Darkness.
Kairo drifted weightlessly in an endless void, his body floating as though suspended in a sea without waves, without warmth, without direction. His limbs twitched weakly, half-asleep, half-aware.
"...Where… am I?" His voice echoed into nothing. "What… happened? Shiri… Karhux… the ghoul…"
A sudden ripple tore through the emptiness.
The familiar voice of the Command Nexus rang out, mechanical yet calm, as though whispering directly into his mind.
[Notification: Tier Advancement Confirmed.]
[Commander Kairo has reached Tier 2.]
[Initiating: Memory Reload Process.]
Kairo blinked, his head tilting weakly. "Memory reload? What… does that even mean?"
[Directive: Synchronization required.]
[Reloading stored fragments of the Eternal War.]
Before he could demand answers, the void ripped apart. A force unlike any he had ever felt pulled him downward—no, inward—like he was being folded into himself.
Kairo gasped as his body was suddenly hurled into blinding light.
And then—he was standing on a battlefield that was not his own.
The sky above was torn in two. To his left, it blazed in crimson fire, the heavens bleeding red. To his right, it shimmered in sapphire brilliance, cold and sharp as steel. The clash of colors met directly above, warping the sky into a jagged seam between two realms, as if they world itself didn't know if it was day or night.
Kairo's eyes widened. "What… is this place?"
From the side of the crimson sun, the ground trembled.
A horde of giants emerged, towering as tall as mountains, their steps like earthquakes. Their skin was bronze and scarred, their faces painted with war marks, their hair braided with bones. Each carried colossal weapons—battle axes and halberds so massive they split the ground with each swing.
Their voices thundered together, a chant so deep it shook Kairo's very bones.
"—SUN! SUN! SUN!"
Behind them, the sun itself followed, colossal and alive, a burning disk that pulsed with raw power.
From the sapphire side, the skies filled with wings.
An army of dragons emerged, their scales shimmering like silver rivers under moonlight. They moved with flawless unity, their roars shaking the heavens. Behind them drifted the moon, silver and whole, radiating both beauty and terrible majesty.
Kairo stumbled backward. His heart raced. "Giants… and dragons? This—this isn't real."
The air split apart as the two forces surged forward.
From the burning sun stepped a titan unlike the others. His mane of fire flowed like a lion's, his beard blending into the flames, his chest armored in bronze plates carved with suns and flames. Around his thick neck hung a necklace of dragon skulls, each one the size of a fortress. His presence blotted out thought.
From the silver moon emerged a dragon vast beyond imagination—white-scaled, with wings that stretched wider than mountain ranges, horns like spires, eyes shimmering with cold eternity.
Kairo's breath caught in his throat. His mind screamed at him to flee, but his legs were rooted to the battlefield.
The two armies clashed.
Giants roared, their weapons falling like avalanches. Dragons swooped, their claws ripping through armor, their breath scorching entire ranks. Sparks of crimson fire and silver light tore the air apart.
Kairo raised his arms to shield himself from the shockwaves, though no blow touched him. The war raged endlessly, and still he stood, an unwanted witness.
Then—everything tore away.
The battlefield dissolved into darkness again, but this time he was not floating. His feet landed on liquid.
An endless ocean stretched in every direction, black and glimmering faintly with ghostly lights. The water churned, but no wind stirred. Shapes moved beneath the surface—vast, alien horrors with too many eyes and too many teeth, writhing in silence.
Kairo whispered hoarsely. "Where… am I now…?"
The Command Nexus was silent.
A pressure swelled behind him.
He froze. His skin crawled, his instincts screamed. Slowly—hesitantly—he turned.
And there it was.
A beast.
It was chained in place, colossal chains thicker than castles binding its limbs and wings, each link stretching deep into the abyss below. Its body floated lifelessly, yet its size dwarfed mountains.
Its horns were jagged crescents of bone, its spine was lined with shattered spikes that rose like black towers. Its wings were broken, tattered, bound in rusted iron. Its claws glimmered like obsidian blades. Even lifeless, it radiated such dread that the horrors of the deep scattered far from it, refusing to approach.
Kairo's lips trembled. His voice was a whisper. "What… what are you?"
The ocean shook.
The beast's massive chest rose slightly. A murmur, faint and broken, reverberated in Kairo's mind.
"...alive..."
Kairo staggered. His knees nearly buckled. "You—you can speak?"
The beast's enormous head tilted slightly, one ruined eye opening faintly, glowing like a dying ember. Its voice grew clearer, deeper, ancient beyond reason.
"...help…me..."
Kairo's heart hammered. The sheer weight of its voice crushed him, forcing him to grit his teeth just to stay upright.
"Help you? How? What even—what even are you?"
Chains rattled, a sound like mountains collapsing. The ocean around them writhed.
"The...war...begins...again," the beast growled. Its voice was no longer broken—it was whole, commanding, almost regal. "The sun rises...the moon descends.....and I remain bound."
Kairo clenched his fists. "The war…? The one between the giants and dragons? What do you—"
"Restore...balance..." The beast's words grew louder, shaking the sea. "Break....my chains....or all will burn....and drown."
Its voice lowered again, almost mournful. "You....you must....fix...what was broken."
Kairo's throat was dry. He couldn't breathe, couldn't think. "Why me?" he whispered.
But before the beast could answer, the sea cracked. The vision collapsed.
And suddenly—he was back.
The smell of ash filled his lungs again. The crackle of fire reached his ears. He blinked rapidly, finding himself lying in the burnt village once more.
The newly evolved ghoul stood beside him, silent sentinel, its violet lance planted into the ground, eyes flickering faintly as it kept watch.
Not far away, Shiri lay unconscious, the boy still in his arms. Both were alive, breathing shallowly.
Kairo touched the ground, grounding himself. His heart still pounded from the visions. He looked at the ghoul, then at Shiri, then at the boy.
"What… just happened to me?" he muttered.
The Command Nexus shimmered faintly.
[Notification: Memory Reload complete.]
[Warning: Fragments revealed are not illusions, but echoes of the Eternal War.]
Kairo froze, his breath caught in his throat. "That… wasn't just a dream?"
The Nexus did not answer further.
He clenched his fists, trembling. "That beast… that chained monster… what did it mean? Fix… what was broken…? War between sun and moon…"
Shaking his head, he forced himself to focus. The questions could wait—his allies couldn't.
He crawled over to Shiri, reaching out to shake his companion gently. "Hey. Wake up. We… we need to move."
But even as he called to Shiri, his mind would not let go of the chained beast's voice.
Its words echoed endlessly in his head:
"Break my chains… or all will burn… and drown…"