The void bled gold.
Kael stood at the edge of an abyss that shimmered like fractured glass. Every shard reflected a different version of the cosmos — some thriving, some decayed, and some completely hollow.
The System's voice whispered between the cracks, cold and divine.
> [Directive: Retrieve the Forgotten Star.]
[Warning: Cosmic Law interference detected.]
[Proceeding will nullify existence protocols.]
Kael's eyes burned with that familiar ache — the hunger that wasn't hunger, the craving for truth.
"Forgotten Star… what are you hiding from me?" he murmured.
From behind him, the air rippled. Voyral's echo flickered into being — a translucent afterimage of Kael's own soul.
"You still don't see it," the echo said. "The Star isn't lost… it was erased. A Lawbreaker, unfit for any reality."
Kael clenched his fists. "Then why does the System want me to find it?"
"Because it fears what the Star remembers."
Lightning — black, soundless — split the horizon. The abyss beneath them turned. Not down, but inward. Kael's perception folded, and for a brief moment, he saw the universe inside himself: the Devourer, the Watcher, the Architect, all fragments of a single origin that refused to be named.
And there, buried deep in the light of his own essence, pulsed a tiny flicker.
A star.
Faint. Forgotten.
Beating like a heart that had never stopped.
> [Object Detected: Core of the First Law.]
[Designation: The Forgotten Star.]
[Status: Contained within Host.]
Kael staggered back. "It's… inside me?"
The void answered with silence. Then — a shape emerged.
It was neither human nor god. A being cloaked in robes woven from starlight and void ash, carrying a staff of folded constellations. Their voice was low, echoing from eternity itself.
"The Law you seek was never lost, Kael. You are its last remnant."
Kael's vision fractured. Every nerve in his body screamed as the weight of infinite memory pressed down. The being raised their hand.
"Your existence breaks equilibrium. The First Star cannot coexist with the Devourer's curse."
Kael smirked weakly, blood trailing from his lips. "Then I'll be both."
The being hesitated. For the first time, the stars flickered — uncertain.
Kael took a step forward, light flaring behind his eyes.
> [System Override: Partial Success.]
[User has declared Lawless Status.]
[New Title Acquired — "He Who Devours Law."]
The Forgotten Star ignited within his chest, illuminating the abyss like dawn. The being lowered their staff.
"So be it," they whispered. "But know this — the moment you shine, every world that remembers the Star will awaken. And they will not forgive what you've become."
Kael looked upward, defiant. "Then let them remember me."
The cosmos shuddered. The void rippled outward like a heartbeat restarting time itself.
Somewhere beyond sight, the Architect turned their gaze once more — amused, almost proud.
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