Chapter 35: When He Finally Spoke

Mikado's voice was weak, but steady. Like someone remembering how to speak after a lifetime of silence.

"You finally came back," he said again.

Rin blinked. She didn't know what she had expected—maybe coldness, maybe some twisted riddle. But not this. Not a soft greeting, like he had been waiting with nothing but patience in his heart.

Kael stepped slightly forward, hand on his sword, just in case. "You remember her?"

Mikado's eyes moved to him. There was no malice in them. Only something tired. "Of course I do. How could I forget her?"

Rin stayed still. "Why did you call me back? Why now?"

He looked down at his own hands, as if seeing them for the first time in ages. "Becoz I knew the thread would bring you. When enough memories return—when the soul begins to remember who it truly was—the weave brings everything together."

Kael frowned. "You speak in riddles again. Just answer clearly. Who are you really?"

There was a pause.

Then Mikado said, "I was the first Anchor. The one who broke the balance."

Rin stepped back a little, her breath catching. That name—Anchor—they had heard it whispered by Watchers. Written in lost pages. Tied to the beginning of everything.

"Why would you do that?" she asked. "Why would you break something that held the world together?"

Mikado's smile was bitter. "Because I thought I could fix it."

He looked at her now—really looked. And it felt like the weight of his gaze carried centuries.

"Rin, this world... it wasn't always like this. You were part of it before. So was Kael. So were Reika and Elias. We were all bound by the same thread. And we were happy. For a while."

Rin's voice was quiet. "I saw it. In the memory."

He nodded. "That wasn't just a memory. That was the truth. The world we had before it broke."

Kael glanced at her, his jaw tense. "So what happened? What broke it?"

Mikado sighed, like the answer hurt to speak aloud. "I did. Because I was afraid of losing it. Afraid that our happiness was temporary. I started looking deeper into fate, into how to lock the good moments so they couldn't be taken."

Rin's stomach turned. "You tried to control fate."

"Yes. And the moment I did... everything began to fall apart. The threads of others twisted. Souls fractured. And eventually, the world splintered into the versions you've seen."

Kael shook his head. "So you became a god. Not out of power. But out of fear."

Mikado chuckled softly. "You make it sound pathetic. But yes. That's why I tried to anchor the world. And in doing so, I became its curse."

The Vault was quiet.

For a long time, no one spoke.

Then Rin asked, "And Reika? Elias? Were they real in that world too?"

Mikado nodded. "Yes. Reika was one of the Watchers once, before I pulled her into the living realm. And Elias... he was the keeper of memory. The only one who could hold truth across timelines. They loved each other. Like you and Kael did."

Rin's heart tightened. "Did?"

Mikado's voice softened. "You forgot him once. In a different version. That's why he never tried again."

Kael didn't speak. He just lowered his eyes.

Rin whispered, "And what do I do now?"

Mikado looked up. "You choose. I'm fading. I don't have long. But I can still pass something on to you. My anchor. My memory. The truth of all timelines. But only if you're ready."

She took a shaky breath. "What happens if I take it?"

"You become the next anchor. The guardian of all that was and might be. But you also carry the weight. The pain. The versions where people you love suffer. The truths no one else can hold."

Kael touched her arm. "You don't have to carry it alone."

Rin looked between them.

And nodded.

"Give it to me."

Mikado placed his hand on her forehead. Light passed through her, like a river of stars. And just for a moment, she saw everything:

Every version. Every life. Every joy, every sorrow.

She saw Reika die in one. Elias vanish in another. Kael turn into something he hated. Herself walking alone through fire. Herself laughing in gardens that no longer existed.

And then it settled.

She collapsed to her knees, gasping.

Kael caught her. "Rin?"

Her voice trembled. "I'm okay. I remember now. All of it."

Mikado smiled faintly. "Then my time is done."

He faded like mist in sunlight.

Gone.

Kael held her close.

Rin whispered, "Now we know. Now we start to fix what he broke."

Kael nodded. "Together."

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