Time folded.
Ethan floated in the nothing between fractured versions of the Wraithling—mirror images of the ship repeating infinitely, each locked in its own possible fate. One ended in fire. Another in stillness. One in light, radiant and impossible.
The voice—the Unnamed—cut through the chaos like a thread of moonlight through a black sea.
"You are Thronebound."
Ethan spun, or maybe just existed in place. "What does that mean?"
[SYSTEM UPDATE: Connection Stabilized – Sub-Entity Integration: 12%][Note: Thronebound Designation Confirmed. Legacy Path – Active.]
Kaelen's reflection hovered nearby—flickering in and out of reality like a faulty transmission. He grinned, holding a blade that shimmered like cracked crystal.
"You feel it now, don't you? The truth buried under layers of code and memory. This isn't just about you. Or me. It's about the Seat."
Ethan narrowed his eyes. "The Dead Throne."
Kaelen tilted his head. "Dead to most. Sleeping, really. And you're its key. The last piece. The one who wasn't supposed to be here."
Around them, constellations reformed. Strange symbols burned across Ethan's skin, glowing faintly under his clothes.
[NEW ABILITY UNLOCKED: Void Sigil – Mark of the Refraction][Effect: Enables resistance to multidimensional bleed. Increases clarity within fragmented time-events.]
The System felt alive again—no longer an echo chamber of warnings and failsafes. It wanted something. It had a direction.
But it wasn't Ethan's alone anymore.
"We remember. We dreamed. We fell with you."
The voice wavered between feminine and masculine, between warm and hollow. A memory made flesh. And it was growing stronger with each passing second.
Kaelen lunged. The blade whistled. Ethan dodged, barely—his body trailing flickers of light and shadow, like the reflections couldn't decide which version of him they were holding onto.
"You think the System is yours?" Kaelen spat. "You think the throne listens to your will? You haven't earned it. You haven't bled for it like I have."
Ethan slammed his palm to his chest. "I didn't come to inherit your crown. I came to break the cycle."
[SYSTEM DECISION TREE DETECTED: Divergence Event Imminent][Choose One:]
Reclaim the Throne – Embrace your past, take the power Kaelen once wielded.
Refuse the Crown – Forge a new legacy, severing yourself from the path completely.
Bind the Reflection – Fuse the past and present to stabilize the future.
Aelira's voice crackled through a comm that shouldn't have worked in this place.
"Ethan—do something! The Wraithling's falling apart—your vitals are spiking. You need to decide!"
He could feel the choice hammering at him. The weight of it burned through his soul.
The throne wasn't just a seat of power. It was a focal point in the architecture of the multiverse. A memory engine. A judgment.
And Ethan Cross, the man who died once, now stood at its edge.
"We are the echo that remained.""And you… are the one who returns."