Zay's laughter echoed through the frozen chamber, sharp and broken, like glass grinding against steel. The sound didn't belong to a hero or a villain—it belonged to a man stripped raw, made to relive agony after agony until even his screams lost meaning.
His fingers trembled as he dragged himself upright, blood soaking into the cracked stone beneath him. His ruined leg barely held weight, yet he stood.
The lion in white mist didn't move. It watched with eyes no longer predatory—but ancient. Knowing. It had seen through him.
Zay's breath came in short, ragged bursts. His fists clenched.
"You wanted me to remember..." he said again, softer this time. "The pain… the betrayal... the one who stayed, even when she knew the truth about me."
The memory hit like a punch to the chest.
Her.
That woman. The only one who didn't see a monster when he confessed what he had done in lifetimes no one remembered. The only one who whispered his name like it meant salvation, not ruin.
But she died anyway. Killed by a man's blade that was meant for him. That loss had been buried so deep that he had forced himself to forget that it even happened.
His voice cracked. "Why show me everything?"
Still no words came from the beast.
Only its eyes. But that silence by itself was more than enough because he understood.
His hand dropped to his side, fingers brushing against his side. His aura flickered again, not from exhaustion, but from realization.
"It's not just pain you're showing me," he said hoarsely. "You're showing me doubt."
The lion's eyes flared.
Zay stumbled forward a step.
"Every life I've lived. Every decision. I claimed I was doing it for them—for my family, for peace—but when things went wrong, I always reset. I always thought I could do it better next time. Stronger. Smarter. Cleaner."
His jaw clenched, eyes hardening despite the blood staining his face.
"But that wasn't the conviction I had thought, right? That was... fear. It was... me being too afraid to stand up for my own actions..."
Another step.
"I've been living like a coward. A goddamn coward trying to find a version of peace that cost me nothing. Trying to win without sacrifice."
The lion let out a low growl, low and rumbling. Not aggressive.
Resonant. Almost like it approved.
Zay fell to his knees, not from weakness—but clarity. "That's why I've never broken through," he muttered. "Why my path always felt hollow... I didn't even know what I believed in anymore after a point."
He looked up at the lion again.
Eyes steady.
"I've been moving like a shadow of myself… haunted by the weight of things I never let myself truly own. I always blamed the resets. Blamed fate. But the truth is—"
He pressed his hand into the stone. His aura surged again—stronger this time, wild and unstable.
"I was the one running. Running from what I've known... since the damn start and has refused to... actually take charge. I have been chasing a dream of a perfect peace... there's no such thing of. I need to live... for myself and... and accept that the peaceful dream I've wanted... has always been just a want."
Silence fell in the chamber, thick as ice and suddenly, the lion took a step forward.
But this time, the lion's form began to shift. The swirling white mist condensed, pulling inward like a storm collapsing into its eye. The chamber fell eerily still.
Then, the voice came. Not a roar—but a voice. Low. Cold. And far too human.
"You've always hesitated when chasing peace."
The mist pulsed around the lion's form as it stepped forward, its glowing eyes locked on Zay.
"You doubt yourself. Even when you act like you don't—you do. Deep down, you've always carried that doubt like a shadow. You blame the resets. You call your life cursed. You say you've suffered for others."
It paused. "But the truth is… you ran."
Zay's fists clenched.
"You ran because it was easier than facing yourself. Easier to rewrite than to repair. You call yourself strong, but the truth is—you're just tired. Tired of lying. You didn't suffer for others, Zay. You suffered because you didn't want to be alone. Because you needed someone to look at you and say you're worth something. Even if the life wasn't yours. Even if the love wasn't real."
The lion's gaze grew sharper—no longer just a beast, but a mirror to everything Zay buried.
"You didn't fight for peace. You fought to feel less empty."
The final words landed like a blade sliding between ribs.
"I know you, Zay Yuso. I've seen every version of you. Every crack. Every mask. Every lie you've told."
Zay clenched his fists tighter, his knuckles pale beneath blood-streaked skin. His breathing slowed, each inhale sharp, every exhale trembling with pain. Blood trickled down his ruined leg, warm against the cold mist. He wanted to argue. To scream. To deny it's words.
But he couldn't.
Because deep down… he knew it was right.
He dropped his gaze, the silence between heartbeats louder than any roar. And then the lion spoke—not with anger, but with something heavier.
Truth.
"I am your doubts," it said. "Your hesitation. The voice you buried beneath pride and purpose."
It stepped forward, its form still cloaked in mist, but its presence towering.
"I am the keeper of everything you've tried to forget. Every lie you've whispered to yourself. Every truth you refused to look at. I've seen it all."
Zay lifted his eyes, and the beast stared directly into him.
"You've chased a place—an idea of peace, of home, of belonging—for so long that you've forgotten what you truly believe in. What you truly wanted. You convinced yourself that you were fighting for others, for your family, for a better world."
A pause. Heavy. Sharp.
"But really… you were just running. Chasing comfort. Chasing a version of life where you wouldn't have to face who you are when everything is stripped away."
Zay's breath hitched.
"Let go of that illusion," the lion said, voice low and final. "Stop chasing a place. Start chasing a purpose. One that's yours. One that can't be shaken by memory, or loss, or betrayal. Only then… will you be more than what you were. Chase the dream that you wanted... deep down from the start. Before this world. That's the purpose."
Zay's vision dimmed, the edges of the world curling inward. But just before the darkness could claim him, the lion raised its paw and placed it gently over his ruined leg. In an instant, warmth surged through him. His leg stitched itself together—not with flesh, but with something deeper. Something pure.
The pain faded.
"I will not kill you," the lion said, its voice quieter now, almost reverent. "I wouldn't dare."
Their eyes met again—beast and man—and in that moment, Zay wasn't fighting an enemy.
He was facing himself.
His lips parted, his voice hoarse and low. "Since the first time I opened my eyes in this world… I've always wanted one thing."
He lowered his gaze, memories flickering like dying stars—empires falling, gods screaming, entire worlds bowing beneath his feet.
"Control."
He breathed in deeply, steadying the tremor in his chest.
"Not just over others… but over myself. Over pain. Over the chaos that's followed me across lifetimes. I wanted to decide who I became. I wanted to build a life with my own hands, shape the world around me instead of being swallowed by it."
His voice cracked.
"But somewhere along the way… I stopped believing I could. I mistook power for control. I thought if I had enough strength, everything else would fall into place. I thought… I could force peace to exist."
He looked up again, fire returning to his eyes.
"But peace isn't something you force. And purpose isn't something you find in the eyes of others. It's something you claim. Something you become."
The lion remained silent, its mist swirling softly, listening.
Zay clenched his fists—not in defiance, but in clarity.
"I've been running from my own shadow. But not anymore."
The lion chuckled—a deep, resonant sound that echoed like distant thunder across the mist.
"Power without understanding is a torch in the hands of a blind man. You've wielded strength, Zay… but only now have you begun to see."
It stepped closer, its eyes ancient and knowing. The lion lowered its head slightly, a gesture of respect.
"You are not whole yet. But for the first time… you've stopped pretending to be."
The lion whispered, its voice almost mournful, "I see now… so this is why you dropped your blades and didn't fight him. You saw this coming, didn't you?"
Its glowing eyes shifted toward the figure of black mist that had stood still the entire time—watching, waiting. The lion looked away, as if already understanding what was about to happen. Then, without a single sound, the black mist moved.
It vanished from its place and appeared beside them—silent, humanoid, and still as death.
Zay's eyes snapped wide open. He raised his arms in reflex, aura trembling around his fingertips—only to stop when the mist moved again.
It knelt down to Zay.
The lion exhaled and gently closed its eyes. Without another word, its form dissolved into a stream of swirling white mist, rushing forward and surging into Zay's chest like a tide breaking through a dam.
His body seized. His eyes flared open.
[False Dawn has acknowledged you.]
[Resonance Echo Unlocked: False Dawn's Roar]
[Passive Gained: Aura of the False Dawn]
[Forsaken by Dwan has drawn the attention of followers.]