The First Memory Wasn't His

Kael didn't blink

He couldn't

His eyes were wide open but what they saw wasn't this world

It was a cradle

Not his

A golden cradle floating in the void

Wrapped in silk that shimmered with laws older than time

Inside it

A baby with closed eyes

No heartbeat

But endless breath

Kael's hand trembled

He didn't remember being that baby

But the breath said it was him

A soft voice echoed around the vision

Neither male nor female

More like a rhythm than speech

"You were born breathing You just forgot"

The divine figure watching from afar couldn't move

Its authority was bound by chains made from Kael's presence

The older Kael behind him had vanished

Melted into light

A part of the breath now

Kael reached toward the cradle

And touched it

The moment he did

The void collapsed

And a rush of memories hit him like a tidal wave

None of them were his

But they all belonged to him

A child who challenged an emperor

A warrior who killed a god with a whisper

A man who sat at the edge of the universe

And chose not to become a god

Because he wanted to be free

Kael staggered

Blood pouring from his ears

He was seeing too much

But the breath didn't stop

It pulled him deeper

Now he stood in a broken palace

Skulls littering the floor

An ancient banner torn and burned

On the throne

A corpse

Its eyes open

Its chest still breathing

Even in death

Kael stepped closer

And the corpse looked up

Same face

Same eyes

Same Kael

But this one had died a thousand times

Kael opened his mouth

But the corpse spoke first

"If you came this far then you're ready"

"Take the breath I left behind"

"And finish what I couldn't"

Kael knelt

And breathed in

The entire palace

The bones

The memories

The pain

The rage

The grief

All entered him

And the system screamed

[Unregistered Sovereign Memory Absorbed]

[Path Divergence Detected]

[Existence Ranking Adjusted]

[ERROR: Undefined Entity Achieved Breath-Class Sovereignty]

Kael stood up

His eyes now glowing like two fragments of time

And whispered

"Now I remember who I never was"