Kazen stepped onto the fragmented bridge of glass, each shard echoing a memory he didn't remember living—yet felt in his bones. With every step, he glimpsed pieces of a world that might have been: thrones forged in violence, masses bowing before him, rebellions crushed with a wave of his hand.
At the bridge's end stood the Other Kazen, tall and regal, eyes glowing faintly with admin rights.
"You made them fear you," Kazen said quietly. "You ruled everything, and yet…"
"I was alone," the reflection replied. "Absolute control demands absolute sacrifice. Friends, family, humanity—it all had to go."
The sphere hovered between them, pulsing with fractured code: the first Anchor.
"I'm not you," Kazen said.
The Other Kazen smiled. "You will be, unless you learn to choose differently."
He raised his hand. Code spears erupted from the void, hurtling toward Kazen. With a shout, Kazen summoned his system blade—Code Reaver—and slashed through the first wave.
They clashed, sparks of raw code exploding around them. For every strike Kazen landed, he felt a memory burn—decisions he hadn't made yet, futures he might still face.
"You think free will protects you?" the Other Kazen growled. "This system is a loop. A cage. You'll always end up here."
"No," Kazen snarled. "Not this time."
With a burst of energy, he drove the blade into the core of his reflection. The sphere shattered, releasing a pulse of golden light.
> Anchor Code [1/3] Acquired.
Kazen dropped to one knee, breath ragged. The void responded—his bridge sealed behind him, and the trial faded.
"Two more remain," the system echoed.
Far across the void, Rael faced his own shadow—and a war only he remembered starting.