Ayla felt the pain of her little brother and tried to approach him. But Christian held her at distance

  “This technique… was ours.” He bit his lip.“A bond between us. No one else.”

  He swallowed hard. “We were going to pass it down.”

  They had a dream. Two families. Generations. Their children wielding a legacy forged from the brotherhood of two strangers.

  Christian stood still. The breeze carried the faint scent of earth and leaves, but to him, it tasted of longing and loss.

  “Now… I’m the only one left to carry this dream, sister.” His hands curled into fists at his sides. “So tell me… how could I sleep peacefully? How could I eat, drink, or rest—knowing I carry two souls’ worth of dreams?”

  A tremor slipped into his voice, but his resolve was granite.

  “I will complete this technique. No matter how long it takes… No matter how many times I fail. And then—I’ll forge it into the greatest sword art this world has ever seen. A legacy that belongs to both of us.”

  “You were blessed,” Ayla said softly. “To have known someone who shaped your heart so deeply.”

  She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder and pulled him into a tight embrace.

  “But you also have to think of yourself, Christian. Your health. Your life. If something were to happen to you… who will carry your dreams forward?”

  The warmth of her hug enveloped him—the soft press of her arms, the faint, familiar fragrance of her floral perfume.

  Christian’s composure shattered. Tears, unbidden and unstoppable, traced silent paths down his cheeks as he hugged his sister. His arms tightened around her, clinging as though she were an anchor in the storm of his grief.

  “You—you always know what to say to guide me.”

  Ayla’s lips curved, her hand stroking his hair in a gesture as old as their bond.

  “That’s what elder siblings are for,” she whispered. “To guide the younger ones through life’s shadows… to light the path so they never lose their way.”

  “He was like you… like the brother I never had. He was my compass back at the academy. He kept me steady.” Christian took a sharp breath. “We made an oath. And even if death has torn us apart… I will honor it.”

  His fingers clenched into the fabric of her sleeve. “If I fail—if I break it—how could I ever face him on the other side?”

  Ayla pressed a soft, lingering kiss to the crown of his head.

  “You won’t fail,” she whispered.

  The wind sighed, and for a fleeting moment—the sky felt just a little clearer.

  “Thank you… for always being here for me, sister.”

  “Finn, cover fire!” Instructor Daniel’s voice crackled through the comms, sharp and commanding. “Mike, don’t rush them! Those winged beasts are faster than you—stay in formation!”

  “Yes, sir!” Mike barked back, hurriedly stepping into line.

  “Eden, where the hell are you sending your bullets?!” Daniel snapped as Eden’s shot veered wildly off-course, missing the winged raccoon by a mile.

  But Eden wasn’t just missing—something was wrong.

  His vision blurred, the world twisting into a dizzying whirlpool of colors. His pulse thundered in his ears, a hammering beat that drowned out all sound. The pair of revolvers slipped from his grasp as his knees buckled.

  “Eden?!”

  A voice—distant, distorted. Someone rushed to his side.

  “Hey! You good?” Hazard, his closest teammate, reached for him, concern darkening his gaze.

  Eden clutched his head, his hands trembling as if trying to hold together something breaking inside him. No words came. No breath.

  Then—darkness.

  “Eden’s down!” Hazard’s alarmed shout cut through the battle.

  Before anyone could react, Eden’s body flickered, then fractured into shimmering light particles.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me! Now?!” Gregor’s frustration boiled over as the mission took a nosedive.

  “Shit,” Finn muttered under his breath.

  “It’s over for today.” Instructor Daniel’s voice, cold and final, echoed in their ears. A moment later, the winged raccoons dissolved into nothingness, stripped from existence by the simulation’s abrupt shutdown.

  The world—sky, trees, grass—all faded like smoke, collapsing under the weight of their failure.

  “Fuck!” Mike spat, fists clenched.

  “Watch your language,” Raphael, the team leader, snapped. Even in defeat, his authority remained firm.

  Mike shot him a venomous glare but bit back another curse as his body dematerialized, following the rest out of the simulation.

  The capsule lids hissed open, revealing disgruntled teenagers stepping onto solid ground once more. The air in the training room felt thicker than usual as they lined up, awaiting their instructor.

  The door slid open without a sound. Instructor Daniel strode in, his face unreadable—but behind him, the medical team moved with urgency.

  “What the hell happened to him?” Daniel demanded as the medics swarmed Eden’s still form.

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  “I don’t know,” Raphael answered, his voice unusually tight. “One second he was fine... then he just collapsed.”

  ?—??—??—???????????????????????????????????????????????????????—

  For the first time in God knows how long... I felt it.

  Not the weightless drift of a specter. Not the distant ache of a mind trapped in limbo.

  But sensation.

  A pulse. A heartbeat. The electric hum of being.

  I’m back.

  My eyelids twitched, lifting like the curtain of a long-forgotten stage.

  [ Surveillance Sensors: Active ]

  [ Visual Input: Confirmed ]

  The words echoed in my mind.

  I failed to process it at first. Instinct took over. My fist slammed against the glass. The impact sent a ripple through the transparent barrier, but it held.

  No one was watching from the other side. No leering enemies. No cold, calculated stares.

  Just... my reflection.

  I froze.

  The face staring back was mine—but it didn’t feel like it belonged to me anymore.

  I scanned the tight space where I was confined. Before I could force my way out, the glass enclosure lifted on its own.

  No alarms. No restraints. No voices ordering me back.

  Stepping into unknown territory, my body tensed, senses sharp as I analyzed my surroundings. The room was empty, granting me a fleeting moment to savor the sensation of my bare feet against the polished wooden floor.

  Not for long.

  After confirming the air wasn’t toxic, I inhaled deeply and stormed toward the door, fists clenched, ready to face whatever lay beyond.

  I don’t want to do the merger. I don’t want to lose my sense of self. I won't let them, or anyone rob me of my freedom.

  Two large strides. That was all I managed before the ground ended, forcing me to vault over a rail. Luckily, the drop wasn’t far. I rolled forward to absorb the impact and sprang to my feet, the next door within reach.

  My peripheral vision caught the guard rising from his chair, likely startled by my sudden movement. Too late. I already had the door handle in my grip.

  To my surprise, it wasn’t locked, sparing me the need to expend my flux reserves.

  Slamming it open, I was greeted by the crisp air of freedom. Sunlight flooded my vision as I scanned for more guards.

  No one.

  What greeted me instead were towering monsters connecting the ground to the sky in the distance—colossal entities I knew I couldn’t face, not with my current strength.

  Giants… here from all places?

  “Eden!” a voice called from inside the facility where I was held.

  The name was foreign to me but not to my other self, who recognized it instantly, seizing control before I could resist.

  “Eden, what are you thinking, storming onto the street in your trunks? Get your ass inside this moment. And don't you dare slam the door again, or I'll cut your allowance!”

  “Yes, Mother!” I replied through the pounding in my head, forcing myself to enter the house with unsteady steps.

  Just because I could fight a variety of beasts inside the simulators didn’t mean I was ready to face off against my mother. Level 100 Elite Boss, Maria del Richo—that was my mother.

  In this house, she was the ultimate boss. While she indulged in cuddling with my father and spoiling me and my little sister, underestimating her ability to inflict pain was a mistake we seldom made.

  But what was I doing on the street? Wasn’t I inside the simulator to partake on a training mission?

  “Son, what happened? Are you alright?” Paulo, my father, asked, gently closing the door behind me. Even though he was responsible for fixing any damage in the house, he wasn’t the one mad at me.

  “I’m good, just having a troublesome headache,” I replied.

  He observed me for a second before ruffling my hair with his prosthetic arm and guiding me toward the stairs.

  “You should go and sleep a little more. The Instructor said you fainted from exhaustion during training.”

  I did?

  “Ah, yes. I'll return to my room. Sorry if I made you worry,” I said, climbing one step at a time.

  “I’ll bring your food once it's ready,” my mother shouted from the kitchen.

  “Thank you!” I called back before closing my bedroom door behind me.

  The headache grew stronger as I walked toward my bed. I was about to reach it when dizziness made me collapse onto the floor. With much effort, I managed to push myself onto my back.

  The ceiling spun and twisted, making me want to puke. I tried to scream for help, but I didn’t know if I managed to.

  Visions.

  Eden's clouded mind was overrun by clear, lifelike visions. He had lost the capacity to think, reduced to a mere spectator of the show unfolding in his mind.

  Images of a ruined place—a shattered sanctuary—appeared before his eyes. He could smell the smoke, see the crumbling pillars, and watch the ethos fall onto the dry soil of the garden.

  It was so vivid, so real that I could feel their anguish—the pain of someone whose inner sanctum had been destroyed.

  More images raced past his eyes, but one lingered.

  I saw a dagger embedded in my chest. I felt the searing pain and tasted the copper tang of my own blood.

  Before long, he passed out.

  [ Warning! Due to the pain caused by the assimilation of memories, your body has entered a preservation state.]

  When I regained consciousness, I was inside my own sanctuary. Quickly assessing my ethos and my techniques, I felt a wave of relief.

  Everything was intact. Everything was safe.

  "I thought I had witnessed my own death." I circulated my flux, trying to calm myself.

  “You did,” a voice interrupted, startling Eden and disrupting his focus. “It is both correct and incorrect for you to say you've witnessed your own death. Both truths form what matters, the unquestionable reality.”

  This is my inner world. No one should be capable of entering it without my consent.

  So where was the voice coming from?

  “Here.” A spirit emerged from behind a pillar, stepping into the light. It looked almost exactly like me.

  Instinctively, I circulated my flux, preparing to attack—but my strength failed me.

  “You can’t, and you won’t stop what’s about to happen. So, in the short time we have as separate entities, let us speak freely. I, for one, find it amusing to talk to myself like this.”

  “I don’t know you, so I’ll ask politely: leave my inner world and never return. Otherwise, in self-defense, I will erase your spiritual form.”

  I might be a kind person, but if someone invades my inner sanctuary, I’m ready to bear the burden of getting rid of them. This place is as important to me as my life.

  “There was a possibility for both of us to continue living in our respective worlds and meet in the future, becoming allies. Unfortunately, that’s no longer possible—they killed me in my world. Now I’m afraid I have to put an end to your illusion and use the backup plan.”

  “You’ve made your choice.”

  Eden wasn’t going to let Iskar get close. With the advantage of his home, Eden used the power of intention to summon his sanctum guardians.

  The ground trembled. From it, the golems of his imagination should have emerged.

  Yet nothing happened.