The astral winds howled above the broken plateau of Rhythen's Spine. Jagged ridges cracked through the clouds like the exposed bones of a dead god. Beneath the fading crimson sun, Kael stood motionless, his black cloak fluttering in defiance of the gale.
But he was not alone.
Across from him, standing atop a cracked obsidian pillar, was a cloaked figure—one that shimmered like a mirage, indistinct and surreal. A masked face, etched with a symbol that glowed faintly: an infinity loop surrounded by spiraling stars.
"So… you finally reached Spiral Threshold."The voice, distorted yet calm, echoed across the windswept chasm.
Kael narrowed his eyes, the Protocol Interface glowing around his irises. "And you're the gatekeeper, I presume?"
The figure gave a short, solemn nod. "I am the Fragment of Reflection. I exist to test those who reach beyond the ordinary bounds of Ascension."
Kael's heartbeat thundered in his ears. This was it. The Spiral Threshold—a myth among System Users. A stage that could not be forcefully accessed. One had to resonate with the System, be chosen by it.
And he had been chosen.
The Fragment stepped forward, hovering above the void between the stone platforms.
"You carry within you three forbidden protocols," the Fragment continued. "Primordial Spark, the First Flame... Null Echo, the Forbidden Silence... and the Seed of Construct, the Godling's Root. Few even know these exist. Yet you wield them as if fate itself bent for you."
Kael's hands curled into fists. "I didn't choose any of this. The System chose me."
The Fragment's voice grew heavier. "That is exactly why you must be tested. When fate grants power, it must ensure the bearer understands the consequences."
A bell tolled in the distance—one not made by metal, but by vibrating concepts themselves. Kael felt his entire being shiver.
[Stage Initiated: Spiral Combat - Trial of Fractured Will][WARNING: Death in this instance will trigger Core Disintegration. Resurrection Impossible.]
Kael's heart clenched. No second chances.
The sky darkened as thousands of glowing runes spiraled around them, forming an arena mid-air. The Fragment unsheathed a blade that shimmered like shifting glass.
"Begin."
The world exploded.
Kael ducked, narrowly avoiding a wave of distorted light. The Fragment moved like a living paradox—blinking forward in impossible vectors, attacking from angles that reality should've forbidden.
[Skill Activated: Null Echo Phase Step]Kael vanished, reappearing behind the Fragment with his newly acquired Echopiercer. He thrust—
But the Fragment shattered into a thousand shards.
Not an illusion.
A dimensional afterimage.
The real Fragment appeared above him, hands forming a spiral sigil. Kael barely recognized the pattern before—
"Reality Distortion: Event Collapse!"
The air twisted. Kael's Protocol Interface screamed warnings, but it was too late.
The moment struck—Kael's limbs jerked, and for a second, he was out of sync with time.
His movements lagged.
His thoughts echoed.
He was being torn from the present.
But Kael clenched his jaw, blood dripping from his nose as he activated the Protocol manually.
[Protocol Breach: Temporal Anchor Deployed]Chains of golden light wrapped around his form, forcing his spirit and body back into the now.
He landed hard on the platform, smoke rising from his skin.
The Fragment's eyes narrowed behind the mask. "You resisted Event Collapse… Impressive. But how long can you last?"
Kael stood, chest heaving, muscles twitching from strain. "Long enough."
Suddenly, the Platform trembled. Not from the Fragment—but from Kael.
The ground beneath him cracked, golden circuits erupting from his feet.
[System Override Engaged][Code Name: Ascendant Spiral: Phase One]
Kael's body glowed with overlapping layers of code, twisting inwards like a spiral collapsing into itself. His energy surged, and for a moment, the Fragment actually stepped back.
"You're evolving mid-combat…" the Fragment said quietly.
Kael's voice was layered now—a chorus of himself, distorted by the evolving protocol. "I don't need perfection. I need understanding. Power without control is chaos—but power with intent…"
He launched forward, this time not blinking—but warping. The laws bent around him, letting him move through possibility rather than space.
His blade clashed with the Fragment's, and the resulting shockwave rippled across dimensions. Glimpses of alternate timelines flashed—realities where Kael had died, failed, become something else.
He saw himself as a tyrant.
A martyr.
A forgotten name.
He ignored them all.
"I define who I am," Kael growled as his strike forced the Fragment back. "Not probability."
The Fragment faltered, mask cracking slightly. A soft laugh followed. "Very well. Then face yourself."
From the cracked sky, a mirrored version of Kael descended. Eyes empty. Protocols corrupted. A being that bore his face but none of his spirit.
[Spawn Created: Mirror Kael - Reflection of Potential Lost]
Kael's mind reeled. "Another test?"
The Fragment vanished with a whisper: "No. The test."
Mirror Kael launched forward, and the two collided—blade to blade, fist to fist.
Every strike was perfectly mirrored.
Every movement anticipated.
It was like fighting his own soul.
Kael's breath came ragged. "You're not me."
Mirror Kael spoke for the first time, voice hollow: "I am what you could have been. A godless weapon. A tool of ambition. You left your sister behind. You let Riven die. You burned the tower of knowledge. Don't lie. I am you without excuses."
Kael faltered. The words were not lies. He had chosen to abandon those things—for survival, for strength.
For this very moment.
But he also remembered why.
He remembered Aerin's final words. Riven's fading smile. The Archivist's sacrifice. The lessons etched into his soul, not just his stats.
Kael's eyes blazed anew.
[Skill Awakened: Spiral Resolve - Conceptual Immunity (Regret)]
The mirrored Kael struck, blade aiming for the heart—but Kael didn't block.
He let the blade pierce him—then smiled.
The mirror's eyes widened as Kael's form dissolved into spiraling runes.
"I don't need to kill my past," Kael whispered behind him. "I need to carry it."
His blade emerged through Mirror Kael's chest.
[Reflection Purged][Trial Complete]
Everything shattered. The sky, the arena, the voices—all fell away like glass.
Kael fell to his knees, panting, the Spiral Platform reforming beneath him.
The Fragment reappeared, this time bowing.
"You have passed. Not through power. But through meaning."
Kael's interface flared.
[Spiral Ascension Unlocked][You have earned the title: 'Fracturewalker'][New Protocol Slot Unlocked: Conceptual Protocol - Choose Wisely]
Kael blinked as a list of conceptual protocols unfurled before him. Not skills. Not spells. But ideas made manifest.
One caught his eye.
[Protocol: Legacy Engine - Converts Regret into Potential (Scaling: Emotional Weight x Combat Intensity)]
He chose it without hesitation.
The Fragment smiled. "Go forth, Kael of the Fractured Flame. The Spiral now remembers you."
As the world faded and he was returned to reality, Kael realized he had just stepped beyond being a System User.
He had become a System Architect—a force not just within the game, but one rewriting its very rules.
And the world… was not ready.