A funeral silence hung over the "Iris Ruins" after the withdrawal of the Overlord of Echoes. It was not a typical silence, but a vacuum charged with questions that gnawed at the chest and settled in the breath like suffocating dust. Temporal grit still hung in the air, shimmering under the pale, flickering light of the unstable gateways. Grandfather Taiso sat upon a shattered marble plinth, appearing as though he had aged a hundred years in mere seconds; the wrinkles on his face were not just marks of time, but maps of ancient agonies that had just resurfaced. Eiji stood before him, his body trembling uncontrollably, the Eternal Mark in his left eye pulsing with a restless red light, as if sensing the imminent earthquake striking his psyche.
Eiji (in a hollow voice filled with shock and loss): "Grandfather... the words that man uttered before he left... they were like blades shredding the fabric of my mind. Who is he, truly? And what is this covenant he accuses you of breaking? I want the truth now, no matter how hideous. Silence no longer has a place between us; I am tired of living in the shadows of secrets that strangle me."
Taiso slowly raised his head, his eyes drowned in a sea of ancient regret. He looked toward the distant horizon as if summoning the ghosts of the past from the forgotten folds of the Chronoverse. He let out a sigh from the depths of his burdened chest, then began to speak in a voice as heavy as falling mountains.
Taiso (with deep sorrow and a broken, regretful tone): "The time has come, Eiji... the time for you to hear the truth that altered the course of dimensions and shattered our family's future years before you were even born. The truth I tried to bury in the graves of oblivion, but which has returned today to demand our blood. It concerns the man you call 'Father'... it concerns Akira."
Eiji's eyes widened, and a chill raced through his limbs as if his blood had turned to ice.
Eiji (in fierce denial, rage igniting in his voice): "My father? What does my father have to do with the world of Echoes and a nameless Overlord? He is just a simple archaeologist, a man who spent his life among old books and dusty maps! How dare you link his name to this darkness threatening existence?"
Taiso closed his eyes tightly and began to recount the story that started decades ago, in a time when hope was still possible.
Taiso (recounting painful memories): "In my youth, when I held the title of the Sole Temporal Guardian, I had a loyal friend—a brother born of another mother. He assisted me in the most complex adventures across time. But fate was cruel; death took him in a tragic accident, leaving behind a lonely child. Out of loyalty to my friend's memory, I swore to be a father and mentor to that orphan. I raised him, giving him all my love and my secrets... his name was Akira. He grew up under my care, and he was terrifyingly brilliant. His passion for archaeology wasn't just a hobby; it was a search for lost roots. Over time, I shared the secrets of the 'Chronoverse' and the 'Etherians' with him. I taught him to read the pulses of temporal power and promised him publicly that he would be my successor—the next Guardian to carry the Eternal Mark."
A brief silence ensued before Taiso continued, the words appearing to burn his throat.
Taiso (with suffocating bitterness): "On the appointed day, when Akira turned sixteen, we prepared the ceremony for the Mark's transition. It was supposed to be a day of coronation, but it turned into the day of doom we call the 'Great Collapse'."
Yukari intervened in a calm, analytical voice, attempting to explain the catastrophe.
Yukari (with technical calm tinged with sorrow): "At that critical moment, a flaw occurred that none of us anticipated. The transfer failed due to an energy interference of unknown origin, leading to a massive explosion that tore the fabric of space and time. It was a catastrophe that shook the foundations of the Seven Dimensions and plunged us into chaos for years."
Taiso continued, his body shaking from the weight of the memories.
Taiso (trembling): "Akira survived the blast by a miracle, but everyone believed that my wife and I had been crushed under the ruins of the exploding temporal energy. When Akira woke alone in the wreckage of his world, something fundamental in his soul broke. He returned to the real world, carrying the news of our deaths, and went straight to my daughter Miyoko... your mother. He lied to her, Eiji. He didn't tell her about our world or the Etherians. He told her we died in a tragic accident abroad. To fill the void of his pain and hers, he stayed by her side at any cost, marrying her to build a new life upon the ruins of a great lie."
Atsurai, listening in total disbelief at the scale of the familial conspiracy, placed her hand over her mouth.
Atsurai (in absolute shock): "This means... Eiji's father, the man who represented integrity in his eyes, is the Overlord of Echoes? The man leading the armies of the Void to destroy us?"
Taiso answered, regret visible in every wrinkle of his pale face.
Taiso (in a voice of broken confession): "Yes. For years, Akira believed I was truly dead. But when he discovered the bitter truth—that I was hidden in this parallel dimension all those years to fix what the Collapse destroyed—a volcano of hatred erupted in his chest. He felt betrayed; he felt I had robbed him of his right to succession and left him to face the world alone with his lies. He saw my survival as a betrayal of the sacred promise I once made to him. His old love for me turned into a black, unquenchable hatred."
Yukari added in a somber tone: "Akira chose the dark path of his own will, joining the forces of the Void. Because of his absolute knowledge of our secrets and our emotional weaknesses, he became the greatest threat to existence... the Overlord who aims to destroy the system he believes failed him."
Eiji felt as if the walls were closing in. He stumbled back against a broken pillar, falling to his knees and clutching his head to stop the terrifying noise in his mind.
Eiji (with a scream that tore the silence): "No! It's impossible! My father cannot be that monster! My whole life was a lie? Every warm hug was just a mask?"
Taiso looked at his grandson with a heart heavy with guilt.
Taiso (with deep sorrow): "I know this burden is more than any human should bear. But you must understand that Akira sees you as the embodiment of his failure. You carry the Mark that was unjustly denied to him in his eyes. To him, you are the little 'Covenant Breaker' who must pay for my mistake."
Eiji began to breathe deeply. The tears in his eyes dried, replaced by a cold, harsh gaze that announced the birth of a warrior from the womb of pain. He stood firmly, brushing the dust off his clothes as if brushing away his entire past.
Eiji (in a decisive, ice-cold voice): "Then, confrontation is no longer an option to flee from... it is an inevitable destiny. I must face the man who gave me life to stop him from destroying time. I must end this deception before its fires reach my mother, Miyoko."