The sky was wrong.
Clouds shimmered in and out of visibility, like they were being rendered… and erased… again and again.
The ground cracked beneath Kael's boots, every step releasing a faint digital hiss. Trees stood frozen mid-motion, some split in half — leaves hovering in the air, never falling. Others blinked in and out of existence completely.
This wasn't nature.
It was a scar in the world.
A place caught between life and code.
Kael walked slowly, cloak dragging behind him, every instinct screaming that the world around him wasn't real anymore.
Behind him, Lyra adjusted her gauntlet, eyes scanning the shifting terrain. Her breath fogged unnaturally — not from cold, but from data flux.
Beside her, Elyssia moved like a ghost. No footprints. No sound.
She stared into the trees, eyes narrow.
"Ilnor's gone," she said. "But this isn't just deletion. It's memory fusion."
Kael turned. "What does that mean?"
"It means pieces of different timelines are being forced into one… broken one. Like shoving dreams into a corpse."
Suddenly — a scream echoed through the forest.
Not a normal scream.
It sounded distorted, like someone crying out underwater while a thousand voices spoke over them.
Kael's grip tightened on Wraithbrand.
"Survivor?"
"Worse," Elyssia muttered. "Corrupted soul. A fragment."
They followed the noise.
Ruined Town – Ilnor Echo Field
The town had been swallowed.
Buildings melted like wax. Walls floated midair. Doorways opened into void. Streets looped into themselves — one step forward became ten steps back.
And in the center…
A man knelt.
Naked from the waist up. Covered in black veins of glitch-fire. His eyes pulsed red, flickering with fragmented code. Half his face looked melted, like two different timelines had tried to exist on the same body.
He whispered:
"Kill me."
Then his head snapped up.
"No—help me."
"She's coming—"
"Don't let him see—"
"Ilnor must burn—"
Lyra stepped forward.
"Wait—don't move."
The man rose slowly. His body cracked with every motion. Something behind his skin was trying to come out.
Kael stepped between them. "We're not your enemy."
The man screamed.
And exploded into motion.
SYSTEM ALERT – FRACTURED SHADE
Subject: [Inverted Survivor: Echo-Host 02]
Origin: Mirrorfall-Corrupted City
Threat Level: B+
Ability: Time Bleed, Voice Steal, Phase Shift
Kael barely dodged as the man's arm extended like black liquid, lashing through the air and striking a pillar.
The whole building phased out for a second — then came back sideways, burying itself into the street.
"He's not attacking… he's rewriting the field!" Elyssia shouted.
Kael charged.
Wraithbrand flared, shadow lightning rippling across its edge.
He struck — cleanly.
The blade sank deep into the man's chest.
For a second — silence.
Then—
The man's body flickered into six copies — all glitching in different directions, each screaming different words from different pasts.
"You're already dead."
"Mother said stay hidden."
"They burned the sky…"
"I'm still in the test chamber—"
"We're still dreaming."
"He's splitting!" Lyra yelled. "Timeline fragmentation!"
Kael focused.
His shadow surged beneath him, syncing with Wraithbrand. He felt the spark of the Warlord trait rise, and deeper still — the mark on his chest burned.
[VOIDBINDER TRAIT – SURGE ACCESS: 12%]
Sub-Trait: Echo Anchor
He stabbed the blade into the ground — and activated it.
"Anchor."
Reality around him paused. Not stopped — just held.
The flickering slowed.
Kael stepped through the glitching echoes and swung once — a deep, silent cut.
Each copy collapsed into itself.
And the real man fell… still breathing.
He coughed blood. His eyes returned to normal — for a moment.
"You're him…"
Kael knelt beside him.
"Who did this to you?"
The man's eyes shook.
"He… He's watching. From below. From outside.
He built the system. And now he's—"
His body began to disintegrate.
Data, blood, ash — all melting.
He whispered:
"He sees you now…
and he's smiling."
Then he was gone.
Silence.
Even the sky seemed to flicker more violently now.
Elyssia knelt where he'd fallen.
"His soul didn't pass through the Gate. It was deleted at the source. No afterlife. Just gone."
Kael stood.
"Then we're already late."
They turned to the broken skyline.
A pulse erupted in the distance — black light rising like an inverted sun.
And from it… a voice spoke directly into Kael's mind.
"Voidbinder Kael Veyron."
"Come find me in the ruins of your betrayal."
"Bring the Seraph. Bring the witch. Let them watch you fall again."
— The Architect
Kael's breath caught.
"He's in the place where I died."
Elyssia's eyes widened.
"Then the next memory shard… is buried in your grave."