Chapter 19: FRACTURED TRUTHS AND UNSEEN CHAINS
A deafening crack split the air. The world around Kaito shattered like fragile glass, dissolving into an abyss of swirling darkness.
His past self—the hardened warrior with his own face—stood motionless, watching as the fabric of reality fractured around them. The Heart of the Realms pulsed one final time before vanishing into the void, its overwhelming presence fading like a dying ember.
And then, Kaito fell.
Wind roared in his ears as he plummeted through the endless void. Shadows twisted and writhed around him, forming distorted images that flickered in and out of existence. Memories—his own, yet not his own—rushed past him like shooting stars, too fast to grasp, too fleeting to understand.
The battlefield from his visions.
The shattered sky.
The blade of light in his hand, dripping with blackened blood.
And then—a whisper.
"You must awaken, or all will be lost."
The voice was ancient, layered, as if spoken by a thousand souls at once. It echoed through his mind, wrapping around his consciousness like unseen chains.
Then, a sudden pull—like an invisible force yanking him back toward existence.