Kael, while standing in the emptiness within the dark room, took a deep breath. Everything around him was moving in a blurry way. Time seemed as if it had paused in this room, but Kael could feel it; a moment when everything would rush forward was about to arrive. The voice he had been following for a while was echoing in his mind. "This isn't an exit. This is another beginning."
Kael, as he looked around, every sound, every echo in his mind was becoming clearer. He felt that something was changing. His past, his fears, and his power, all together, were telling him he had to embark on a challenging journey. While his eyes searched for a beam of light in the dark room, a figure appeared. This figure, approaching quickly, left Kael momentarily stunned.
"A new stage is about to begin," said the voice, now penetrating directly into Kael's soul. The figure slowly approached and stood in front of Kael. As it looked at Kael, its eyes held the accumulation of years—pain, decisions, and choices gathered over years. For a moment, Kael wanted to recognize the figure, but something was preventing it. There was a feeling, much like the fear he had felt before, but different.
"This is a real trial. Only those brave enough to pass will enter," said the figure, looking into Kael's eyes.
Kael remained unresponsive to these challenging words. Now, everything had a meaning. As he continued to face his past, he wondered where this new stage would take him. The figure took a step back and showed Kael the way.
As he moved forward, Kael began to feel the value of time. With every step, he was entering a reckoning with his past, his lost memories, and his inner strength. He had learned so much—but no matter how much he learned, he needed to discover more.
When he started taking his steps more firmly, grasping the meaning of his decisions deeply, a passage appeared before him. The door was filled with ancient symbols. Now, he could connect with the symbols he had seen before, solving them with the power he felt.
"Are you ready?" asked the voice. This voice seemed to come from everywhere; from somewhere, from every moment of time. Kael took another deep breath. This stage was a journey that belonged only to him, and he could feel the power within him slowly taking shape. Now, the power was more than just the strength to change an object; Kael, with every passing second, understood better how deep, how complex, and how dangerous this power was.
Finally, Kael opened the door and stepped into the light. In an instant, the darkness around him dissolved, and Kael, recalling the lessons he had learned in his previous steps, opened the door to the new stage.
And at that moment, a new beginning, for Kael, was not so much an exit but a decision to descend into the depths of existence.
A new era, a new journey was beginning.
After passing through the door, Kael's eyes were suddenly dazzled. The light was so intense that at first, he struggled to open his eyes. But over time, he noticed the intensity of the light decreasing and began to look around. This new place was very different from the previous labyrinth. Here, everything was orderly and symmetrical; but at the same time, there was a kind of coldness. It was as if this space accepted neither the past nor the future. Everything seemed to belong only to the "now."
Kael took his steps carefully. The ground echoed deeply with every step. As he moved slowly forward, he noticed a shape at the edge of a wall. That shape seemed to represent the darkness within Kael; a dark, shapeless, and frightening entity. But this time, Kael didn't hesitate. The power within him was helping him control it. The things he once feared were now just obstacles; he was now strong enough to overcome these obstacles.
Suddenly, another door appeared before him. Unlike the others, this door was glowing with a golden shimmer. There was a slight vibration in the air around it. Kael realized this door was the beginning of a new trial. However, this time there was no fear. Instead, there was a deep inner peace; a belief that everything had a meaning, that everything had a path.
He opened the door.
At that moment, his surroundings transformed into an entirely different world. He found himself on a hill surrounded by an endless sky. On the hill, there was a large stone table. On the table stood a text written in ancient script. When Kael examined the writings, he realized every word was written in a language foreign to him. But there was something—while his eyes roamed over the writings, he felt a subconscious call. These writings felt like a reflection of the echoes he had heard before. The traces of the dark figures, the pains, and the losses of his past were within these writings. This wasn't a kind of wisdom, but a kind of awakening.
Kael decided to decipher the meaning of the writings. The power within him was strong enough to show him the right path. However, this path wouldn't be easy. He slowly circled the table, trying to read the writings. Suddenly, he heard an echoing sound. "This is only the beginning." This voice continued to echo within Kael, but this time it didn't instill fear. On the contrary, this echo gave him courage.
Kael took one more step and approached the table. At the bottom of the text, there was another symbol. This symbol connected everything Kael remembered—his past, his powers, what he had lost, and what he had gained. At that moment, Kael realized he wasn't just on a journey. This journey was also the beginning of an evolution, a transformation process. The Kael of the past was now, here in this new world, turning into another person.
Suddenly, the symbols among the writings began to emit a bright light. Kael, squinting his eyes, followed the light coming from the symbols. This light was pointing to a target. That target was the final point Kael needed to reach. But he didn't yet know what it was.
At that moment, a figure appeared. This time, it wasn't frightening. On the contrary, this figure was an entity reflecting the power within Kael. As the figure stepped toward Kael, it repeated its words once more: "This isn't an exit. This is another beginning."
Kael, taking a step toward the figure, took a deep breath. Now everything had meaning. Facing his past, overcoming his fears, discovering the power within—all were parts of a journey. But this journey wasn't just Kael's; it was part of the story of the entire universe.
Now, a new stage was beginning for Kael. He opened the door.
When he passed through the door, Kael felt as if his feet weren't on the ground. There was a floor, but there was no sensation. There was no wind, but a shiver was coursing over his skin. There was a sky, but it was still—no cloud, no bird. It was as if even time was holding its breath here.
Emptiness… Infinite and white.
But Kael's heart… It was carrying something intense. His heart was growing heavy without knowing why. It was as if a memory not belonging to his body was stirring in his chest, an echo of the past now seeping into his bones.
A shadow in the distance… Taller than Kael, but a silhouette not fully discernible.
He slowly approached it. With every step, the weight in his heart pressed harder. His breath was shortening, the voices within him turning into a hum. And then…
A sentence…
"You lived through destruction, but you didn't collapse…"
"You were betrayed, but you didn't vanish…"
"You were forgotten, but you didn't forget…"
These echoes… No longer a hum. They were clear, resolute, and like a voice born within Kael. Truths born from his essence, woven with his past. Kael stopped.
The shadow still stood with its back turned. Hair spilling down from its shoulder, its slender frame, its upright and graceful posture… it was a woman. Older than Kael. But like an entity beyond time. A figure, a silhouette, a reflection caught between reality and memory.
The sound of Kael swallowing got stuck in his throat. His eyes carried a weight, full but unable to shed tears. A familiar feeling… but he couldn't name it. His heart, at that moment, was cloaked in a raw helplessness.
Finally, the shadow spoke.
The figure's voice this time was clearer, more human:
"Kael. The echo of your soul is no longer just a whisper. You hear it, don't you? They're speaking to you."
Kael's eyes narrowed. This voice… it had come from so far away, reminiscent of someone who had once held a place in his heart but whose name had been forgotten. It was like a fragment torn from the last night of his childhood.
And then the figure slowly turned its head, but its face still wasn't fully visible. Only its eyes… Eyes gleaming in the shadow…
Eyes that had once carried hope, then lost everything and fallen silent. Eyes quietly buried in darkness…
The figure took a step back. Kael almost said, "Don't go," but the words couldn't leave his lips. At that exact moment, the figure spoke with a voice slightly stronger than a whisper:
"Do you remember my father, Kael? He always said, 'Silence sometimes hurts more than a thousand words…'"
That sentence… It sliced through Kael's insides like a knife. An evening he thought he'd forgotten, a table, another shadow… They all crashed down on him at once.
And the figure vanished. As if it had never existed. No trace, no sound remained behind. Only the weight in Kael's heart… deepened for a while longer.
But within that weight, the echoes continued to speak silently.
After the figure vanished, Kael remained motionless in that spot for a while longer. The echoes within him slowly faded, but the heaviness in his heart… it was still there. His eyes, unable to shed their tears, stayed fixed on the figure that had disappeared into the emptiness. A momentary silence… but that silence echoed a deepening truth within Kael: He had to face it. He had to confront this situation weighing on his heart and the shadow that had vanished before him, leaving him with a familiar feeling.
And at that moment, another voice… this time not an echo, but a more concrete sentence…
"The Second Stage Has Begun: 'The Echo of Time.'"
Kael's body decayed a little more with each word, as if those words were swimming within him. As his chest tightened, he felt the beginning of something. It was no longer just a task of finding an exit. The memories he had suppressed in the past, the emotions he had ignored, the truths he had fled from… they would all speak to him now.
And this time, he had no chance to escape.
He had to face it. He was compelled to.
"The darkest part of the path is where the light is born."
Kael paused for a moment. He took a deep breath. He moved forward slowly. A journey was beginning where he would face his past, his memories, and his deepest fears—and this journey symbolized not just Kael's transformation, but that of all reality.