Chapter 67: The Hero’s Awakening
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Echoes in the Fortress
Rain tapped softly against the stained-glass windows of the Holy Fortress. Inside, the Hero clone sat alone in the chapel, surrounded by golden statues of forgotten saints.
He no longer heard the prayers.
Only the whispers.
> "Who are you?"
"What are you?"
"Why do you dream of his face?"
He gripped his chest—right where the fragment pulsed.
Not pain. Not fear.
Something deeper.
> "A part of me… is missing."
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The Hidden Chamber
Led by instinct, the Hero wandered into a sealed chamber buried beneath the fortress—a place no map acknowledged.
Inside: a forgotten relic.
A cracked mirror, framed in obsidian, etched with runes older than the kingdom.
He approached, breath caught.
> Three shadows stared back.
One was his own.
The second, cloaked in rage.
The third—smiling, wounded, and human.
A name fell from his lips.
> "Serian…"
And the mirror shattered.
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Dream Convergence
That night, he dreamed.
Three boys. One soul.
Each standing on a different path. But their shadows intertwined, like roots from the same tree.
Serian stood calm in the middle.
The Demon Lord laughed, blades soaked in blood.
The Hero clone… simply watched, lost.
Until Serian turned to him.
> "Don't follow their path. Choose your own."
The Hero reached out—
And woke up screaming.
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Decision
The fortress knights rushed to him.
He pushed them aside.
His eyes, once noble and empty, now glowed with something else.
Resolve.
> "Gather the others. We're going to the capital."
> "But Sir, the war—!"
> "I'm not here to fight Serian."
He looked up to the storm-lit sky.
> "I'm here to find the truth."
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Meanwhile: Serian's Scar
Ash tended to Serian's wound. The blade of a Seraph didn't just cut—it cursed.
But Serian endured, breathing shallow, mind clear.
> "He's awakening," Ash whispered.
Serian nodded.
> "Good. I'll need him soon."
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