101st Echo – Truth & Chaos
A crimson red sky stretched above a dry, lifeless land.
Bones covered the horizon as far as the eye could see.
No light.
No relief.
Only a faint glow in the distance.
*This world again.*
*This fear again.*
*Again… probably this end.*
This anxiety deep inside me, as if I already knew what was waiting for me.
Something was watching me from afar.
The feeling that space itself desired only one thing:
To devour me.
Then suddenly—
And was it really sudden, when all of this kept repeating again and again?
Something crossed my mind once more.
This time, the earth was soaked with a crimson red liquid.
Opaque.
First into rivers.
Then into streams.
Before entire seas began raging around me.
The world disappeared beneath a scarlet ocean.
I tried with all my strength to reach the surface.
But it was as if something, within that ocean, was grabbing me.
Pulling me deeper.
Always deeper.
Down into the abyss.
And finally…
I drowned within it.
...
Somewhere, in the depths of a cold and damp place, something was still beating.
BOOM.
A black heart.
Then a second.
BOOM.
Kael's body was in a catastrophic state.
His last battle had left him in pieces.
Chunks of flesh were missing.
A large part of his chest was open.
In some places, there was almost nothing left.
And yet…
He was still alive.
Or at least, something inside him still completely refused to die.
What remained the most intact within this destroyed body was his abyssal black skeleton.
Then his two hearts.
One normal, still slightly damaged.
The other…
Entirely black.
And it was precisely this second heart that started beating first.
Slowly.
Then faster and faster.
With each pulse, a strange black substance poured through his body.
Dense.
Viscous.
Alive.
It flowed through the same channels as his blood, as if a second invisible network had been layered over his veins.
The Magia Noir.
And the first thing it reconstructed was the second heart.
The human heart.
Thin dark fibers began reforming around it, slowly stitching together the destroyed parts.
The tissues reconnected one by one.
The veins attached themselves back together.
Then suddenly—
BOOM.
The human heart violently started beating again.
A wave immediately traveled through the entire body.
And the double heartbeat began.
Two pulses.
Two rhythms.
Perfectly synchronized.
As if the entire body was now following the cadence imposed by these two hearts.
Then the true reconstruction began.
Slowly.
Methodically.
The vital organs were the first to reform: the liver, the stomach, the intestines.
Each organ slowly returned to its place, as if this strange black matter possessed a will of its own.
The black liquid moved every part with precision, placing everything exactly where it was supposed to be.
Meanwhile, the human heart circulated blood through the newly reconstructed veins.
The chest slowly began to close.
Black fibers intertwined beneath the flesh, gradually stitching together the destroyed tissues.
Then thin black flames briefly appeared on the surface of the repaired areas, as if permanently sealing the reconstruction.
Each time, the scars disappeared completely.
The process then moved down toward the left arm.
Some destroyed veins reformed on their own.
Others created new channels.
The muscle tissues rebuilt themselves layer by layer.
The tendons reconnected.
The muscle fibers slowly reformed before the skin closed over them in turn.
Then came the second arm.
After that, the lower back.
Then the legs.
One of them was in such a catastrophic state that almost nothing remained except the bone from the knee down.
And yet…
Even that was reconstructed.
The nerves, the veins, the flesh, the muscles.
Everything gradually returned.
As if an invisible conductor was directing every step of this monstrous reconstruction.
Everything seemed perfectly calculated.
No hesitation.
No mistakes.
No unnecessary movements.
Everything was precise.
Perfect.
Then finally…
The body stopped reconstructing itself.
The silence returned for a few seconds.
BOOM.
A first wave traveled through the entire body.
Then a second.
BOOM.
And finally—
BOOM.
Kael suddenly woke up.
His mouth opened as a massive breath tore through the silence of the crypt.
His eyes violently opened.
For the first time since his last battle…
He was finally awake.
Kael's breathing was chaotic.
His heartbeat accelerated violently.
Even though his eyes could see absolutely nothing in the complete darkness, he panicked.
*What is happening…?*
*My head hurts!*
*Where am I…?*
*Why can't I move…?*
*Stop screaming, enough!*
*What the hell is happening to me…?*
*Please, stop, I can't take it anymore.*
*Make it stop!*
He tried to calm himself.
With difficulty.
He tried to regain control of his breathing, instinctively trying to synchronize with the beating of his heart.
But something was wrong.
Even while focusing, the rhythm felt strange.
Irregular.
Like a double heartbeat.
At first, he thought his heart was simply malfunctioning.
Then he finally understood.
It probably wasn't a single heart.
But two.
The problem was that he still couldn't move enough to confirm it.
Gradually, a sensation of warmth began spreading through his body.
It started from his chest.
Then slowly moved down through his shoulders, his arms, his forearms, before traveling through the rest of his body.
But something felt strange.
He could feel this warmth in his arms and legs.
Not in his hands.
Nor in his fingers.
Nor in his feet.
Nor in his toes.
As if certain parts of his body were still completely dead.
And yet…
Despite all this fear, this warmth remained strangely comforting.
The real problem, the true source of his anxiety, mainly came from the fact that he could barely move.
He was completely paralyzed.
Frozen.
He had no idea what was happening to him.
After an impossible amount of time to estimate, Kael finally began to recover more sensations.
The only sense he seemed to have truly regained for now was his sense of smell.
Then partially his sense of touch.
Especially around his face, his arms, and the lower part of his legs.
The place he was in seemed to be made of damp stone.
A stale smell saturated the air.
Mold.
Humidity.
Something old.
Ancient.
Without really understanding why, Kael immediately felt like this place resembled ruins.
Or worse.
A tomb.
And it was precisely this thought that troubled him even more.
He didn't even know who he was.
Nor his name.
Nor his age.
Not even what he was doing here.
He knew absolutely nothing about himself.
And yet…
He still possessed knowledge.
Reflexes.
Instinctive understandings.
But he had absolutely no idea where they came from.
Every time he tried to force his memories to return, an excruciating pain immediately shot through his skull.
As if something was trying to pierce through the inside of his head itself.
When he understood the connection, he finally abandoned the idea of forcing his memory.
He focused on only one thing.
Getting out of here.
After a long moment, still unable to perceive time correctly, Kael finally managed to slightly move his arms.
Then his hands.
But the sensation was strange.
Terribly strange.
His limbs felt abnormally heavy.
As if enormous weights were attached to each of his arms.
Then he realized something.
The liquid circulating through his body seemed to directly influence this heaviness.
The more this strange substance condensed within a limb, the heavier it became.
But paradoxically…
The easier it also became to control.
As if this abnormal density strengthened his body's mobility at the same time.
The way it worked seemed completely incomprehensible to him.
Mystical.
Or perhaps a mixture between something mystical and physical.
But this was not the time to try to understand.
After another long moment, Kael finally managed to move his fingers.
Then his entire hands.
However, he quickly noticed something else.
The lower half of his body was even worse.
His legs felt incredibly heavy.
As if their weight far exceeded that of the rest of his body.
They were extremely difficult to move.
But gradually…
His body seemed to begin adapting.
Afterward, Kael attempted to push the slab above him.
With difficulty.
The block resisted immediately.
His arms trembled under the effort.
But something suddenly caught his attention.
When he focused, the black liquid circulating through his body seemed to react to his will.
As if he could direct it.
Condense it.
Bring it exactly where he wanted.
Gradually, the black matter began gathering in his arms, then his forearms, until it reached his hands.
The sensation was strange.
Heavy.
Dense.
But strangely natural at the same time.
Kael took a deep breath, then tried once again to push the slab.
And at the exact moment his hands touched the stone—
BOOM.
The entire slab was violently ejected.
Thrown toward the ceiling with a monstrous crash before embedding itself violently into it.
Kael remained frozen for a few seconds.
Unable to understand what had just happened.
Should he be relieved to finally be out of this stone prison…?
Or terrified by the strength he had just unleashed…?
What he didn't know, however, was that the tomb in which he had been sealed did not only serve to contain his body.
The seal engraved into the stone also isolated his aura.
It imprisoned it.
Prevented it from spreading outside.
But the moment the slab exploded—
The first seal had been broken.
And Kael's aura was instantly released.
Brutally.
A monstrous pressure immediately swept through the entire crypt.
It seeped into every corridor, every crack, every opening.
Like an invisible wave sweeping away everything in its path.
...
Not far from there, a military outpost surrounded the crypt.
It was the temporary headquarters of Morpheas, one of Hypnos' generals.
Facing him, sitting at a table covered with documents and half-empty bottles, was Halmir Voss, the leader of the Conquerors' Guild of the city of Elendria.
— Well… now tell me the truth. Why are you really here? Halmir asked as he put down his glass.
Morpheas lightly breathed out through his nose.
— What do you mean "why"? I thought that by coming down to the tenth floor, I could have a drink with an old friend. Did I need another reason to come see you?
Halmir rolled his eyes.
— So that's how you're going to take it? You just wounded my poor little heart.
Morpheas chuckled lightly.
— We both know you don't have a heart.
— Ah… so that's how you see me now?
— Are you done?
Halmir's smile faded slightly.
— Fine. Seriously. Why are you here?
Morpheas remained silent for a few seconds before answering:
— I have to take care of someone for a while.
Halmir frowned slightly.
— "Someone"?
— Yes. And I was actually planning to introduce you to him today.
But the moment Morpheas finished his sentence—
His expression changed brutally.
His eyes froze.
Then immediately, the hairs on his arms stood up.
The aura that had just crossed the crypt was overwhelming.
Even for him.
And it was precisely at that moment that he understood.
Kael had awakened.
A slight smile slowly appeared on Morpheas' face.
— Finally… he's awake.
— "He"? Halmir asked, frowning.
Morpheas immediately stood up.
— The person I was talking about.
Then he continued in a much more serious tone:
— I'll be able to introduce you to him. But before that… there are a few rules you'll have to follow.
Halmir immediately raised an eyebrow.
— Rules? he asked, slightly joking. Now I'm the one being given rules? Let me remind you, we're on the tenth floor. This city is under my responsibility.
Morpheas looked him straight in the eyes.
— Follow these rules if you value your life.
The silence immediately fell.
Even Halmir lost his smile.
— …You're serious?
— Very serious.
Morpheas calmly continued:
— He just woke up after a very long time. He might be disoriented. Maybe even have memory problems.
Then his gaze hardened slightly.
— But above all… under no circumstances… and I mean under no circumstances… show even the slightest sign of hostility toward him.
Halmir swallowed.
— Even you are talking like that…?
Morpheas remained silent for a few seconds before answering honestly:
— I'm not even certain I could protect you if something goes wrong.
The silence immediately returned.
Then finally, Halmir let out a nervous breath.
— Alright… I trust you.
Then he frowned slightly.
— But you're seriously starting to scare me. What exactly is he? A criminal?
Morpheas slowly shook his head.
— No.
Then a slight smile returned to his face.
— He's someone good.
He paused for a moment.
— The circumstances are just… complicated.
Then he headed toward the exit.
— Come on. Let's go.
He threw one last glance outside.
— The guards near the training ground are probably about to experience something interesting.
Halmir nervously breathed out through his nose.
— …This is going to be interesting.