Chapter 5: The Betrayer’s Blade

> "Sometimes your worst enemy… is the version of you that still believes in hope."

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Location: The Riftwound Expanse — Time-Locked Stasis

Rael couldn't breathe.

Not because of fear. He didn't feel that anymore.

But because the thing in front of him—the Pale Echo—was him. Not metaphorically. Not spiritually.

Literally him.

A cloned echo pulled from the moment before Rael first broke time, twisted by the Pale Emperor into a loyal puppet.

> "You left pieces of yourself behind," the Echo said. His voice was Rael's, but laced with reverence and rot.

"I collected them. Perfected them. While you ran, I ascended."

The floating throne pulsed behind Rael, sensing the threat. Lyra, standing to his side, powered her blade and activated her Neuro-Barrier, her aura snapping alive in a ripple of blue energy.

> "You want the throne?" Rael growled, eyes glowing blood-red.

"Then earn it."

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The Fight

It began with silence.

Then—impact.

Their fists collided and time detonated. The Rift cracked like glass, each punch fracturing reality in slow motion.

Rael moved like a ghost of war. The Echo countered like a prophecy fulfilled.

Red lightning. White fire. Black scars torn into the multiverse.

Lyra leapt in, engaging the Echo's spectral sentinels midair. Each one carried a shard of Rael's past—memories weaponized. They whispered things she wasn't meant to hear:

> "He watched his mother die and didn't blink."

"He betrayed his own bloodline to steal the throne."

"He was made to destroy everything."

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Flashback: Talon's Betrayal — 7 Years Ago

Project Oblivion: Core Memory Archives

Rael stood in a burning laboratory, bleeding from the ribs, a blade of pure data jammed into his back.

Behind him, Talon Vox pulled the blade free.

> "You weren't supposed to survive that," Talon said, his voice colder than the server room they once shared.

"But knowing you, you probably expected it."

Rael collapsed, coughing up static and black ichor. "Why, Talon?"

Talon didn't answer at first. Then:

> "Because I saw what you'd become. A god pretending to be a man. And I wanted to beat you to it."

The alarm blared. Rael's throne activated—too early. The timelines split. One Rael died. One escaped. And one…

> Became the Pale Echo.

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Back to the Present

Rael caught the Echo by the throat and slammed him into the bleeding ground.

> "You're not me," he hissed. "You're a mockery."

The Echo smiled, bleeding gold.

> "Then why do I bleed your sins?"

Behind them, the throne flared—responding to both versions of Rael.

It couldn't decide who it belonged to.

> "He's you before the pain," Lyra shouted. "The part of you that still wanted to be the hero."

> "That part of me died," Rael snapped. "Let's bury the corpse."

Rael raised his hand. The Crimson Core ignited—his final weapon, forged from the burning hearts of three dead galaxies.

He plunged it into the Echo's chest.

The multiverse screamed.

---

The Pale Echo dissolved into starlight, whispering one last truth:

> "You can kill me, Rael…

…but you'll never outrun what you used to be."

Rael turned away, exhausted, sparks flickering from his fingers.

Lyra approached, lowering her blade. "That was close."

"No," Rael said, voice low. "That was just the warm-up."

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Meanwhile: Talon Vox's Ship

Talon watched the whole fight through hacked imperial satellites. He chewed on a glowing toothpick, unreadable.

> "You're getting stronger, Rael," he whispered. "Good.

You'll need it… when you find out who really broke the throne."

The raven drone chirped nervously.

> "You're not going to tell him, are you?"

Talon just smiled.

> "Not yet. I still owe him one more lie."

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End of Chapter 5