Hinata dreamed again.
But this wasn't like before. No whispers. No Nether rot or flickering hellfire. This was light.
Blinding, sacred, clinical light.
He floated, bodiless, suspended in a sky that had no stars, only endless whiteness, like the canvas
of creation itself had been left unfinished.
Below him was a hall without walls, but endless pillars of ivory and flame held up a ceiling of pure
will. Thrones--massive and carved from concepts no human could pronounce--floated in a perfect
ring. Time ticked here, not by clocks, but by the breath of gods.
And they were arguing.
A voice like molten gold boomed, "The Accord must remain. It is not punishment. It is protection."
Another voice, colder, crystalline, female, responded, "You fear what broken souls become. But fear
is not law."
Hinata hovered unseen, a flicker caught in the tapestry of their debate.The gods didn't look like gods. Some were formless light, some were beasts, some were children
made of stars and shadow. And at the center throne sat the one with chains coiled around his
form--Kyreus, Warden of the Accord.
"We allowed reincarnation to give hope," Kyreus said, eyes like polished obsidian. "But when hope
is thrown away, it leaves behind something twisted."
"Then why not cleanse it?" another god asked. "Purify the soul and send it anew?"
"Because some souls remember," Kyreus growled. "And remembrance is the seed of rebellion."
The gods fell quiet.
And then another voice spoke--not from the circle, but from the shadows just beyond it.
A voice that made Hinata's nonexistent heart twist.
"You speak of rebellion as if it's sin, but was it not creation itself that rebelled against void?"
The shadows coiled, and from them stepped a figure bound in blue flame and broken
armor--Val'Kyros.
He was not welcome here.
Dozens of gods rose from their thrones, weapons and power drawn. The chains on Kyreus glowedThat Time I Didn't Get Reincarnated - Chapter 10
red.
"You have no right to be here!" one of them barked.
Val'Kyros smirked. "I never had a right. I had purpose. There's a difference."
Kyreus stood. "You taught mortals to defy fate. You revealed forbidden techniques. You gave soul
marks to the unchosen."
"I gave choices," Val'Kyros said, voice a thunderclap wrapped in silk. "You called it corruption. But I
call it correction."
A goddess formed of glass and wind hissed, "And your so-called correction birthed monsters.
Beasts. Demons."
Val'Kyros turned slightly.
"They were creations. And they suffered your judgment not because they were evil... but because
they were inconvenient."
The gods fell into silence again.
Then Kyreus spoke.
"Let the record show: Val'Kyros was cast down not for his power, but for his crime of defiance."Hinata felt a pressure build around him. The memory was collapsing. His time here was ending.
But as it faded, Val'Kyros turned. His gaze pierced everything--even dreams.
Even Hinata.
And he said, "They fear you. They always have. And the Accord? That was never about justice. It
was about control."
---
Hinata woke with a gasp.
Sweat drenched his body, and the cave walls pulsed faintly with blue light. The mark on his hand
burned.
Alis was already standing nearby, sword in hand.
"Another vision?" she asked.
Hinata nodded slowly. "Yeah... but this time, I saw the gods."
Alis tilted her head. "And?"He clenched his fist.
"They're scared."