Kael found himself standing in a void of swirling worlds.
Shattered timelines drifted around him like broken glass—
echoes of lives he had lived,
lives he had lost,
lives he had ruined.
Across from him stood Erevan.
But this time, Erevan wasn't calm.
His jaw was clenched, his eyes sharp, his aura rising like a storm.
"This is the core of the timeline," Erevan said.
"Here, our strength is based on our past… our choices… our failures."
Kael felt the weight in his chest.
All his failures.
All the worlds he couldn't save.
All the people he couldn't protect.
They pressed on his soul like chains.
Erevan drew a blade made of raw time.
"Let us settle it here."
Kael summoned his sword.
The void trembled as they clashed.
Erevan's strikes were impossibly fast—
each blow carried centuries of experience,
each parry echoed thousands of battles.
Kael fought back with every memory the Timeline Library had given him.
Every regressor's strategy.
Every style.
Every trick.
The void shattered around them with each clash.
But Erevan was still stronger.
A slash cut Kael across the chest.
Blood sprayed into the void.
"You lack resolve," Erevan said coldly.
"You fight to save one girl.
I fight to save the world."
Kael gritted his teeth.
"You're wrong."
He pushed forward.
"I'm fighting to save EVERYONE regression destroyed."
Erevan smirked.
"A noble lie."
Their swords met in a shockwave that tore the void.
Kael was thrown back—
but something caught him.
Soft hands.
Lyra.
She appeared beside him, her eyes glowing with golden tears.
"Kael… you're hurt…"
Kael whispered, "You shouldn't be here…"
Lyra shook her head.
"I'm always here. I always have been. Even if the timeline erased me… I watched you. Every time you died. Every time you fought. Every time you cried."
Kael froze.
Lyra looked at him with heartbreaking clarity.
"I remember everything now."
The world trembled.
Her awakening surged.
[World Anchor Awakening: 97%]
She stood between Kael and Erevan.
"For once," she said softly, "I will choose."