Chapter 257: Duel at the Edge of Infinity

The figure's presence was a gravitational force of its own.

Kael felt the Spark within him recoil — not in fear, but in recognition. This was no ordinary enemy. This was a remnant of something old, perhaps even older than the Vaults themselves.

"Who are you?" Kael demanded, his voice steady despite the tension in the air.

The figure removed its mask.

Beneath was a face of obsidian glass — featureless, yet reflecting all of them. Every movement sent ripples through the space around it.

"I am the Echo of Null," the being said. "Last Sentinel of the Spark's balance. Guardian of the First Flame. You were never meant to find this place."

Ashara raised her hand. "The Spark chose him. It guided him through every Vault, every trial."

"The Spark is a force of rebirth," Echo of Null replied. "But rebirth is not always a blessing. Sometimes, it awakens what should remain buried."

Kael's eyes narrowed. "You're afraid. Afraid of what the Core will do once it merges with the Spark."

"I am not afraid," the Echo said. "I am certain."

Then the ground cracked — not from motion, but from meaning.

Kael stepped forward, the air warping around him as the Spark surged. The others instinctively fell back — this was no ordinary fight. This was resonance combat, where wills clashed more than weapons.

"I won't let you stop me," Kael said.

The Echo bowed once.

"Then let the Flame decide."

The chamber became a battlefield of cosmic scale.

Light fractured around them. Stars blinked in and out. Gravity twisted and untwisted. Every move sent pulses of power across dimensions.

Kael charged first — his hand wreathed in gravitational flame. He struck with precision, aiming for the Echo's center.

But the Echo moved like a reflection — bending around the attack, slicing upward with a blade that sang with antimatter.

The clash was silent, yet the force shattered the walls of reality.

They fought across platforms suspended in space, leaping from asteroid to floating ruins. Every blow Kael landed was met with a counterstrike just as deadly.

Ashara reached out to intervene, but Veyna held her back. "This fight isn't for us. Look at the energy—they're attuned. Interfering might collapse the chamber."

Kael ducked under a sweeping strike and countered with a blast of condensed Spark energy.

It struck true — sending the Echo crashing through a stone pillar. Kael followed, spear in hand, eyes blazing.

But the Echo rose, unshaken.

"You fight with fury," it said. "But not clarity."

Kael responded with another attack, more desperate, more forceful.

The Echo parried and finally struck him square in the chest — sending him flying backward. Kael landed hard, breath knocked out.

His team gasped, but held their positions.

The Echo walked toward him slowly. "The Spark within you is incomplete. You were meant to carry it — not wield it."

Kael coughed, forcing himself to stand.

"I've earned every ember. Every step. Every scar."

"And that may be true," the Echo said. "But to merge with the Core... is to become something else. Something no longer mortal. Once done, there is no return."

Kael looked at the Core, still pulsing at the heart of the chamber.

His thoughts raced — images of friends, of past trials, of the Vaults. Of a life before the Spark.

But this wasn't just about him anymore.

"If I don't take the Core, what happens?"

The Echo turned away. "The Wound grows. The Realities bleed. Without a True Sparkbearer, the universe collapses inward."

Kael clenched his fists.

"Then we don't have a choice."

With a sudden burst, Kael launched himself at the Echo — but not to fight.

He leapt past him — and landed at the pedestal holding the Core.

The Core surged.

Flames of origin licked around his fingers. Pain seared through his nerves — but it wasn't agony. It was awakening.

The Core flared, and the room shook.

"No!" the Echo roared, teleporting toward him.

But Ashara, Veyna, Thorne, and Lysara moved.

They stepped into the Echo's path, weapons drawn, power flaring.

"You will not touch him," Lysara said, her voice burning with conviction.

For the first time, the Echo hesitated.

"You would risk existence for him?"

Ashara smiled. "He risked it for us."

Kael gritted his teeth as the Core flared brighter, now halfway merged into his chest.

Memories not his flooded in — lifetimes of Sparkbearers. Entire civilizations that rose and fell under its glow. The sorrow of misuse. The triumph of sacrifice.

And a name—

Sol'Ren.

He whispered it.

"I know now," Kael said aloud. "What the Spark was meant for. What the Vaults were preparing me to become."

His body lifted from the ground, engulfed in radiant flame that did not burn.

The Echo fell to one knee.

"It's happening…"

When the flames faded, Kael stood renewed.

His armor had changed — it shimmered like the night sky, edged with gold runes. His eyes burned with quiet fire. The Spark and Core were no longer separate — they were him.

Kael walked toward the Echo, who knelt without resistance.

"I see it now," the Echo said. "You are not like the others."

Kael extended a hand.

"Then help me stop what's coming."

The Echo looked up, and for the first time, smiled faintly.

"Yes... Sparkbearer. I will."

The chamber shifted.

The walls expanded — becoming a star map. A ripple spread from Kael outward, illuminating fractures in the multiverse — each a potential collapse point.

Ashara stepped beside him.

"So what now?"

Kael turned to them all, eyes bright but weary.

"We fix what's broken."

Thorne grinned. "No pressure."