The gate shimmered like mercury—liquid and reflective, hovering in a frame of bone and crystal. As Kael stepped through it, the air rippled, and the world collapsed inward.
Not crumbled. Not shattered.
It folded—like pages of a book turning backward through memories not his own.
When Kael opened his eyes, he stood in a strange realm. Not a desert. Not a battlefield.
A library.
Massive, endless, ancient.
The shelves extended far beyond visibility, stacked not with books, but with glass spheres. Each pulsed faintly with blue light—memories.
"Welcome to the Soulforge Path: Mind Reconstruction Phase."
The voice was different this time—less mechanical, more… human.
Kael stepped forward. The floor didn't creak. It whispered. Each footstep evoked an echo—like distant laughter, or fragments of conversations he never remembered having.
He picked up one of the memory spheres.
And instantly, it shattered, pulling him inward.
He was no longer himself.
He was in a classroom—Earth-style, fluorescent lights buzzing, students chattering. A version of him sat in the back, sketching runes he should never have known.
"Mr. Kael? Pay attention."
This… isn't my memory.
As soon as the realization dawned, the scene warped, melting into liquid time. Kael was ejected back into the library, panting.
The sphere lay broken at his feet.
One down. Thousands remained.
[Mind Construction: Phase One Initiated]
Memory Stability: 4%
Cognitive Sync: 1%
Thought Integration: 0%
He touched another sphere.
This time, he was fighting. Not in this world. Not in the Trial. But in an alley behind a bar, drenched in rain, blades drawn. The man he fought looked just like him—but older.
"You don't belong here either," the double hissed.
Kael was faster. Stronger. But as he delivered the final blow, he felt the same pain in his chest.
They were connected.
He gasped and staggered out of the vision.
Each sphere held a different life. A different version. A different Kael.
Why are there so many versions of me?
The library pulsed in response. Shelves rearranged themselves. Doors opened. And at the center of it all stood a massive obsidian throne.
Upon it sat a man cloaked in void.
L
Eyes unseen. Form hazy.
But Kael knew—instinctively—this was not a memory.
This was the One.
"You're early," the figure said. "But that's alright. You always were stubborn."
Kael stepped back. "Who are you?"
"Not yet. Finish building your mind, boy. Then we'll talk."
The figure raised a finger, and Kael's body was consumed by light.
He awoke in front of a new tablet.
[Mind Construction: Phase One – Complete]
Memory Stability: 31%
Cognitive Sync: 18%
Thought Integration: 10%
Partial Clarity Achieved. False Memories detected. Locking anomaly.
Tier One Progression: 74%
Core – Stable
Body – Stabilized
Mind – Structuring (In Progress)
Kael gritted his teeth.
Some memories… were never mine.
He stared at his reflection in a shard of crystal. For a moment, it flickered—between the Kael he remembered and someone else entirely.
Who am I, really?
The question echoed, not just in his thoughts, but in the world around him.
And somewhere, deep in the heart of the labyrinth, the One watched.
And waited.