The One Who Watches From the Edge
The sky over the Broken Realm was cracked like shattered glass.
Golden veins of energy glowed between the fractures, spreading across the horizon like the pulse of a dying world. The wind howled, carrying dust, echoes, and the faint sound of distant screaming — or maybe the realm itself groaning from wounds time could not heal.
Leo and Aira stood side by side on a floating stone island, still shocked from their encounter with the Echo of the First Collapse. The silence between them felt heavier than the void below.
Aira rubbed her arms. "Leo… that thing said your existence is not possible. That's not normal. Nothing about that is normal."
Leo took a long breath, his eyes fixed on the endless fragments drifting around them. "I know."
"You're not scared?"
Leo hesitated before answering. "I'm… thinking."
Aira stared at him. "Leo, thinking doesn't work when the universe is trying to murder you."
Leo cracked a faint smile. "Thanks for the positivity."
Aira frowned. "I'm serious! You keep acting like everything is fine, but your power reacts strangely. And now we have a cosmic stalker telling us you shouldn't exist."
Leo looked away.
Because even if he wouldn't admit it, he was scared — scared of the feeling inside him, like something sleeping… something vast… something that knew the Echo long before Leo was born.
His hands trembled slightly. He hid them behind his back.
Aira stepped closer. "Whatever that Echo meant… we'll deal with it together."
Leo didn't respond immediately.
Then—
He felt it.
A cold, sharp sensation, sliding along his spine like a blade's edge.
Someone was watching them.
Again.
But this time, it wasn't the Echo. This presence was different — quieter, more precise, almost surgical in intent. Not curiosity. Not warning.
Hunting.
Aira felt it at the same moment. Her expression tightened.
"You feel that?"
Leo nodded slowly. "Yeah."
"Is it the Echo?"
"No… this one is smaller. But sharper. More focused."
Aira gulped. "So… worse?"
Leo didn't answer.
---
A Presence at the Edge
On a distant floating island, barely visible through drifting fog, a shadow leaned over the edge — still, silent, watching.
Not moving.
Not breathing.
Not blinking.
Leo focused his gaze.
And for the first time, the shadow moved — tilting its head, just enough to confirm it knew Leo saw it.
Aira grabbed Leo's sleeve. "Should we run?"
Leo's voice was calm. "Running won't help."
The shadow stepped forward.
Aira whispered, "Leo… that thing is walking toward us."
The floating islands between them shook, drawing closer as if the realm itself wanted them to meet. The shadow's steps were soundless — but each one tugged the environment like gravity itself bent to its presence.
Leo clenched his teeth. "He's forcing the islands to align."
Aira's eyes widened. "That's… that's high-level spatial control!"
Leo narrowed his eyes. "No. That's something else."
The shadow finally stepped onto a large floating platform and revealed its form.
He was tall, thin, wearing a long coat of torn black fabric. His hair was white, messy, almost floating like it wasn't fully obeying gravity. His eyes were pitch black with thin silver rings inside them — not glowing, but cutting through the distance with unnatural clarity.
Aira shivered. "Who is that…?"
The figure spoke, his voice soft but dangerously calm.
"Leo."
Leo's breath caught.
A stranger.
But he said the name like he had known it forever.
Leo stepped forward. "Who are you?"
The figure didn't answer. Instead, he tilted his head slightly, studying Leo like a scientist examining a rare, unstable creature.
"You survived the Echo."
Leo frowned. "So you know him."
"Know?" The figure chuckled softly. "The Echo is a remnant. A broken reflection of a past that no longer exists. He is a shadow. I am not."
Aira whispered, "So he's even stronger?"
The figure continued, ignoring her.
"Tell me, Leo… did he speak to you of impossibility?"
Leo's jaw tightened. "He said my existence shouldn't be possible."
The figure smiled, slow and unsettling.
"He told the truth."
Aira stepped forward aggressively. "Stop talking in riddles! Who are you? What do you want?!"
The man's eyes flicked to her for half a second.
Aira froze — not because of fear, but because something in his gaze pressed on her thoughts like a cold hand closing around her skull.
Leo immediately stepped between them.
"Don't touch her."
The man's smile returned — small, almost polite.
"I'm not interested in her. Only you, Leo."
Aira grabbed Leo's shoulder and whispered, "This guy is on a different level. Be careful."
Leo nodded slowly.
The stranger continued walking closer, and the air around him warped, bending reality into spirals. Tiny cracks formed under his feet with each step.
Leo raised his guard.
"Who are you?"
The man finally answered:
"I am Kael.
The first to notice your arrival.
And soon… the one who decides your fate."
Aira stepped back. "Leo, we need to leave. Now. This man is insane."
Kael tilted his head. "Insane? I am the only one here who sees clearly."
His voice darkened.
"Because I know what you are."
Leo's heartbeat echoed in his ears. "What do you think I am?"
Kael's expression sharpened.
"It is not what I think.
It is what I know."
He lifted a hand — slowly — as if revealing something sacred.
"You are a Fragment."
Aira blinked. "A fragment of what?"
Kael's voice lowered, weighted with significance.
"A Fragment of the Nothing."
Leo felt his breath vanish.
But Kael wasn't finished.
"And if left unchecked…
you will tear this realm apart — the same way your original did."
Aira's eyes widened. "Original? Leo has an original—?"
Leo's head spun. "Stop talking like you know me."
Kael smirked.
"I don't know Leo. I know the power inside you."
His calm tone suddenly sharpened like a blade.
"And that power destroyed an entire universe."
---
The Confrontation
Leo stepped back instinctively.
Destroyed… a universe?
No. That was impossible. That wasn't him. He wasn't a monster. He wasn't—
Kael's voice cut through his panic.
"Your awakening is accelerating. Your energy output is increasing. Even the Echo moved because of you."
Leo clenched his fists. "So what? You came here to kill me?"
Kael shook his head.
"No. Not yet."
Aira whispered, "Not yet?!"
Kael raised his hand higher.
"I came to test you."
The air cracked like glass.
A blade made of distorted space formed above Kael's palm — thin, transparent, humming with dangerous vibrations.
Aira shouted, "Leo! Watch out!"
Kael vanished.
Not teleported — he simply stopped being visible, then reappeared directly in front of Leo.
Leo barely blocked the strike.
CRASH!
The impact sent shockwaves through the floating islands, ripping smaller stones into dust.
Aira was thrown backward, grabbing onto a jagged rock.
Kael stepped back, eyes intense.
"Good reflexes… but unrefined."
Leo exhaled heavily. "If you want a fight— fine."
Kael raised a finger. "This is not a fight. This is analysis."
Leo gritted his teeth. "You talk way too much."
Kael's smile widened. "You'll miss my voice when it's the last thing you hear."
Then he moved again.
But this time Leo was ready.
He summoned the thin shimmering Nothing Thread, the same mysterious energy that always appeared when he was pushed to the limit.
Kael stopped instantly.
His eyes widened — the first sign of genuine surprise.
"…Impossible."
Leo didn't understand why the thread shocked him, but he didn't care.
He swung.
CRACK!
Kael dodged just barely, the thread slicing through a giant island behind him — cleanly cutting it in half without resistance.
The two halves fell into the void.
Kael stared at the empty space they left.
"…You shouldn't be able to manifest that."
Leo tightened his grip on the thread. "Too bad."
Kael's lips curved upward again — but this time the smile was unstable, almost excited.
"You're more dangerous than I thought."
Aira shouted from behind, "Leo! Don't fight him alone!"
Leo didn't take his eyes off Kael. "Aira, stay back. He's aiming for me."
Kael lowered his blade.
"Interesting. Very interesting."
Then his expression turned cold.
"But this is enough for now."
He snapped his fingers.
The blade dissolved.
The fractures in the air mended.
Reality stopped shaking.
Leo blinked. "You're leaving?"
Kael nodded.
"You are not ready yet. And killing you now would be pointless."
Aira shouted, "Then why come here at all?!"
Kael looked at Leo, not her.
"To confirm a rumor."
He leaned forward slightly.
"And now I know.
The power inside you… is waking faster than expected."
Leo clenched his jaw. "Why does that matter?"
Kael's eyes gleamed.
"Because when you awaken fully, the entire Broken Realm will collapse."
He turned, walking toward the edge of the floating island.
"And when that day comes… only one of us will still exist."
He stepped off the edge — and vanished.
No flash.
No noise.
Just gone.
Leaving the sky empty.
Leaving the realm silent.
Leaving Leo and Aira alone again.
---
The Aftermath
Aira rushed to Leo. "Leo! Are you okay?! Did he hurt you?"
Leo shook his head slowly. "No… but he could have."
Aira nodded shakily. "Yeah… I noticed."
Leo stared at the spot where Kael disappeared.
A Fragment.
Of Nothing.
A power that destroyed a universe?
A power that shouldn't exist?
A power waking up inside him?
His chest felt tight.
Aira placed her hand on his.
"We'll figure this out. Step by step. You're not alone."
Leo looked at her… and nodded.
But deep inside, he felt something else.
A pull.
A whisper.
A faint hum of a power that did not feel like his own.
Not yet.
But soon.
Very soon.
---