The white letter pulsed, waiting for me to act.
My breath slowed. The fragments hovered in silence, suspended like marionettes with severed strings, their half-faces twitching in the air. The city had gone too quiet—no footsteps, no chatter, not even the hum of neon. Only me, the letter, and the silence of a world that wanted to see what I would do next.
I lifted my scarred palm. The mark burned faintly, responding to the thought forming in my chest. This time, I did not speak blindly. I chose carefully.
"Reveal."
The world obeyed.
Light split through the streets, not like sunlight, but like cracks in a painted backdrop. Buildings peeled away into thin layers, folding outward to expose gears of light turning beneath them. The faceless fragments froze, their broken forms unraveling into threads of symbols that dissolved into the cracks.
And behind it all, I saw the truth.
The city wasn't real.
It was a stage.
A test.
The letters weren't just language—they were the blueprint, the spine of existence. And I wasn't meant to live here. I was meant to understand it.
The hum returned, but softer now, almost… approving. It vibrated in the air like a teacher's nod, urging me to continue.
But then another sound intruded.
A voice. Human. Familiar.
"Kael…"
I spun.
At the edge of the fractured street, someone stood in the glow—someone I recognized instantly, though my memory screamed that it was impossible.
It was me.
Not the reflection I had seen before, not the double who had given me the first symbol. This one was different—alive, breathing, solid. His eyes weren't calm like the mirror-Kael's. They burned with fury.
"You're doing it again," he hissed. His voice cracked like broken glass. "Taking the words. Twisting them. Do you even remember how many times you've broken the cycle?"
The fragments quivered at his presence, bending toward him like worshippers bowing to a god.
I stared, my scar burning hotter. My mouth was dry. "Who… are you?"
His lips curved into a bitter smile.
"I'm the Kael who didn't fail."
The white letter above me flickered violently, as though the world itself was trembling at his words.