Kael descended the spiral steps of the ruined coliseum, the glyph still etched in his vision, pulsing like a heartbeat against his skull. It wasn't just a symbol — it was a command, an instinctual map leading him toward something deeper.
Toward the Second Forge — the birthplace of his next self.
His body trembled. Not from fear, but anticipation.
The moment he stepped beyond the gate again, the world rippled.
The tower behind him was gone.
The sky above churned into an astral sea.
The landscape around him bent unnaturally, becoming less real, less physical — as though he were walking between one dream and the next. Trees split like ink, rocks dissolved into geometric fragments.
The Inner Domain had activated.
"So this is my Pathway," Kael murmured. "My soul's world…"
And then he saw it.
A temple of light — fractured and flickering — rising in the distance. Built from his will, but unstable. As if unsure whether it wanted to exist at all.
The Second Forge.
The doors to the Forge opened the moment he approached. No resistance. No guards.
Inside was a mirror.
Towering. Alive.
His reflection stepped forward — not a copy, but a contender.
It spoke, its voice jagged, overlapping with dozens of tones:
"You are not yet worthy of a second self."
Kael narrowed his eyes. "I didn't ask."
The mirror-being grinned.
And lunged.
The battle was not physical.
It was inner war — every fear, every insecurity Kael had ever buried, thrown back at him in visceral, soul-shattering waves.
He felt the weight of false memories, the planted childhood he still couldn't question. His mind split between believing and doubting.
He saw glimpses of The One, faceless, shrouded, watching silently behind veils Kael could not pierce.
"Why am I here?" Kael shouted, even as the mirror-being struck with another surge of doubt.
"Because he made you."
The blow landed deep — but it didn't break him.
Instead, Kael surged forward and embraced the reflection.
"Then I'll use what he gave me… to become stronger than even him."
The mirror cracked.
And then shattered.
The Forge exploded in light.
Mana roared outward, then curled inward into Kael's core — fusing, hardening.
Inside him, a second structure began forming:
A new mind, new soul-thread, and new vessel — not separate, but growing alongside the first.
The air turned golden. The Prime Particles aligned.
He was now Tier Two.
But something was wrong.
As the second body began constructing — he could see it, hovering beside him like an echo — a presence interfered.
A hand reached into his domain.
A scarred hand.
Not human.
And a voice followed — not from Kael's mind.
"Two bodies… Interesting. But what happens when they dream different dreams?"
The hand vanished before Kael could react.
But the second body… now had a scar on its chest.
A mark Kael didn't put there.