Chapter 145: Four Deaths
Darkness.
Kai couldn't feel his body.
Only pain.
Not one kind.
Every kind.
His chest burned.
His veins felt like molten metal.
His bones screamed.
Even breathing hurt.
Somewhere—
Far away—
Voices.
"...Pressure dropping..."
"...Increase mana output..."
"...Again..."
Dr. Z.
Kai couldn't open his eyes.
He couldn't move.
Then—
Something sharp entered his chest.
His entire world exploded.
Pain.
Nothing but pain.
His mouth opened.
A scream escaped him.
He couldn't hear it.
But he knew he was screaming.
His restraints rattled violently.
Something warm flowed down his side.
Blood.
His own.
The pain only grew.
It felt as though someone had reached into his body...
And was rearranging everything.
Every nerve.
Every vein.
Every strand of mana.
He wanted it to stop.
He wanted to pass out.
He couldn't.
"...Heart stopped."
The distant voice sounded almost calm.
Stopped?
Kai wanted to laugh.
That explained why everything suddenly felt...
Cold.
...
His world faded.
He stood beneath a crimson sky.
Chains wrapped around his wrists.
His knees rested on black stone.
Around him—
Cultists chanted.
Hundreds of them.
Their voices echoed endlessly.
A massive demonic altar towered overhead.
Someone stepped forward.
"...The sacrifice is prepared."
Kai tried to move.
Nothing.
The chains tightened.
Above him—
A monstrous shadow slowly descended.
Dozens of glowing eyes opened.
A claw reached toward him.
The cultists cheered.
"For Azathoth!"
The claw pierced his chest.
Pain.
Then darkness.
CRACK.
The world shattered.
Kai gasped.
His heart slammed once.
Then stopped again.
Somewhere—
Far away—
Dr. Z cursed.
"...Again?"
Mana surged violently through Kai's body.
He couldn't breathe.
His lungs refused to move.
Everything became white.
Cold.
Very cold.
Kai slowly opened his eyes.
He was tied to a stone altar.
His arms stretched outward.
Around him—
People wearing rabbit masks.
Children.
Women.
Old men.
All smiling.
A priest approached.
He carried a silver bowl.
And a knife.
"...The feast begins."
The blade entered Kai's arm.
Blood flowed into the bowl.
More.
More.
More.
The bowl overflowed.
The priest raised it.
"My brothers..."
"...Let us feast."
The crowd cheered.
They drank.
Then...
They looked at Kai.
Hungry.
Someone bit into his shoulder.
Another into his leg.
Another tore flesh from his arm.
Kai screamed.
Nobody listened.
He was eaten alive.
Piece...
By...
Piece.
CRACK.
His lungs suddenly worked again.
Kai inhaled violently.
Only to immediately cough blood.
Something inside him burst.
His entire body convulsed.
Dr. Z's voice echoed again.
"...Stay with me."
Kai couldn't.
Darkness swallowed him once more.
Rain.
Fire.
Demons.
Monsters.
Cultists.
The battlefield stretched endlessly.
Kai stood alone.
Magic Circuits glowed beneath his skin.
Not a single cult tattoo marked his body.
Beside him—
Members of the Order of Karma fought desperately.
Kai swung his weapon.
One demon fell.
Another.
Another.
He kept fighting.
Kept advancing.
Kept bleeding.
There were too many.
A spear pierced his stomach.
A sword entered his shoulder.
A claw ripped through his side.
Still—
He remained standing.
One last cultist approached.
"...Why won't you fall?"
Kai smiled weakly.
"...Because..."
Blood filled his mouth.
"...I'm stubborn."
The cultist drove his blade through Kai's heart.
Kai never hit the ground.
He died...
Standing.
CRACK.
His heartbeat vanished again.
Third time.
The mana within him erupted.
Every implanted circuit rejected his body.
Kai couldn't feel anything anymore.
Not pain.
Not fear.
Nothing.
Only silence.
Then—
Snow drifted quietly across a ruined battlefield.
Near the walls of Asphyxia.
Kai stumbled forward.
"...Alice!"
She struggled desperately.
King Akshay held her by the neck.
His sword rested against her throat.
His eyes...
Were empty.
Emotionless.
Like a puppet.
Beside him—
Taai.
His expression equally hollow.
"...No..."
Kai ran.
"Alice!"
Akshay's blade flashed.
Blood painted the snow.
Alice collapsed.
"..."
"No..."
Kai lunged.
Taai intercepted him.
One punch.
Kai crashed into the frozen ground.
Before he could rise—
Taai grabbed him.
Held him down.
"...Taai..."
Kai struggled.
"...Snap out of it!"
"...Please!"
Taai never answered.
His empty eyes never changed.
Kai looked past him.
Akshay slowly approached.
Sword in hand.
"...AKSHAAAAY!!"
The king swung.
Everything tilted.
Kai's body remained standing.
For one impossible moment—
Then his head separated.
It rolled slowly across the snow.
Until...
It stopped.
Facing Alice.
She lay sideways.
Eyes open.
Watching him.
Silence.
No wind.
No footsteps.
No heartbeat.
Nothing.
Then—
She smiled.
"...You're late."
Kai couldn't answer.
"...You could've saved me."
Silence.
"...Now I'm dead."
Kai stared.
"...It's..."
"...my fault."
Tears slowly rolled down his face.
"...If only I were stronger..."
"...I could've saved everyone..."
His voice trembled.
"...Every time I wake up..."
"...I save one thing..."
"...Then something else breaks..."
"...Every time I remember..."
"...I lose myself..."
He lowered his eyes.
"...I'm sorry."
Alice's body slowly melted.
Into blood.
The crimson liquid spread across the snow.
Then—
Voices.
Whispers.
Echoes.
Your fault.
Your fault.
Your fault.
Your fault.
The blood consumed everything.
Silence returned.
Kai floated alone inside endless darkness.
"...What..."
"...have I been doing?"
"...Who am I?"
"...Why do these memories keep happening?"
"...Is this the past..."
"...or the future?"
He looked into the darkness.
Then shouted.
"...TELL ME!"
Someone answered.
"...You already know."
Kai turned.
Another Kai stood beside him.
He looked almost identical.
Except...
His eyes carried centuries of exhaustion.
"...Who are you?"
The other Kai smiled faintly.
"...I am you."
"...And you are me."
"...We are the same..."
"...Yet different."
"...Good and evil."
"...Chaos and peace."
Kai remained silent.
Then quietly asked—
"...Why do you remember..."
"...but I don't?"
The other Kai looked at him for a long moment.
Then slowly reached behind his back.
He drew a familiar sword.
Zane's sword.
Kai's eyes widened.
"...You already know the answer."
The other Kai slowly lifted his sleeve.
Faint glowing lines spread beneath his skin.
Magic Circuits.
"...Everything..."
White light swallowed the world.
"...will be revealed..."
The light grew brighter.
"...in time."
Kai's heart—
Beat.
For the fourth time.
THUMP.
Everything disappeared.