⊙---Kian Part 2

Kael gasped, his breath sharp as he snapped back to the present, the world around him swimming as he steadied himself. His body swayed, disoriented, the ground beneath his feet feeling far too solid.

"I think… I know how I went missing," he muttered, his voice small, barely a whisper.

Kian scowled, arms crossed as he leaned against the wall. His eyes were cold, dismissive. "That was a worthless memory to recover. You still have a long way to go."

The sting of the words hit harder than Kael expected. His jaw tightened, and his eyes narrowed. The anger he'd held back began to bubble up. His voice was quiet but sharp.

"You said I needed to regain my memories, didn't you? Or was that a lie?"

Kian's lips twisted into a sneer, his voice edged with impatience.

"I said you needed to remember something useful. That memory? A child's mistake, nothing more. It doesn't get us closer to the truth. You need to level up more—maybe then the fragments will be worth something."

A child's mistake.

Kael's chest tightened. His death, his disappearance—it had been reduced to something so trivial, something so small. The weight of it felt like a crushing blow, a punch to the gut. He had never seen it that way before.

Clenching his fists, Kael exhaled sharply, forcing the tension from his jaw. "You've changed," he muttered, eyes flickering toward Kian, his voice low. "Ever since you evolved, you've been... talkative."

Kian smirked, a spark of something malicious in his eyes. "Excuse me for regaining my personality."

Kael's gaze hardened. He stepped forward, closing the distance between them, the air thickening with the tension between them. "Personality? Don't make me laugh. You weren't like this before."

Kian raised an eyebrow, his smirk widening into something far too knowing. "And you, of all people, should know the real me."

The words hit Kael like a slap to the face. He stopped walking, his mind seizing in a moment of realization. His voice was quiet, edged with something cold—something deep that he couldn't quite name.

"I know the real me." His eyes locked with Kian's, a hardness settling into his bones. "And he's not you."

For a long moment, Kian's expression flickered, a flash of something unreadable crossing his face—too brief for Kael to grasp. The words left him hanging, suspended in the silence that followed.

Kael folded his arms, his gaze unwavering. "Who gave you that name—Kian?"

The question hung in the air, charged with something unspoken.

For the first time, Kian hesitated. It was barely a moment, but it felt like an eternity.

When Kian finally spoke, his voice was softer than usual, more measured. "You did."

Kael's breath hitched, a ripple of confusion and something darker tightening in his chest. His mind reeled. Kian. This Kian. He had given him that name?

But that didn't make sense. Kael's memories—those pieces that were missing—they didn't add up. How could he have given Kian that name when he didn't even remember this?

Kian's gaze met his, sharp and searching, as if trying to read something hidden beneath the surface.

"But of course, you wouldn't remember that, would you?"

Kian's voice was quiet now, laced with something more fragile than Kael had ever expected. There was a knowing edge to it—an understanding that made Kael's skin crawl.

The memory of the golden mask flashed through his mind again. It was like a riddle he couldn't solve.

Kael's fingers twitched involuntarily. His chest felt tight, his mind scrambling for clarity. "You mean Kael Avryon?"

Kian nodded, his expression unchanging. "Yes. You. Kael Avryon. Who else?"

The words hung in the air like a cold fog, a sudden chill creeping through Kael's veins. His pulse quickened. He didn't answer immediately, his thoughts too tangled to form a coherent response.

Kael Avryon.

The name landed like a stone in the pit of his stomach. He didn't remember it, not at all. His memories of Kael Relan were fractured, broken into pieces that didn't fit together. And now, hearing this new name...

It was like a hole had opened in his chest, something important missing. Something taken.

"Did Kael Avryon have a family?" Kael's voice barely rose above a whisper, though the question felt like it carried the weight of a thousand lifetimes. "Because this Kael has a sister. Lira Avryon. Does that name mean anything to you?"

Kian frowned, his brows knitting together in thought. Silence stretched between them like a thick rope, taut and unyielding. Kael waited, his breath coming shallow, his mind racing, trying to fit pieces into a puzzle he couldn't see.

Then, Kian shook his head. "I don't think Kael had a sister. But…"

Kael froze. But what?

The air thickened, a coldness creeping over his skin as Kian's voice trailed off. There was something unsettling about the way he stopped, the way his lips curled into something between a grin and a grimace. The unease in Kael's gut deepened.

"But I don't remember," Kian finally finished, his voice distant.

Kael's stomach twisted. It didn't sound like he'd forgotten—it sounded like something had been taken. Something had been erased.

Exhaling through his nose, Kael turned sharply, his back to Kian. He couldn't deal with this. Not now. "You're impossible."

He moved toward the door, eager to escape the suffocating weight of the conversation.

Kian followed, his form drifting silently behind him. "Where are you going? Do we have a quest?"

Kael didn't look back. "Yes. A quest for food. Unless you've got an answer hidden in your smug little grin, I suggest you let me eat before I lose my patience."

As he descended the stairs, the air around him seemed to thrum with tension. His system chimed—a sharp, unnatural sound that made him freeze mid-step. The notification was jarring, like a knife through the silence.

[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]

You have received a Special Side Quest!

[Path of the Reborn – Side Quest]

Objective: Locate Your Mentor

Kael frowned, his brow furrowing. Mentor? First a guide, now a mentor? What was the system pushing him toward? His chest tightened, unease pooling in his stomach.

Lines of golden text flickered before his eyes, each one more disorienting than the last.

Activating Mentor System…

Matching Mentor…

Mentor Matched!

Mentor: Varin Vale (Reborn)

The words stopped Kael's breath cold. Reborn.

Another one.

A violent shiver ran down his spine as a cold, sinking feeling settled in his gut. He wasn't alone. Not anymore.

Beside him, Kian's form flickered, his eyes widening as he read the message. Then, a slow grin stretched across his face. "Right, the mentor. Every Reborn gets one." His gaze shifted toward Kael, a sharp gleam of amusement in his eyes. "But you… your mentor should be stronger, given your special class."

Kael's fingers twitched, a frown pulling at the corners of his lips. "Does that mean he's like me? From my world?"

Kian shrugged, the grin never leaving his face. "Who knows? Could be from another world entirely."

Before Kael could push for more answers, the air around him seemed to shift.

A pulse of magic—violent and raw—ripped through the space, and Kael's thoughts splintered. His body froze, his breath caught in his throat as images flooded his mind in jagged, fractured flashes. A shadowed figure. A smirk beneath a hood. The glint of a blade spinning between calloused fingers.

Then—reality twisted.