Darkness surrounded Kai. A deep, endless void. He was falling—drifting through nothingness—until a memory pulled him back.
He stood on a battlefield, the air thick with smoke and ash. The ground beneath him was cracked, and the sky was filled with red lightning.
Alen lay on the ground, his body covered in wounds. He had followed Kai for 20 years, ever since he was just 15 years old. Now, he was dying.
Even in pain, Alen smiled.
Alen: "You really are stubborn."
Kai clenched his fists.
Kai: "You knew this would happen."
Alen coughed and nodded.
Alen: "Yeah… but knowing doesn't mean I could stop it."
His fingers trembled as he reached for Kai's arm.
Alen (whispering): "Listen… one last time."
The sky rumbled above them. The gods were watching.
Alen (weakly smiling): "I believe in you."
Kai's breath caught.
Alen's grip tightened.
Alen: "You can change this fate."
Then, his hand went limp. The light faded from his eyes.
Kai reached for him, but the memory was already disappearing—fading into the darkness.
---
The scene shifted.
Kai stood in the ruins of a world he had destroyed. Flames covered the lands, mountains crumbled, oceans boiled. The cries of the dying echoed around him. He had done it. He had erased half of existence.
And yet, the gods remained silent.
Kai fell to his knees, his hands stained with blood—his own, Alen's, and countless others.
Kai: "I have completed your wish. I have fulfilled my purpose."
He lifted his head to the sky, his golden eyes dull and exhausted.
Kai: "So, relieve me now… let me go."
For a moment, silence. Then, divine voices echoed through the heavens, cold and unfeeling.
Gods: "This is your fate. You cannot escape it."
Kai's fingers dug into the dirt. His chest rose and fell with ragged breaths.
Then—he laughed. A bitter, hollow sound.
Slowly, he stood, tilting his head up to the heavens. His expression twisted with defiance.
Kai: "Then I refuse your fate."
The sky cracked. The divine light trembled. The gods watched in silence, their presence pressing down on him.
Then—everything shattered. The light. The gods. The world around him.
And he woke up.