The golden plains behind him dissolved like mist as Kael crossed the threshold into darkness.
The warmth of divine light vanished. The air turned cold, thick — almost heavy enough to crush his lungs.
[System Notice: Entering Floor 10 – The Shattered Bridge.]
[Warning: Dimensional Stability – 32%.]
Kael frowned. "Dimensional stability?"
The message flickered again, as if the system itself was struggling to function.
He took a step forward, and his boot landed not on stone — but on something transparent.
He looked down.
Beneath him stretched an endless void of stars. Floating shards of crystal formed a narrow bridge suspended in nothingness, stretching endlessly into a horizon that didn't exist. Pieces of stone, symbols, and runes hovered in midair, drifting like broken memories.
"A bridge," Kael whispered, "between worlds."
The moment he spoke, the entire structure vibrated. Cracks spread beneath his feet like spiderwebs.
He steadied himself and continued walking.
Every step echoed infinitely, bouncing back with strange whispers — as if the bridge itself spoke in forgotten tongues.
"Why… return…"
"You were not meant… to awaken…"
Kael stopped, his hand instinctively gripping the White Ember Blade. "Who's there?"
The whispers fell silent — replaced by a low hum.
In the distance, a massive figure appeared — sitting cross-legged at the center of the bridge.
It was made of broken armor and chains, its face hidden behind a cracked mask of marble. Light leaked from within the cracks — flickering like dying stars.
As Kael approached, the figure slowly raised its head.
"Another human… how long has it been since one of you reached this far?"
Its voice was deep, echoing like thunder trapped inside a bell.
Kael kept his guard. "Who are you?"
"A Watcher," the being said. "One of the Seven Bound to observe the Infinite Path. Once, I was a god who sought truth. Now, I am its prisoner."
Kael's eyes narrowed. "Then you're one of them — the gods who rewrote the world."
The Watcher chuckled, the sound like cracking glass.
"We all were. Until truth devoured us."
---
Fragments of a Broken World
The Watcher gestured toward the void below. "Tell me, Kael of the Rebellion, what do you see?"
Kael looked down again. The stars beneath the transparent bridge shimmered. At first, he thought they were distant suns — but then he noticed the shapes forming within them.
Cities. Oceans. Forests. Skies.
Entire worlds spinning below, like reflections of his own reality.
Kael's voice trembled. "Those are… other worlds?"
"Versions," said the Watcher. "Failed recreations. Every time humanity reached for truth, the gods reset reality. What you call your world is merely the tenth attempt."
The words hit him like a punch to the gut. "Ten times…?"
"Ten eras, ten resets. Every rebellion you've felt in your bones — every flicker of anger at divine control — is an echo from before. You carry the memories of all who defied them."
Kael clenched his fists. "So the dungeon isn't a trial… it's a record."
The Watcher nodded. "A living archive. Each floor holds fragments of forgotten cycles. You've seen the war, the angel's sorrow, the fragments of rebellion — all of them are pieces of the same truth."
He leaned closer, his massive form casting Kael in shadow.
"But the gods are not your only enemy. There is something worse."
Kael swallowed hard. "Worse than gods?"
The Watcher's voice dropped to a whisper.
"The system itself."
Kael blinked. "The… system?"
"The dungeon's system that grants you power — the one you trust — is the cage they built. It rewrites your growth, your emotions, even your thoughts. Every level you gain feeds their world-engine, maintaining the lie. The stronger you become, the tighter their chains grow."
Kael's stomach twisted. He opened the system window instinctively — glowing blue text hovering before him like always. For the first time, he noticed something beneath the usual lines of status data — faint symbols, barely visible.
[Subroutine Active: Emotional Regulation 97%]
[Cognitive Limiters Stable]
His breath caught. "No…"
"You see it now," said the Watcher. "You were never meant to win. You were meant to believe you could."
The bridge trembled as the void below shimmered violently — reality reacting to Kael's awakening thoughts.
[Warning: System Instability Detected.]
[User Consciousness: Exceeding Allowable Limit.]
Kael dropped to his knees, clutching his head.
Pain exploded through his skull. His vision flickered between worlds — burning cities, empty skies, screaming faces, repeating endlessly.
"You are not supposed to know."
"Sleep, Rebellion."
"Forget again."
He roared against the voices, his blade slamming into the bridge, cracking the crystal beneath him.
"I won't forget!" he screamed. "Not this time!"
---
Breaking the Code
White flames erupted from his sword. His heartbeat thundered in his ears — fast, furious, defiant.
The Watcher watched silently, light gleaming through its broken mask.
"So it begins again," it murmured.
Kael's system window shattered like glass, replaced by red static.
[System Override Detected.]
[Manual Consciousness Control: Engaged.]
[Warning: You are entering unbound state.]
Kael's entire body burned. His veins glowed, not with mana, but with something deeper — the same infinite energy Arcten had once unleashed. The air rippled as he raised his blade toward the sky.
"If the system is a cage…"
He smiled through the pain. "Then I'll burn it down."
He slashed upward.
The bridge split apart. Crystals shattered, collapsing into the void. Fragments of light flew in every direction, each reflecting a different world, a different time — alternate realities fracturing into chaos.
Kael fell through darkness, his body consumed by blinding light.
---
The Memory Below
He landed — not on stone, not on ground — but on a surface made of reflections.
A massive, mirrored plain stretched endlessly, showing thousands of Kaels — each slightly different. Some were wounded, some smiling, some wearing armor he didn't recognize.
Then he saw one version — standing ahead, back turned to him.
That Kael wore the same clothes, held the same sword — but his aura was darker, heavier, filled with despair.
"Who are you?" Kael asked.
The other version didn't turn.
"The one who failed," it said quietly. "The Kael from the ninth world."
Kael froze. "You mean… the last cycle?"
The reflection nodded. "I broke free once, too. I reached the Core. I faced the gods. And I lost. When the world reset, a new me was born — you."
Kael stepped closer. "Then tell me how to win."
The reflection turned — its eyes empty, hollow.
"You can't win. You can only remember. That's the key. The system rewrites every world, but it cannot erase memory imprinted within the soul."
Kael's heart pounded. "Then if I remember everything—"
"You'll become what they fear most," the reflection finished. "A singularity — the Infinite Rebel."
Kael lifted his sword. "Then I'll be that."
The reflection smiled faintly. "Good. But remember this — when you reach the Core, you'll face her. The true Architect of the system."
Kael frowned. "Her?"
"The Goddess of Order. The one who loved humanity once… and then chained it forever."
The reflection began to fade.
"When you meet her, don't hate her. Understand her. That's the only way to break eternity."
---
The Fractured Awakening
The mirrored world shattered.
Kael gasped as reality snapped back — he was lying on what remained of the crystal bridge. The void below had turned calm, glowing faintly with red and gold light. The Watcher was gone. Only a new message floated before him.
[System Fragment Obtained: Truth Protocol – Level 1 Unlocked.]
[You can now see hidden system layers.]
Kael stood slowly. His reflection in the crystal beneath him was different — his eyes now faintly glowing with both white and crimson light.
"So this is it," he whispered. "The rebellion isn't against gods anymore. It's against the world's code itself."
The remaining shards of the bridge aligned, forming a stairway of floating fragments leading downward — into pure darkness.
Kael sheathed his sword and walked forward without hesitation.
[Floor 11 – The Core of Memory: Unlocked.]
Behind him, the void whispered softly — voices of past selves, rebels, gods, and systems alike:
"He walks again…"
"The cycle trembles…"
"Infinity remembers…"
Kael looked ahead, his voice calm, his resolve absolute.
"Then let it remember. Because this time, I won't fade."
He stepped into the dark — and the bridge shattered behind him.
---
To be continue...