Chapter 98: Reflections
Water flowed quietly.
A gentle current.
Clear enough to reflect the sky.
Clear enough to reflect him.
Kai stared at the river.
At his own face.
At the unfamiliar forest surrounding him.
At the questions that refused to leave his mind.
Why am I here?
The answer should have been obvious.
He had fallen.
Probably.
Maybe.
The problem was—
His memories felt scrambled.
Like someone had taken pages from a book and thrown them into the wind.
Kai crouched beside the river.
The reflection looked back.
"Oheyo..."
He muttered.
The word felt heavier now.
Ever since Alice told her story.
Ever since hearing about Brennan.
Oheyo.
Vaan.
The Cult of Azathoth.
The drifters.
The missing memories.
And then—
He remembered.
The dream.
The night before everything happened.
The night he couldn't sleep.
The night Oheyo wouldn't leave his thoughts.
The night he finally closed his eyes.
And dreamed.
Unlike the usual memory fragments—
This one didn't hurt.
No splitting headache.
No blurred images.
No scattered pieces.
Just a dream.
A strange dream.
Kai found himself standing alone.
A desert stretched endlessly in every direction.
Golden sand.
Ancient ruins.
Broken stone structures buried beneath dunes.
The remains of something old.
Very old.
He looked down.
His body was covered by desert clothing.
Cloth wrapped around his face.
Protective eyewear.
Travel gear.
Yet somehow—
It felt natural.
Like he had worn it before.
Kai walked.
The wind howled.
Sand drifted through the air.
Eventually—
He reached the center.
A massive crater.
No.
Not a crater.
The aftermath of an explosion.
The entire landscape had been torn apart.
Destroyed.
Buried beneath centuries of sand.
Kai stepped closer.
Then froze.
His hand.
Magic circuits glowed beneath his skin.
Faint.
Blue.
The same kind Alice said Brennan once had.
Kai stared.
Then heard footsteps.
He turned.
And saw himself.
Another Kai.
Same height.
Same face.
Same eyes.
Magic circuits covered his body as well.
The two stood there.
Staring.
Kai spoke first.
"Who are you?"
The other Kai answered.
At exactly the same time.
"Who are you?"
Silence.
The two began walking.
Closer.
Closer.
Until they stood face to face.
Their hands touched.
And the other Kai smiled.
"I am you."
The desert suddenly changed.
The sand rose.
Thousands of grains gathered together.
Taking shape.
Becoming people.
Hooded figures.
Cultists.
Dozens.
Hundreds.
Thousands.
They knelt.
Then spoke.
"What are your orders, Sir Kai?"
The words echoed endlessly.
Kai stepped backward.
Confused.
Then he heard another voice.
Behind him.
A familiar voice.
Andre.
Kai turned.
And froze.
Standing behind him—
Were people he knew.
Andre.
Alice.
Raj.
Nish.
Noah.
Eric.
Tchoco.
Zindine.
King Akshay.
And beside them—
The mysterious figure.
The one from the Order of Karma.
Holding that strange sword.
The sword with the circular black-and-white symbol.
Behind them stood an army.
Soldiers.
Mages.
Warriors.
Citizens.
The banners of Asphyxia.
The banners of Yggdrasil.
Others he didn't recognize.
An entire force.
Then Kai looked forward again.
The other him smiled.
"I am you."
A pause.
"But better."
Then—
A dagger appeared.
And plunged into Kai's stomach.
Pain.
Hot.
Sharp.
Real.
Kai looked down.
Blood dripped onto the sand.
The blood spread.
Further.
Further.
Until the entire desert became red.
Then he noticed something.
The other Kai also had a wound.
A massive opening in his chest.
But no dagger.
No weapon.
Only emptiness.
Kai looked beyond him.
And froze.
Bodies.
Dead bodies.
Raj.
Nish.
Noah.
Eric.
Tchoco.
Zindine.
Dead.
Motionless.
Then—
A crown rolled across the blood-covered ground.
Clink.
King Akshay's crown.
Kai's breathing stopped.
Then he heard footsteps.
Alice.
She was still alive.
Barely.
Covered in wounds.
Bleeding.
Walking.
Toward him.
Kai ran.
"Alice!"
He caught her before she fell.
Alice looked at him.
Trying to speak.
Her hand reached toward his face.
Her lips moved.
But no words came.
Then her arm fell.
Leaving a bloody handprint across Kai's face.
And she died.
Kai stared.
Motionless.
Then looked ahead.
Andre.
Still standing.
Far away.
Kai ran.
"ANDRE!"
An arrow struck.
Thud.
Andre's shoulder.
Kai ran faster.
Another arrow.
Thud.
His chest.
Another.
Another.
Another.
Every step Kai took—
Another arrow struck Andre.
"No!"
Closer.
Another arrow.
"No!"
Closer.
Another.
Another.
Kai finally reached him.
Andre smiled weakly.
Blood poured from countless wounds.
Kai reached out.
Too late.
"I'm sorry..."
Andre whispered.
"I couldn't save you... from the dark... side..."
Andre looked at him.
Then smiled.
The same stupid smile.
The same smile he always had.
"I... forgive you."
A pause.
"Friend...."
Then Andre collapsed.
Kai screamed.
"This isn't real!"
The world shook.
Then a voice spoke.
Behind him.
"It isn't."
A pause.
"But at the same time"
A pause.
"Everything is real."
Kai turned.
The figure stood there.
Not a silhouette anymore.
Clear.
A woman.
Long black hair.
Mixed with strands of red.
Almost his height.
Holding the mysterious sword.
The sword bearing the black-and-white symbol.
"You killed them."
She said.
Kai immediately shook his head.
"No."
The woman tilted her head.
"Yet you also saved them."
Kai froze.
Confused.
Silent.
The woman looked toward the horizon.
"All is true."
A pause.
"And false."
The desert shifted.
Countless images appeared.
Different outcomes.
Different futures.
Different choices.
Then they vanished.
"You are both the embodiment of good and evil."
Kai didn't understand.
"This may be the last time."
Her voice sounded tired.
"The device is broken now."
A pause.
"She has endured many outcomes."
The wind blew.
"She has watched countless endings."
Her eyes met his.
"But this one..."
Another pause.
"May finally be the one She waited for."
The woman stepped forward.
Then handed him the sword.
"So tell me."
"Kai."
"What do you choose?"
The sword felt heavy.
"If you recover what was lost."
"Would you do the same?"
The voices returned.
Kill her.
Kill yourself.
End it.
Finish it.
Countless thoughts.
Countless impulses.
Kai looked at the sword.
Then—
Made a choice.
He snapped it in half.
Effortlessly.
The woman stared.
Said nothing.
As if she had never seen that answer before.
Kai lowered the broken blade.
"If I remember."
A pause.
"I'll choose what's best."
The woman closed her eyes.
Then nodded.
"So be it."
Darkness.
Then—
Morning.
Kai woke.
Back in Asphyxia.
The dream lingered.
The next few days passed normally.
Nish buried himself in military reports.
Eric returned to designing structures.
Noah became obsessed with industrialization after hearing Alice's story.
Raj drowned beneath paperwork.
Leaving only three people in Alice's office.
Kai.
Andre.
Alice.
Andre was eating.
Naturally.
Alice was drinking tea.
Kai finally spoke.
"I want to visit Oheyo."
The room became quiet.
Alice looked at him.
"Why?"
Kai hesitated.
"The dream."
A pause.
"The ruins."
Another pause.
"I think answers are there."
Andre swallowed.
Then pointed.
"I'll go."
Alice looked annoyed.
"Nobody asked you."
"Too bad."
A pause.
"What if he gets lost?"
That was somehow a valid argument.
Alice sighed.
And gave up.
Several days later—
The journey began.
Kai and Andre traveled east.
Toward Oheyo.
Toward ruins.
Toward answers.
The path led through mountain passes.
Dangerous terrain.
Steep cliffs.
Strong winds.
Then monsters attacked.
Small.
Flying.
Bird-like creatures.
Cockatrice variants.
Fast.
Aggressive.
The fight was short.
Chaotic.
One creature slammed into Kai.
His footing slipped.
The cliff edge crumbled.
Andre's eyes widened.
"KAI!"
Then—
The world disappeared beneath him.
Falling.
Darkness.
Water.
Impact.
And now—
The river.
The forest.
The present.
Kai blinked.
The memory had returned.
Not everything.
But enough.
He finally understood how he got here.
Kai stood.
Looked around.
The forest stretched endlessly.
Unknown.
Mysterious.
Dangerous.
Then he shrugged.
"Andre will find me."
A pause.
"He always does."
Kai smiled faintly.
"He has that dog like nose."
Then he looked toward the trees.
Took a step forward.
And began walking.
Deeper into the Forest.
Toward whatever awaited him next.