chapter 64: Blood Echo – Legacy of Shadows

The earth was still bleeding from the wounds of war…

Though some peace had returned, it felt fragile—like a thin crust atop a volcano that had not yet gone dormant.

Xiao stood upon the ruins of the ancient altar—where it had all begun.

He took a deep breath… but felt something missing.

Something that could never return to how it once was.

Esther approached, her eyes searching for answers:

_"Is this… the end?"_

_"Or just the calm before the real ending?"_

He answered in a quiet voice:

_"There's still something I don't understand… The entity I saw said I had surpassed the truth."_

_"But what does 'truth' mean if it changes every time?"_

He paused… then looked at the palm of his hand, where a new mark had appeared—

a circle intertwined with a spear and a chain.

_"It's a new seal…"_ he murmured.

_"A power I never asked for… but one that chose me."_

Heim stepped closer, holding his spear—damaged from their last battle.

_"I saw you vanish… then return. What did you see, Xiao?"_

Xiao stared at him for a long moment… then said:

_"I saw everything.

I saw how heroes are born not from light… but from ash.

And I saw that blood isn't a curse… it's a mirror."_

Suddenly, the earth trembled.

They all looked around…

From afar, the ancient Gate of Time began to open—despite its seal having been broken in the previous chapter.

But what emerged… wasn't a monster.

It was a familiar figure.

It was… Krayos, one of the Pillars of the First World, thought to have vanished millennia ago.

With a hoarse voice, he said:

_"Xiao… the time has come to settle debts."_

He raised his hand, revealing the Eternal Blood Key—the final piece of the curse's mystery.

_"A new curse has awakened… beyond the gates. And no one but you can face it."_

Xiao rose, eyes burning with fury and resolve.

_"Then the journey isn't over yet…"_

He grasped the key, and with it, accepted a new destiny.

He whispered to himself:

_"If the world won't give me peace… then I'll forge it myself."_

And with Krayos, he vanished into the red light—heading toward the *Inverted Alfheim Gate* —

a realm never before mentioned, existing between worlds, in the shadow of truth.

Behind him, Esther and Heim gazed toward the horizon…

And they knew, deep within:

What was coming…

Would be far greater than anything they had faced before.