Chapter Sixteen: The Realm of Beautiful Fracture
When Ryan passed through the Gate of Light, he didn't feel a rush, or a fall, or even the weightless drift like in previous realms. He felt… fragmentation.
As if his being had shattered into thousands of pieces—each one carrying a memory, a feeling, a pain.
Yet, he wasn't afraid.
What he felt was something else… something closer to pure sorrow.
He found himself standing on a ground that resembled shattered glass.
Each step he took rang out like the breaking of heartstrings.
The sky above him looked like watercolor paintings slowly being wiped away, with no fixed color.
The ground beneath his feet shifted according to what he felt.
Whenever he was afraid… the earth turned to ash.
Whenever he remembered… flowers bloomed in the color of those memories.
Whenever he longed… rain would fall.
"What is this place?" he whispered, voice trembling.
The answer came—not from his mind, nor the surroundings—but from his heart:
"This is the Realm of Beautiful Fracture… where your strength is not tested, but your fragility.
Where your courage is not measured by what you face, but by what you endure without hiding."
⸻
Suddenly, a scene appeared before him… not real, yet it felt as if he had lived it.
He saw himself at fifteen, sitting on his bed crying in silence… after his school application was rejected and a teacher told him, "You're not special."
Words he had tried to forget for years… now returned in full force.
Then another scene… the day he came home to find his mother secretly crying, too afraid to tell him she had lost her job.
Then another… standing helpless at his father's grave, unable to cry.
⸻
Ryan sat on the ground, head lowered.
He felt an unbearable weight…
But there was no one to hug him.
No one to pat his shoulder and say: "You're okay."
Then he remembered something…
"When was the last time I cried in front of someone?"
The answer was… he couldn't remember.
Here, in this dimension, there were no shadow creatures, no trials of power, no battles.
Here, the battle was within him—against his old habits of suppression, of pretending to be strong.
⸻
A figure appeared before him… it looked exactly like him, but wore a transparent cloak threaded with glowing cracks.
The figure spoke:
"I am you… the one who buried pain just to smile for others."
"I am you… who had no time to grieve, because survival came first."
"I am you… who feared showing weakness, and mistook it for a flaw."
Ryan looked at him silently.
Then he stepped forward… and extended his hand.
And for the first time… he embraced himself.
⸻
The sky began to rain light.
The ground transformed into smooth glass engraved with flowers.
The voice returned:
"In every dimension you've crossed, you've discovered strength… but here, you found something rarer: acceptance."
Ryan stepped toward a new gate formed of light and emotion.
Written upon it were the words:
"He who breaks his heart with honesty… rebuilds it with light."
Just before passing through, he heard a warm voice say:
"Ryan… you are no longer just a dimension traveler… but a pathmaker."
Ryan smiled… finally feeling that something immense had begun to grow inside him.
⸻
End of Chapter Sixteen.