The Truth That Shouldn’t Exist
A Memory That Shouldn't Be
Kalen blinked.
The battlefield was gone.
The Harbinger was gone.
Instead, he stood at the entrance of the Abyss—but not as he was now.
He was younger.
Dressed in the same clothes he had worn the first time he had entered this place.
The heavy iron gates loomed before him, untouched by time.
Everything was exactly as it had been.
Every crack in the stone.
Every whisper in the wind.
Every sensation in his body.
> This isn't just a memory.
> This is real.
But it couldn't be.
Because he had already lived this moment.
Hadn't he?
A Voice That Shouldn't Speak
"You seem confused."
Kalen spun around.
A figure stood behind him—his own reflection.
No, not a reflection. A version of himself.
The younger Kalen—the one who had just stepped into the Abyss for the first time.
His past self looked at him with an expression of mild curiosity.
As if he weren't surprised to see his future standing before him.
This isn't right. This isn't how it happened.
And yet, it felt real.
More real than any illusion he had ever encountered.
Is this a trick?
Or have I truly come back to this moment?
A Question That Shouldn't Exist
"What are you doing here?" the younger Kalen asked.
Kalen stared at him.
I should be the one asking that question.
This was the moment he had entered the Abyss for the first time.
But if this was real…
Then what had happened to everything that came after?
The battle?
The Harbinger?
His supposed victory?
Had it all been erased?
Had it ever happened at all?
Think, Kalen. Think.
The Crack in Time
Kalen closed his eyes and focused.
He reached out with his senses, trying to feel the truth beneath the illusion.
But there was no illusion.
The air smelled exactly as it had that day.
The ground felt solid beneath his feet.
The distant sound of wind through the Abyss was precisely the same.
Even the weight of his own body was different—lighter, younger.
Like he had truly become his past self again.
But that wasn't possible.
Was it?
Unless…
Time didn't move forward. It moved in a circle.
His eyes shot open.
Am I repeating the same events over and over?
Is that why I never saw my own victory?
Because it never truly happened?
A cold shiver ran down his spine.
The Choice That Shouldn't Be
The younger Kalen stepped forward, studying him.
"You don't remember, do you?"
Kalen tensed. "Remember what?"
The younger Kalen smirked.
Why is he smirking?
"You've been here before," his younger self said. "Not just once. Not just twice. But countless times."
Kalen felt his breath hitch.
No. That's not possible.
I remember my journey. I remember my choices.
Don't I?
The younger Kalen continued, his voice unnervingly calm.
"You always make it to the end. You always think you've won. And then…"
His smirk widened.
"…you always find yourself right back here."
Kalen's stomach dropped.
No. No, this is a lie. A trick.
But deep inside, something resonated with those words.
Something he couldn't ignore.
A memory—not of a single battle, but of many.
A cycle.
An endless loop.
I never won.
Because I never left.
The Truth That Shouldn't Exist
Kalen clenched his fists.
"Then tell me," he demanded. "If I've done this before, how do I break free?"
The younger Kalen shrugged.
"That's the question you always ask."
He stepped closer.
"And you always make the same mistake."
What mistake?
What am I not seeing?
The younger Kalen's expression turned serious.
"The Abyss isn't a prison, Kalen."
What?
"It's a door."
Kalen frowned. "A door to what?"
The younger Kalen smiled.
"That's what you have to figure out."
Before Kalen could speak—before he could demand more answers—the world cracked around him.
Not like an illusion breaking.
Not like an ordinary memory fading.
It was like something much larger had just shattered.
And then—
Darkness.
End of Chapter 21