Outside the newly restored Redgrave building, police sirens blared down the block as officers struggled to maintain a strict barricade against the swelling crowd. The news reporters had mostly scattered, eager to broadcast the miraculous reconstruction of the skyscraper.
Sara gently propped Kael against the polished stone exterior of the building. His body was completely still, his eyes closed in deep unconsciousness. Yet, despite his unmoving state, hot tears streamed steadily down his face, soaking into his collar.
Deep inside Kael's subconscious mind, a terrible nightmare took hold.
He was walking down a familiar neighborhood street alongside Renjiro. They pushed open the door to his childhood home—only to find his parents lying lifeless on the floor.
Kael let out an agonizing scream. He turned to grab Renjiro's shoulder, but his friend had vanished into thin air.
"Mom! Dad!" Kael sobbed, collapsing onto his knees beside them.
For a split second, the gentle voice of his mother, Elara, echoed through the quiet room, and his father, Adrian, smiled warmly at him. But before Kael could touch them, both figures dissolved into white dust, scattering into the dark.
The scenery twisted violently. The walls melted away, leaving Kael trapped in a pitch-black void.
Ahead of him, three bright figures emerged from the fog—Sara, Renjiro, and Sarina. They smiled gently, reaching out their hands.
"Come with us, Kael," they called in harmony.
Kael tried to stand, but his legs were like heavy iron. Despair washed over him.
Suddenly, warm hands supported him from behind. Drakes and Vajr braced his shoulders. Nyxara and Azune wrapped their arms around his waist to steady him, while Xiyan pulled him upward from behind.
Kael let out a soft, relieved breath. But before he could take a single step forward, everyone—Sara, Renjiro, Sarina, and all five of his spirit guardians—shattered into black sand and blew away into the abyss.
Kael plunged backward into a bottomless pit. At the absolute center of the darkness hovered a shadowy entity with glowing red eyes.
"Who are you?!" Kael wept, his voice breaking in the endless drop.
The entity smirked softly. "We know each other quite well, Kael."
"I don't care who you are!" Kael screamed, tears blinding his vision. "If you want my power, just take it! Take everything and leave my life alone!"
In the real world, Kael's body twitched violently against the stone wall. Sarina gently shook his shoulder, her eyes brimming with tears, while Sara tried to moisten his dry lips with a bottle of water. "Kael, please... wake up!" Sarina cried.
Back in the abyss, the red-eyed entity narrowed its gaze. "Someone is waiting for you," it whispered quietly before vanishing into the dark.
In an instant, the darkness burned away into a blinding golden light.
Kael opened his eyes to find himself kneeling on a pristine marble floor inside a grand celestial temple. Sitting on an elevated throne before him was a breathtaking woman with long, flowing crimson hair and razor-sharp red eyes.
Kael struggled to push himself up, but a wave of invisible divine force gently guided him into a comfortable chair across from her.
"Where am I?" Kael panted, wiping the moisture from his face. "Who are you?"
"You are in the divine realm," the woman replied smoothly. "I am Anstra, the Goddess of Sacrifices."
Kael stared at her, his voice hoarse. "What do you want from me?"
Anstra offered a gentle, sympathetic smile. "You are an anomaly, Kael. You were never meant to exist in any fate or story. No path was ever written for you. Yet, here you are—invincible, unbound by destiny, and different from every living being."
She took a slow breath. "Because you were born without an assigned soul, I bestowed upon you the 'Broken Soul'."
Kael lowered his head. "I know... but every time I use it, it drains my energy."
"That is because you fight it instead of understanding it deep in your heart," Anstra explained softly.
Kael looked up, his voice barely a whisper. "Am I really that powerful?"
"You can die," Anstra said plainly. "But if you revive, your power has no upper limit. You can destroy anything. However, hear me carefully: do not attempt to take your own life intentionally. If you kill yourself, you will die permanently."
Kael tilted his head, confused. "How do I master this? Who will teach me?"
"Your teacher will show you," Anstra smiled.
Kael looked around the empty temple. "Teacher?"
"Time," she clarified warmly. "Time will teach you everything."
Anstra stood up from her throne and stepped down toward him. "You are bound to my system—the System of Sacrifices. But now, it is time for you to return. You will not remember this meeting, but keep this instinct close to your heart: do not overuse the Broken Soul until you truly comprehend it."
Anstra gently placed her palm against Kael's forehead. A brilliant light flashed, blinding his senses as his consciousness was pulled back toward the mortal world.
Kael gasped loudly, his eyes snapping open. His golden pupils flared brilliantly as his vision settled back onto the real world.
Standing right over him were Sara, Sarina, Rexon, and Renjiro. Tears were rolling down all of their faces.
Kael blinked, forcing a weak, tired smirk onto his lips. "Hey... Renjiro... why are you crying? I thought you were supposed to be the cold, aloof guy."
Renjiro let out a shaky sigh, lightly punching Kael's chest. "Shut up, you idiot. You scared us to death."
Kael's smirk faded as his gaze shifted slightly to the side. A short distance away on the pavement lay two motionless figures beneath white sheets—Ashu and Vrinda. A heavy, painful quiet settled over Kael's heart.
Meanwhile, high above in the divine realm...
Anstra stepped out of the throne room, walking down a quiet, glowing corridor until she reached a hidden inner chamber.
Sitting near a crystalline window was another majestic Goddess. Her brilliant white hair shone like starlight, and her golden pupils were identical to Kael's.
"Sister," Anstra said softly, stopping near the entrance. "You listened to everything, yet you didn't step inside. He is your child, after all."
The white-haired Goddess stared out at the mortal plane, a bittersweet smile touching her lips. "I am sorry... but I cannot bear to watch another child of mine suffer."
Anstra bowed her head in respect. "I understand. Living a life with no written story and no path to follow is a heavy burden."
As Anstra bowed and turned to leave, the white-haired Goddess gazed down at Kael's awakened form on Earth, her golden eyes softening with maternal warmth.
"A forty-year-old soul in a nineteen-year-old body..." she murmured quietly to herself, a faint smirk touching her face. "Is that youthful look because of the Broken Soul... or Azune's void magic?"