Somewhere beyond the city, another figure watched from the rooftops.
He looked identical to Kael—yet colder, sharper, eyes void of warmth.
> "So this is the 17,693rd cycle," he murmured.
"And she's still the key."
This was Kael II—the echo born from countless failed loops.
His purpose was singular:
to destroy the Academy before Project Bloom could begin again.
But deep within, a trace of something human lingered.
A memory of a girl's voice, laughing under the spring sky.
> "Yukino…" he whispered, almost gently.