of the tower split open with a deep grinding sound. Not like stone—but like bone breaking apart.
Kael stepped forward.
> System Override: Eld Interface Detected. Initiating manual sync...
…
Success: Inner Temple access granted.
> "Why is it responding to you?" Neriah asked, eyes narrowing.
Kael didn't answer.
Because the truth was, he wasn't sure he was the one in control anymore.
---
[Location Shift – Inner Temple of the Rift]
The inside was vast. An endless spiraling chamber of dark stone etched with runes that seemed to move when you weren't looking.
At the center was a throne.
No occupant.
But something sat on the seat—a small, metallic object the size of a heart, pulsating with purple light.
Kael approached.
> System Ping: Eld Core Fragment identified.
Absorption will trigger latent memory and accelerate Awakening.
Warning: This will draw attention from Rift Entities.
> "Do it," Kael said.
He reached out and touched it.
---
💀 [Eld Core Fragment Absorbed]
> Memory Imprint Initiated...
His vision blackened.
And suddenly, Kael was someone else.
---
[Memory Vision – The First Rift War]
Screams filled the air.
Thousands of beings—celestial, mortal, ancient—clashed against grotesque creatures born of void and madness.
Kael looked down at his hands—no longer his. They were scaled, silver-black, his form towering like a mountain. He—this version of him—raised his arm and tore open the sky, banishing five Rift Beasts in a single motion.
But it was too late.
A voice thundered in the distance:
> "You betrayed us, Vaelor! You let the breach happen!"
> "I did what I must to survive," the being roared back.
> "You have doomed existence itself!"
A massive being made of light and flame descended—Lysara, younger, not yet a High Deity. She drove her blade into Vaelor's heart.
And the vision shattered.
---
Kael screamed as he was yanked back to his body, collapsing to his knees.
> "What did you see?" Neriah asked, catching him.
He shook his head, breathing hard.
> "I was... someone else. Someone called Vaelor. He had my powers. He was a god—no, something older. They called him a traitor."
Neriah's face paled.
> "Vaelor... was the first Riftborn. The one who broke the gods' dominion. He started the Rift Wars thousands of years ago."
> "And now his memories live in me."
Kael stood.
The throne behind him shifted—and whispered.
Not in words, but in emotion. Rage. Grief. Hunger.
And then, a presence arrived.
---
From the darkness emerged a figure—hooded, cloaked in threads of space itself, no face beneath the hood.
> "Welcome home, Fragment-Bearer," it said in a voice like cracking ice.
> "Who are you?" Kael demanded.
> "I am the Warden of Sleep," it replied. "The one who guards what remains of the Rift."
> "Why am I seeing these memories?"
> "Because you are the next vessel," the Warden said. "The gods have chosen to bind, but we choose to awaken."
Kael's body trembled.
> "What happens if I keep going?"
The Warden lifted its hand. The entire tower trembled.
> "You will stop being Kael Solas."
> "You will become what Vaelor could not."
> "You will become the End."
---
Suddenly, a blinding glyph burst across the floor—gold and crimson.
> "Kael!" Neriah shouted. "Something's—!"
> BOOOOM!
A divine seal activated, ripping the space apart.
Standing there was another Tribunal warrior, this time draped in silver flame.
> "By Order of the Pantheon, Kael Solas is sentenced to immediate erasure."
> "Step aside, traitor," the warrior barked at Neriah. "Or die with him."
Kael's eyes turned pitch black, the runes glowing like fire.
> "Try me."
---
[TO BE CONTINUED]