"It wasn't just a doorway. It was a memory trying to open itself."—Wong
Location – The Rifted Wild, Pacific Northwest
The Quinjet landed silently on a clearing of moss and roots that hadn't existed yesterday.
The forest was alive, not in the poetic way, but in the watching way—trees leaning slightly, winds whispering names.
"This is where Kael first stepped into our world," Wong said, stepping onto the soil with caution."Where the Eidolon followed."
Seris-Va activated her gauntlet: scanners blinked and fuzzed.
"No tech works right here. Not even mine. This place remembers."
The Pulse
As they moved deeper into the forest, Liora began humming.
Not a melody—a frequency. A tone that shifted the atmosphere. Riri noticed how the birds stopped singing.
And then—
The trees bent back in a perfect spiral.
Revealing the Rift.
The Rift
It wasn't a tear. Not anymore.
It looked like a sheet of still water suspended between two stones, rippling with images not of other places—but of other moments.
Kael at the tower.Kael splitting from himself.Kael fading.Kael trapped.
Liora stepped forward, eyes glowing faintly.
"He's not in time. He's in between the ticks."
Riri reached for her. "Liora—wait—"
But the girl stepped through.
Without a sound.
Inside the Rift – The In-Between
The space was… nothing.
Not dark. Not light.Not sound. Not silence.It was what came before choices.
Riri, Wong, and Seris-Va followed Liora into the fold.
There, they saw him.
Kael.
Floating in place, bound by threads of mirrored time. His eyes were shut. His pulse, flickering like a faulty signal.
Wong began to chant, but the space resisted.
Seris-Va reached for her blade—but it bent.
Only Liora moved freely.
She placed her hand on Kael's forehead.
"Remember who you were."
The Fracture
Suddenly, the Rift screamed.
A surge of black energy erupted, slamming Wong and Seris-Va back.
From the rifted wall stepped Null-Kael.
Clad in spiraling armor of obsidian and broken sigils, face expressionless—except for the mirrored crack running down his cheek.
"He is not yours anymore."
Riri stepped forward, shielding Liora.
"You stole his mind."
"No," Null-Kael whispered. "He gave it. To save you. To save everything. I'm what remains."
He raised his hand—and time fractured again.
Final Panel
Kael's eyes open.
One eye glowing gold.The other—black.
His voice—two tones overlapping—says:
"I remember… both of us."
❖ To Be Continued in Chapter 5 – Split Genesis ❖