The night crept over the ruined city like a shroud.
Kael sat against the remains of a shattered wall, the shard in his hand glowing faintly in the darkness. His body ached from the clash with Elias, every breath sharp as broken glass. The city was silent except for the occasional groan of collapsing stone or the distant cry of some wandering beast.
But silence brought no peace.
The voices were louder in the dark.
Save me—It hurts—Don't leave me here—
Kael pressed his palms over his ears, but it did nothing. The memories weren't outside—they were inside. A thousand strangers lived within him, their deaths replaying endlessly.
His vision blurred. His chest tightened. For a moment, he wanted to end it. To drive the shard into his heart and silence the echoes forever.
Then her voice came again.
"Do not falter."
Kael's head jerked up.
Liora stood before him, her form faint but clear under the moonlight. Her outline shifted, glitching between human and machine, but her eyes… they were steady, infinite pools of light that seemed to see through him.
"You are not alone, Kael," she said.
He let out a broken laugh. "Not alone? My head is filled with the screams of the dead. I can't even hear my own thoughts anymore."
Liora's gaze softened. "The Memory Bleed is both curse and gift. The echoes will never leave you. But with them comes knowledge. Instinct. Strength no other mortal could wield. They are fragments of humanity itself—woven into your soul."
Kael shook his head. "You don't understand. Elias was right. I'm weak. That power he had… I couldn't even stand against it."
"Elias has embraced his shard," Liora replied. "But his path leads to ruin. He sees fragments as weapons to claim. You, Kael, are something else entirely."
She stepped closer, her voice lowering into a whisper that trembled against the night.
"You are the last Fragment. The one who carries not just memories, but the potential of every soul that ever lived. That is why Elias wants what you hold. That is why you must endure."
Kael stared at the shard in his hand. It pulsed softly, as if it were listening.
"…And if I can't?" he asked. "If I break before then?"
"Then the world ends."
Her words hung heavy in the air.
The wind howled through the ruins, carrying with it the faint stench of death. Kael lowered his gaze, shame burning in his chest. "I didn't ask for this."
"No one asks to bear the weight of survival," Liora said gently. "But you must decide: will you crumble beneath it… or rise because of it?"
Kael clenched his fist around the shard until blood seeped between his fingers. The voices screamed, but beneath them… he felt something else. A quiet rhythm. A pulse that wasn't pain, but strength.
For the first time, he tried to listen.
The soldier's instinct.The mother's prayer.The child's courage.
They weren't just screams. They were fragments of will.
Kael exhaled shakily. "If this curse is my strength… then I'll endure it. For as long as it takes."
Liora's form flickered, and for a moment, Kael thought he saw her smile. "Then your first trial awaits."
Her hand lifted, pointing into the shadows of the street.
From the darkness, glowing eyes blinked open—dozens of them. Low growls rumbled as creatures crawled into view, their twisted bodies malformed by collapse energy.
Kael rose to his feet, the shard glowing brighter in his palm. His heart pounded, fear clawing at his throat.
But this time, he didn't back down.