The Realm That Remembers His Name
Leo didn't sleep.
Even though the Broken Realm had no proper night or day—only shifting colors and floating shadows—his body still felt exhausted. But his mind couldn't rest. Not after what happened in the Forbidden Edge. Not after hearing the name the masked Hunters whispered:
"Fragmented One."
That title kept echoing in his skull.
Like a key he wasn't supposed to hold.
Like a truth the whole realm was terrified to speak out loud.
---
A Morning That Felt Wrong
Max snored loudly, sprawled on the soft glowing sand.
Lyra sat nearby on a floating rock, reading her shimmering black book.
And Leo?
He stared at the horizon—if the Broken Realm even had one.
The sky was cracked like shattered glass.
Pieces of stars floated inside the cracks.
And behind everything, a dark pulse beat slowly, like a giant heart.
The entire realm… was breathing.
Leo whispered,
"Why does it feel like everything is watching me?"
Lyra didn't look up from her book.
"It's because it is."
Leo flinched.
"You're joking, right?"
Lyra finally sighed and closed the book.
"No. The Broken Realm is alive. It remembers every being who has ever entered it. Every battle. Every death. Every scream. Every miracle." She pointed at Leo's chest.
"And it remembers you most of all."
Leo blinked nervously.
"But… I've never been here before."
Lyra tilted her head.
"That's the strange part."
---
Cracks That Whisper
Leo stood up and walked closer to a nearby floating platform.
It looked like a piece of earth ripped from another dimension—trees twisted sideways, rivers flowing upside down, and the ground humming with faint silver patterns.
When Leo stepped on it—
Crack.
A glowing fissure opened under his foot.
Lyra jumped up.
"DON'T MOVE."
Leo froze.
"Is it going to explode?!"
"No. It's… speaking."
Leo stared at the crack.
Thin lines of silver light crawled across it, forming symbols he couldn't understand.
They felt ancient.
Older than gods.
Older than creation.
Older than time.
Then—a whisper.
A real whisper.
From the crack.
So soft Max couldn't hear it.
But Leo heard it clearly:
"Return… Fragment… Return…"
His heartbeat stumbled.
"Lyra," he whispered shakily, "it spoke."
Lyra's eyes darkened.
"…What did it say?"
"It told me to return."
Lyra slowly exhaled.
"That means only one thing."
She stepped back.
Max woke up from the tension in the air.
"What's going on…? Did the ground attack someone again?"
Lyra pointed at Leo, her face cold and serious.
"The Realm recognizes him. Which means—someone with the same energy as Leo has been here before."
Max frowned.
"Like… a past version of him?"
"No," Lyra said softly.
"Someone else carrying the same origin."
Leo's blood ran cold.
The Unknown God.
The one the Hunters mentioned.
The one who marked him.
The one whose power leaked through Leo like silver dust.
But… how?
Why?
For what purpose?
Leo clenched his fists.
"I need answers."
"And you'll get them," Lyra said. "But not here. There's only one place with enough records to reveal the truth."
She pointed toward the sky—
Where a massive island floated above everything, shaped like a broken cube split into nine pieces.
Each piece rotated slowly, covered in ancient runes.
Max blinked.
"Uh… is that even safe?"
"No." Lyra smirked.
"It's the opposite of safe."
Leo nodded.
"Then we go."
---
The Forgotten Archive
Reaching the floating island was harder than Leo expected.
Paths materialized only when Leo stepped forward.
Platforms shifted based on his heartbeat.
Wind bent around him instead of pushing him back.
Even the unstable gravity twisted to let him pass.
Max shook his head.
"Bro… this realm is literally helping you walk."
Leo didn't answer.
Because he felt it too.
The entire world reacted to him…
as if it knew him.
Lyra kept staring at Leo, silently observing every step.
After thirty minutes of climbing, jumping, and walking across floating bridges, they finally reached the center of the island.
A massive door stood there—fifty meters tall, carved with swirling patterns.
It opened the moment Leo touched it.
Inside was a circular hall filled with floating tablets, cracked mirrors, and glowing streams of memory-energy.
"This…" Max whispered, awestruck.
Lyra nodded.
"The Forgotten Archive. It records the fragments of beings who influenced this realm."
Leo stepped closer.
"Fragments?"
Lyra nodded slowly.
"If someone powerful comes here, the Broken Realm steals a small piece of their existence. A memory. A trace. A feeling."
Max said,
"Sounds creepy."
"It is." Lyra turned to Leo.
"And if we're lucky, your fragment is here."
Leo gulped.
He reached for a floating tablet glowing silver.
As his fingers touched it—
FLASH.
---
The Memory That Should Not Exist
The world around him vanished.
Leo found himself standing in a white void.
Not empty.
Not silent.
Filled with swirling energy—black and white, twisting like galaxies being born and destroyed every second.
A figure stood at the center.
Tall.
Calm.
His back turned to Leo.
Wearing a long cloak woven from pure darkness and light.
His presence was so heavy that even the void around him bent.
Leo's voice trembled.
"Who… are you?"
The figure did not turn.
But his voice echoed gently—deep, lonely, infinite.
"You are early."
Leo froze.
"I've been waiting for you," the man continued.
The void cracked.
Leo gasped as black fissures spread across the space.
The man finally turned halfway—never showing his full face.
Half-hidden.
Half-real.
Half-dream.
But Leo saw one thing clearly:
His eyes.
Silver.
The same silver as Leo's awakening.
Leo's chest tightened.
"No… no way…"
The figure smiled softly.
A sad smile.
Not evil.
Not cruel.
Not happy.
Just… lonely.
"You're not ready to meet me yet, Leo."
Leo's throat tightened.
"You know my name."
"Yes."
The man raised a hand.
"And when the time comes, you will know mine."
The void collapsed.
---
Back to the Archive
Leo gasped and fell to his knees.
Max caught him.
"LEO! Bro, what happened?!"
Leo's whole body trembled.
Lyra knelt beside him.
"What did you see?"
Leo opened his mouth—
But no words came.
Because if he spoke the truth…
that the being he saw had the same eyes…
the same aura…
the same power…
Then everything would change.
Max squeezed his shoulder.
"Hey… we're here. Just tell us."
Leo whispered shakily:
"I saw someone. Someone who knows me."
Lyra's eyes widened.
"What else?"
Leo took a long, shaking breath.
"He… he wasn't trying to hurt me. He wasn't angry. He wasn't evil."
Max swallowed.
"Then what was he?"
Leo stared at the glowing cracks above them.
"He was waiting."
Lyra looked confused. "For what?"
Leo looked at his trembling hands.
"For me."
---
The Realm Reacts
Before they could speak further—
The ground trembled.
The sky cracked.
A huge shockwave spread across the Broken Realm.
Lyra's face turned pale.
"Oh no…"
Max shouted,
"What?! What now?!"
Lyra slowly looked at Leo.
"The entire realm just awakened."
Leo's heartbeat froze.
"Why?"
Lyra pointed at the Archive doors.
A message was forming there—carved by glowing silver cracks.
Letters… forming words.
Words that made the entire realm hum with fear.
---
The Message
Leo stepped closer.
The crack-letters rearranged into a single, chilling sentence:
"HE HAS RETURNED."
Max stepped back.
"Uh… who exactly?"
Lyra whispered, horrified:
"The one connected to you. The one who left his mark here. The one the Hunters fear."
Leo felt his blood freeze.
"Don't tell me—"
Lyra finished the sentence for him:
"The Unknown God."
The entire realm shook again.
And far, far away—
on the horizon of the Broken Realm—
a massive crack opened.
Dark lightning poured out.
A storm of reality collapse began.
Max shouted,
"BRO, WHAT DID YOU TOUCH?!"
Lyra answered quietly:
"It's not what he touched…"
She looked at Leo with fear and awe.
"…It's what's calling him."