Kael woke to sunlight.**  

Not the sulfurous glow of a dying world, but honeyed warmth pooling through gauzy curtains. He lay in a featherbed, the scent of lavender and baked bread suffusing the air. No Shard. No scars. His hands—*smooth, unbloodied*—trembled as he gripped the sheets.  

*“Rise and shine, Void King,”* a voice teased.  

He lunged for a weapon that wasn’t there.  

A girl stood in the doorway—*Liora*, but softer. No hollow eyes, no dagger. Just a tray of pastries and a smile. *“You’ve been out for days. The Beasts really did a number on you, huh?”*  

Kael stared. *“What… is this?”*  

*“Home,”* she said, as if it were obvious. *“Well, until you rebuild the orphanage. Don’t think we’ve forgotten your promise!”*  

She skipped away, humming.  

---

**Blackforge thrived.**  

Kael wandered streets untouched by fire. Children chased clockwork birds. Vendors hawked Solar-core lanterns instead of weapons. At the town square, a marble statue towered—*his own face*, chiseled in a benevolent smile. The plaque read:  

*KAEL ARDENT: GUARDIAN OF THE DAWN*  

*“They love you here,”* Original Kael’s ghost murmured, now a faint shimmer in his peripheral vision. *“This is what we could’ve been.”*  

*“A lie,”* Kael spat. But his chest ached.  

A hand clasped his shoulder.  

*“Brother!”*  

He turned.  

*Himself.*  

The other Kael wore a white tunic, his Chrono-Blade replaced by a physician’s satchel. No void in his eyes—only warmth.  

*“You’re finally awake,”* Alt-Kael beamed. *“Come, the children want to hear how you slew the Eclipse Sovereign!”*  

---

**The orphanage was all wooden laughter and patched dolls.**  

Alt-Kael moved through it like a saint, healing scraped knees with a touch, his Core emitting a gentle gold light. *Solar, not Void.*  

*“How?”* Kael hissed, cornering him in a sunlit hall. *“You’re weak. Pathetic. How did you *win*?”*  

Alt-Kael’s smile didn’t waver. *“By choosing mercy over vengeance. By saving Liora instead of using her. By—”*  

*“Lies!”* Kael’s fist shattered a window. Children screamed. *“You didn’t *live* through the betrayal! The blood! The—”*  

*“I did.”* Alt-Kael’s gaze hardened. *“And I forgave.”*  

A memory flashed—Rylan’s blade in his back, but Alt-Kael *turning*, disarming him with a sigh. *“I know you’re afraid. Let me help.”*  

Kael recoiled. *“You’re not me.”*  

*“Aren’t I?”*  

---

**The Eclipse Beasts came at midnight.**  

Not hordes, but a single emissary—a skeletal figure with a crown of fused vertebrae. It knelt in the town square, offering a scroll etched on human skin.  

*“The Throne of Shattered Hours awaits its king,”* it rasped. *“You… or him?”*  

Alt-Kael raised a hand, Solar energy poised to strike.  

Kael stopped him. *“Wait.”*  

The scroll’s words pulsed: *“The Seventh Betrayal is a choice. Sit upon the throne, and time becomes clay. Refuse, and she dies *again*.”*  

A vision seared Kael’s mind—Seraphina, in *this* world, laughing as she taught orphans archery. Alive. Unbroken.  

*“Your answer,”* the Beast hissed.  

Kael took the scroll.  

---

**TO BE CONTINUED...**