The creature lunged.
Kael barely dodged the swipe, ash trailing behind him as the echo of himself—this twisted, empty thing—followed like a phantom in lockstep. Its blade, eerily similar to his Soulbrand, crashed into the stone, splitting it with a shockwave of corrupted aura.
Lyra's wings burst with radiant flares as she cast a shield around Kael. "We can't let it touch you! That thing's made to tear your soul apart!"
"I know," Kael grunted, sliding back and clashing blades again. The force rattled his bones. "It's reading me. Every move—every breath."
Drayke didn't wait for a cue.
He shot forward, gauntlets ablaze with beast flame. "Then let me give it something unpredictable!"
His punch cracked the mirror creature's ribs—barely. The thing didn't even flinch. It twisted unnaturally, its joints bending in ways that defied human structure, and slammed a knee into Drayke's gut, sending him hurtling into a wall.
Kael's eyes widened. It had his speed. His instinct.
But no hesitation.
That made it even deadlier.
"You wanted a worthy opponent, Kael?" it rasped. "Here I am. Born from your sins. Your rage. Your limit."
Ash flared around Kael's feet as he gritted his teeth and launched forward again, blades meeting in a blur of cuts, slashes, feints. Every time he adapted, the creature matched him.
No… it evolved.
Ashen Veil. Kael vanished in a blur.
The creature did too.
Then two silhouettes appeared midair, striking, vanishing, reappearing again in a dance of flickers and flashes.
Each hit brought whispers from the chamber—echoes of Kael's past, his regrets, the people he failed to save.
The Eye. The Dungeon collapse. Arclight blood on his hands.
"Kael!" Lyra cried, extending her aura. "Let me anchor you—"
"No," he growled. "I need this."
Flashback – Unknown Memory
A younger Kael stood over a fallen friend. His hands were trembling. His aura fractured.
A voice behind him: "Your greatest enemy won't be some Eternal, boy… it'll be the version of you that gives in."
Kael's aura exploded.
No longer Ashen gray—but burning black and silver.
The chamber couldn't contain it.
"Alright…" Kael whispered.
"This is my soul."
He surged forward.
His blade didn't just meet the creature's—it broke through it. Not with power, but intent. Pure, sharpened will.
The creature reeled, eyes wide for the first time.
Kael landed behind it.
A pause.
Then—
Slash.
The creature fell in two clean halves, disintegrating into ash and whispers.
Silence.
Drayke pulled himself from the rubble. "...That it?"
"No." Kael exhaled, shoulders shaking. "That was the gatekeeper."
Lyra approached, touching his arm. "You changed."
"I remembered who I am," Kael said. "Not just a vessel. Not a weapon. I'm me. And I don't need to be perfect… I just need to be stronger than I was yesterday."
Drayke smirked. "Poetic."
Kael cracked a smile. "Shut up."
Then the floor beneath them lit up.
Twelve runes.
Twelve new paths.
Each one humming with an aura so intense it made their relics shudder.
Lyra whispered, "These are trials. Meant for Ascension."
Drayke glanced at them. "Twelve paths. Three of us."
Kael looked forward, grip tightening on his blade.
"Then we split."
Elsewhere – Noctheron Marsh
The skies darkened.
From the marsh rose a figure cloaked in mist—Zera Vaelith. Her Wraith Bell pulsed faintly as echoes gathered around her.
"They've reached the Trial Gate," she said softly.
Behind her, a figure cloaked in eternal shadow stepped forward.
Ceris Nightreign.
"Then everything begins now."