The rain came softly that night.
Not the kind that cleansed or soothed, but a silent drizzle that seemed to seep into Kael's bones and whisper things better left buried.
He sat alone on the rooftop of their safehouse—soot-covered from the earlier battle, steam still rising from his skin. His hands trembled faintly, not from fear, but from something far stranger: familiarity.
That strange pulse. That black lightning. That moment of sheer resistance against Nyxen's reversal… none of it was natural. None of it felt like something he had earned. It felt inherited.
"What the hell am I?"
He closed his eyes and the memories surged.
Not like dreams. Not like visions. Like fractured glass being pieced together inside his skull.
A battlefield scorched by twin suns.
A girl with silver hair, tears streaming down her face, holding his dying body.
A monstrous shadow screaming his name not out of hatred, but desperation.
An obsidian gate, ancient and thrumming, sealing behind him.
A voice, familiar and infinite, whispering:
"When balance breaks, you must become the scale."
Kael jolted upright, gasping.
Sera stood at the doorway, arms crossed, eyes narrowed. "It's happening, isn't it?"
He didn't answer. Couldn't.
She walked over and sat beside him. "When I first awakened, I thought I was losing my mind too. My power kept screaming at me. Memories that weren't mine. Fears that didn't belong. Took me a while to realize… we don't just inherit powers. We inherit purpose."
Kael looked at her, searching.
"You think I was someone else before? Someone… important?"
Sera nodded slowly. "You weren't just someone. You were the reason the last era ended."
He froze. "That's not possible."
"Lira ran traces. Your energy signature doesn't match anything modern. It matches artifacts… from the First Cycle. Stuff locked in the Vault of Endings."
"Then why don't I remember everything?"
"Maybe you weren't meant to," she said. "Maybe you sealed yourself."
Kael stood, pacing. "If that's true… then the Choir isn't just targeting me. They're trying to awaken me. Piece by piece."
He looked toward the horizon.
"But why now?"
Far from the City – Hidden Vault of Endings
A forgotten monument of the First Cycle, buried deep in the Hollow Expanse. Lightning storms circled endlessly above.
The gates began to hum.
Inside the Vault, a relic trembled.
A staff—long, black as the void, inscribed with flowing silver script. It vibrated like it had heard Kael's voice from across the world.
And on the wall, glowing letters rearranged themselves into a name long lost to time.
Kael'Zorath.
Back at the Safehouse
Lira burst through the door, tablet in hand.
"Kael! We found something."
She tossed the projection into the air. A 3D display spun—an ancient temple blueprint hidden beneath old leyline fault maps.
"This temple, it's not just architecture. It's a conduit. A memory seal. If we can get inside…"
Kael stepped forward, his voice low but determined.
"I can remember who I was."
Sera narrowed her eyes. "Are you sure? Once you remember… there's no going back."
Kael looked at them both. "If the past is the key to stopping the Choir… I don't have a choice."