Kaelen fell back to the ground, a smoking ruin of a human. [HP: 1/1500][Status: Critical Failure.]
Ren caught him. Ren looked at the boy. "Why? You saved me. Why?"
"Because..." Kaelen rasped. "The world... needs... a chance."
Ren looked at the mechanical Sun and Moon preparing to fire again. He looked at Kaelen, who held the power of Decay and Hope.
Ren realized the truth. Neo's System failed because it lacked Soul. Ren's Empire failed because it lacked Order.
Kaelen was both.
"Boy," Ren said. "I am tired. I have been tired for an eternity. Will you take my burden?"
"What?"
"I cannot fix this world," Ren said. "I am too old. I am the problem. But you... you are the Glitch. You can rewrite the code."
Ren placed his hand on Kaelen's chest. [Transfer Initiated.]
Ren poured his essence into Kaelen. The Aspect of Stasis. The Aspect of Iron. The Aspect of Time. And the infinite Mana of the Ancestor.
Ren began to fade. His body turned to dust, finally finding the peace Kuro promised him ages ago. "Do better than I did," Ren whispered. "Don't be a God. Be a Human."
Ren vanished.
Kaelen stood up. He wasn't Level 20 anymore. [Level: ERROR][Class: Administrator of the Tenth Cycle.]
Kaelen looked up at the Mechanical Sun and Moon. He raised a hand. He snapped his fingers.
[Command: /System_Reformat.]
The Sun stopped spinning. The Moon powered down. The blue chains of the System shattered across the entire world.