Tick… Tick… Tiiiiiick—
The rhythmic beat of the arc-core inside the Voidgate engine echoed through the chamber like a metronome from a forgotten god. The air was thick with cold, metallic scent, like rusted iron mixed with ozone and old memories.
Clink.
Rhys tapped a side panel with the back of his spanner. "Definitely responsive. This thing's dormant, not dead."
"I don't like the hum it's giving off," Elira muttered, gripping her spear tightly. "It's like it's listening."
Hummmmmmmmmmmm…
She wasn't wrong. The machine vibrated with low resonance, as if it had a heartbeat, or worse—an awareness.
I stood closest to it, palm hovering near the core casing.
It pulsed softly.
Fhmm… Fhmm… Fhmm…
Alive.
Waiting.
Calling.
"This machine," I said quietly, "was called the Refractor. It wasn't just a Riftgate—it was an interface between timelines. A failsafe built by the last generation of Arcanet engineers."
Rhys blinked. "You mean… like a time machine?"
I shook my head. "Worse. A correction device. If reality ever fractured—like during Riftfall—it was designed to find the most stable version of the world and overwrite the broken one."
Elira's eyes widened. "But… that would mean millions of lives… entire memories… erased."
"Rewritten," I said. "Like lines of bad code."
BZZZT. A console flared to life beside us, and blue light washed across the room.
:: REFRAC-CORE STABILIZING:: USER AUTHORITY: 68% VERIFIED
PLEASE INPUT COMMAND SET_
Rhys leaned over. "You're the key. It wants you to finish the sequence."
"I'm not ready," I muttered.
"You're the only one who ever will be," Elira said, voice hard.
I stared at the console.
The old Kaito—the one before the collapse—he must've built this with good intentions. But I wasn't him anymore. My hands trembled just being near this cursed monument.
Aya's face flashed in my mind.
Her voice.
Her last scream.
KR-KRRRACK!
The floor behind us shifted suddenly, a loud screech like metal tearing flesh.
Everyone spun, weapons ready.
From the shadows… a figure emerged.
Humanoid. Gaunt. Cloaked in a shifting membrane of darkness.
Its face was featureless—except for a circular halo of red runes orbiting its "head."
Elira whispered, "Echospawn…"
Rhys swallowed. "No. Not Echospawn. That's a Warden."
The air grew heavy.
The Warden's voice came not from its mouth, but from the walls themselves—deep, distorted, layered.
"KEY-HOLDER DETECTED. INTERRUPTION PROTOCOL ENGAGED.""THE REFRACTOR MAY NOT BE REACTIVATED."
Then—
THUD!
It leapt.
"DOWN!" Elira roared, slamming me sideways.
WHOOSH—CLANG!
Her spear met the Warden's black-bladed arm mid-air, sparks flying. The clash rang like a bell that kept echoing inside my skull.
Rhys dove for the control pillar, slamming his hand against the emergency lockdown rune.
BZZZ-KKTTTCH!
Gates slammed shut behind us, cutting off retreat. Great.
The Warden twisted mid-spin and brought its clawed foot down toward Elira's head—
WHAM!
She rolled and countered with a vicious upward strike that cracked its neck sideways.
But it didn't flinch.
Didn't bleed.
Didn't stop.
I raised my hand.
The Voidbrand burned to life—
FWHOOOOOOM!
Blue arcs lashed out, striking the Warden in the chest and staggering it back.
:: WARNING: UNSTABLE CAST DETECTED:: DO NOT REPEAT EMISSION PATTERN WITHOUT TETHER LOCK
My skin smoked. The energy had backlashed through my own nerves.
"KAITO!" Rhys shouted. "You're destabilizing the core!"
"I don't have a choice!" I yelled.
The Warden lunged again.
But this time—I met it halfway.
CRAAACK!
My fist, glowing with raw Rift-thread, collided with its chest.
There was a flash.
A scream.
Not from its mouth—but from my own mind.
:: ACCESS GRANTED:: STREAMING MEMORY ARCHIVE: UNIT 'WARDEN-01'
Suddenly, I saw.
Not just through its eyes—but through its past.
It was once human.
Once loyal.
A soldier of the last council, assigned to protect the Refractor.
But when Riftfall came, it volunteered to merge with forbidden tech—to become immortal, so it could guard reality forever.
It had failed.
Its memory ended with fire.
And a child's scream.
Aya.
I dropped to my knees.
The Warden staggered back, something twitching in its limbs—hesitation.
"Stop," I whispered.
"You don't need to fight anymore."
Its head tilted.
Then its voice shifted—softer, quieter, as though struggling to remember what it once was.
"Protect… the girl… protect… the Refractor…"
Then—
CLANG.
It collapsed.
And disintegrated into dust.
Elira stared. "What did you just do?"
"I saw its soul," I whispered. "It was… trying to protect the world. Even now."
Rhys muttered, "Let's hope that was the only one."
But I already knew it wasn't.
The Refractor had once had an entire order of Wardens.
And something had awakened them.
We returned to the console.
My hand hovered once more over the command input.
Click… click… cliiiick…
"Are you ready?" Elira asked.
"No," I admitted. "But I'll do it anyway."
The screen changed.
:: REFRAC-CORE INITIALIZING:: BEGIN RESTORATION SCAN?
"Yes," I said.
And the room filled with light.
Images flashed—
Cities rebuilt.
Skies unbroken.
Laughter.
Peace.
Aya.
Then—
Darkness.
A voice.
"You do not have permission to alter this thread."
"Administrator override in effect."
"Rewriting access: DENIED."
BZZZT—CRACK!
The lights exploded overhead.
The Refractor began to shake.
Sirens blared.
BWEEEP BWEEEP BWEEEP!
Rhys screamed, "We've been locked out! Someone's hijacking the command thread!"
Elira grabbed me by the collar. "What the hell's happening?!"
I was already typing furiously.
"There's another user," I said. "Someone with higher authority."
:: USER DETECTED: [PRIMARY ARCHITECT]
:: WELCOME BACK, KAITO.
I froze.
Elira's grip tightened. "What does that mean?"
I looked at them both.
And whispered—
"I think I just found me."