The wind howled like a wounded beast across the wastelands.
Kai stood on the edge of a crumbling ridge, his cloak billowing behind him as his eyes scanned the distant horizon. There, suspended above the scarred earth, floated jagged pieces of terrain—massive stone platforms, fragmented buildings, even pieces of sky twisted into impossible angles.
This was the Fragmented Sky—a region where gravity had been shattered, and reality bent in response. A place born from a failed Omega experiment, if the System's lore logs were accurate. A convergence zone where thoughts could manifest, and memories refused to die.
[System Notification: Zone – Fragmented Sky][Cognitive Disruption Field Active: Mental Resilience Required][Status Effect: Temporal Echoes - Intermittent Reality Shifts Expected]
"Great," Kai muttered, already feeling the prickling behind his eyes. He reached into his satchel and tapped the side of a Focus Node, a sleek, coin-sized chip that adhered to the back of his neck. The headache dulled instantly.
The climb to the first floating island was no easy task. A crumbling tower served as a natural bridge, its top arching up toward the closest platform like the spine of a long-dead beast. Kai scaled it with practiced ease, activating his [Grip Tech: Level 2] to climb the debris without slipping.
Each step into the Fragmented Sky was a descent into madness.
He passed upside-down buildings anchored by gravity wells, and ghostly figures that whispered forgotten names before vanishing into light. Echoes of the past, the System said. Memories of those who had tried—and failed—to ascend.
By the time he reached the central island, the sky above had turned violet, streaked with gold lightning.
Floating at the heart of it all was the Echo Core.
A crystalline structure, shaped like a lotus in bloom, with pulsing runes rotating around it. Every so often, it flickered—and with it, reality itself stuttered. Trees appeared, then disappeared. Rubble reassembled, only to scatter again. It was a place constantly rewriting itself.
[Objective Update: Echo Core 2 Located – Interference Detected]
Before Kai could approach, the ground rumbled.
From the side of the platform, a shape emerged—first a shadow, then armor, then rage.
A man.
Clad in twisted Omega-tech plating, his face half-covered by a breathing apparatus. His left arm had been entirely replaced by a metallic construct humming with dark energy. Red sigils glowed across his body like circuitry carved into flesh.
"I was wondering when you'd show up," the man said, voice distorted but recognizable.
Kai narrowed his eyes. "Do I know you?"
"You did," the man replied. "Before your memories were erased. Before you ran from what we were building."
The stranger stepped forward. His presence warped the ground beneath him.
"They called me Delta-Kai. I was the backup plan."
Recognition struck like a fist. Kai had read about the Delta Protocol—emergency clones created from key personnel in the Ascension Project. Designed to survive, adapt, and obey.
This one had clearly diverged from the "obey" part.
"You're broken," Kai said.
Delta-Kai laughed bitterly. "No, you're broken. You chose compassion. I chose completion. That's why I'm here to claim the Echo Core."
Kai drew his blade. "Then come take it."
The air crackled.
The duel began.
Delta-Kai moved like a machine—each strike brutal and calculated. His arm cannon fired micro-bursts of kinetic force, shattering stone with each miss. Kai ducked under a swipe, rolled, and slashed at the exposed wiring under his opponent's shoulder.
Sparks flew. Delta staggered.
But he didn't bleed.
"You're more machine than man," Kai hissed.
"And still more human than you ever were!" Delta shouted, leaping into the air with a burst from his thrusters. His descent shattered the ground, forcing Kai back.
[System Skill Triggered: Adaptive Reflex - Dodge Successful]
Kai's eyes burned with focus. The System had his back, but it was struggling in this corrupted zone.
Delta lunged again.
Kai parried, then slid under his opponent's guard, driving a pulse-charge into the side of Delta's armor. The detonation sent both of them flying in opposite directions.
As Kai staggered to his feet, he saw Delta crawling toward the Echo Core, injured but unrelenting.
"No you don't," Kai muttered, launching a grappling tether from his gauntlet. It latched onto Delta's arm and yanked him backward.
Both men collided again—this time, in the center of the island. Fists. Elbows. Blades.
Metal clanged. Flesh bruised. Sparks danced in the air like fireflies.
Then Kai saw the opening.
He didn't hesitate.
With a roar, he plunged his blade into the energy core on Delta's chest. A burst of white light exploded outward, followed by a shriek of static and pain.
Delta convulsed, then fell to his knees.
"You… don't understand…" he gasped. "Subject Zero… isn't who you think…"
Before Kai could question him, Delta's body disintegrated—reduced to ash and code, consumed by the unstable energy inside him.
[Target Eliminated. Memory Core Residue Detected.]
Kai turned to the Echo Core. It pulsed once, then unfolded like a flower touched by sunlight.
He stepped forward, and placed his palm to its center.
[Omega Thread – Resonance Achieved][You have gained: Omega Thread Key – Will Variant][Omega Thread Progression: 51%]
The platform stabilized. The sky began to mend, if only slightly.
Kai closed his eyes. The memory fragments from the Echo Core surged into him—visions of Subject Zero, older now. Awake. Alone. And… running.
Someone was chasing them.
And worse still—someone was controlling them.
[New Objective: Trace Subject Zero's Path – Route: The Hollow Citadel]
Kai took one last look at the quiet, broken sky.
Then he leapt into the wind.
End of Chapter 17