Chapter 5 – The Throne of Echoes
The path twisted beneath his feet like a serpent of stone, carved from obsidian and streaked with veins of glowing silver. It led Kairo—though he did not yet know that name truly belonged to him—deeper into the core of the mountain. The further he walked, the quieter the world became, until even the sound of his own footsteps seemed stolen by the silence.
A massive chamber awaited him.
Ancient. Timeless.
Pillars older than memory supported a ceiling painted with constellations he'd never seen before. In the center of it all sat a throne—jagged, raw, and carved from the very bones of the world.
He approached it like a man drawn toward destiny, though dread curled in his chest like smoke.
Why did this place feel so familiar?
As he stepped closer, the throne pulsed. Not with light… but with memory.
Suddenly, voices filled the air—thousands of them. Some weeping. Some whispering. All echoing from the stone itself.
> "You abandoned us…"
"Creator…"
"Savior…"
"Monster…"
He staggered, gripping his temples as fragments of visions flooded his mind. Cities crumbling. Stars bleeding. A figure cloaked in darkness… watching it all burn.
Was that me?
The throne pulsed again. Harder.
And then, a single voice rose above the others. Not accusing. Not mourning.
Calling.
"Claim your creation, Kairo."
He froze.
Kairo.
The name slammed into him like a wave from another life. His knees hit the floor.
Flashes surged through his mind—of coding lines, unfinished lore, a forgotten character file. The name had existed before… but not like this.
Not like it mattered.
His name… was Kairo.
And this world was his.
But something was wrong. Twisted. As if someone else had written over his story—hijacked the code.
He stood, slowly.
The voices fell silent.
He placed a hand on the throne's armrest. It was warm. Alive.
And it responded.
The chamber trembled.
A seal broke in the air, invisible but ancient, and across the chamber, a door appeared—etched in languages he didn't remember learning but somehow understood.
The world was shifting again.
And now?
Now it knew he had returned.