Deep beneath the surface of the world—
far from Greenmire, far from the others—
Kael remained alone inside the cavern.
The cave stretched endlessly into darkness, its walls covered in faint glowing fractures that pulsed like veins beneath stone. Strange symbols flickered occasionally across the surfaces before disappearing again, almost like reality itself was struggling to stay stable there.
Kael sat near the edge of a massive abyss within the cave, one knee raised while loose papers and ancient records surrounded him.
The silence was absolute.
Only his voice disturbed it.
"…Dimensions," he muttered quietly to himself, staring into the darkness below. "People keep using that word incorrectly."
He picked up one of the old pages beside him.
"Tch… they think collapses are random."
A faint blue glow appeared around his fingertips as diagrams formed briefly in the air.
Circles.
Layers.
Worlds stacked atop one another.
Then cracks.
Kael's eyes narrowed slightly.
"They aren't dimensions."
His voice echoed softly through the cave.
"They're fragments."
The glowing diagrams shifted again.
Broken pieces orbiting a central reality.
"Pieces of worlds that already collapsed long ago," he continued quietly. "Incomplete spaces detached from proper existence."
His gaze drifted toward another symbol glowing faintly on the cave wall.
"And inside those fragments…"
The glow distorted.
"…Echoes form."
The word lingered strangely in the cave.
Kael leaned back slightly.
"Memories. Residual concepts. Broken laws trying to imitate life."
His expression darkened.
"But sometimes…" he muttered, "…something inside the fragments becomes aware."
The diagrams suddenly warped violently.
Monsters.
Corrupted entities.
Distorted humanoid shapes.
"Then the fragment destabilizes."
Cracks spread across the glowing projection.
"And eventually…"
Kael looked upward slightly.
"…the Collapse begins."
The projection shattered apart.
Silence returned briefly.
Kael rubbed his forehead slowly.
"Every collapse follows the same principle," he continued quietly. "Pressure."
His eyes narrowed.
"When too many fragments overlap with reality… the boundary weakens."
A pause.
"Then something crosses over."
The cave dimmed slightly around him.
Kael exhaled slowly before glancing toward an older file resting beside him.
Unlike the others—
this one looked damaged.
Burned slightly at the edges.
His expression shifted subtly after seeing it.
"…Flight 220."
The words echoed quietly.
Kael stared at the file for several seconds before opening it carefully.
Inside were fragmented records.
Passenger lists.
Emergency reports.
Blackened photographs.
And one final classified note.
SURVIVORS UNEXPLAINED.
Kael's eyes hardened slightly.
"…That incident happened before the first major collapse was publicly recorded."
His voice lowered.
"The plane should've disappeared completely."
A faint flicker of distorted shadow crossed the cave wall briefly.
Kael noticed it immediately.
"…But it didn't."
He looked back down at the damaged file.
"Most people think it was a miracle."
A pause.
Then quieter—
"…It wasn't."
His gaze darkened.
"Something interfered."
The cave grew colder.
Kael slowly closed the file again.
"And among the survivors…"
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"…was Arthur Ravenheart and his family."
Silence.
Then finally—
Kael looked deeper into the abyss below him and muttered the one thought he clearly hated most.
"…Who exactly saved that plane?"
The cave fell silent again after Kael closed the damaged Flight 220 file.
Only the faint glow from the fractures in the walls remained, pulsing slowly like the heartbeat of something buried beneath reality itself.
Kael stared into the abyss before him for a long moment, lost in thought.
Then he spoke again.
Quieter this time.
More uncertain.
"…And that still doesn't explain Echo."
The word itself seemed to disturb the cave.
The fractures along the walls flickered violently for half a second before stabilizing again.
Kael's expression darkened immediately.
"Dimension Echo…"
He leaned back against the stone wall slowly, eyes narrowing as old memories surfaced.
"The first true Collapse."
Not a local incident.
Not a contained descent.
A catastrophe.
His voice echoed faintly through the darkness.
"The event that swallowed nearly eighty percent of the world's population in less than three days."
Silence followed.
Heavy silence.
Because even now—
years later—
nobody truly understood what happened inside Dimension Echo.
Kael rubbed his forehead slowly.
"They called it a dimensional overlap."
A bitter scoff escaped him.
"…Idiots."
The glowing fractures around him shifted again as if reacting to his frustration.
"It wasn't overlap."
His gaze hardened.
"It was assimilation."
The air in the cave suddenly felt colder.
Kael's fingers tightened slightly against his arm.
"Entire cities vanished."
His voice lowered further.
"No explosions. No remains. No warning."
He looked toward the abyss again.
"…Just silence."
Memories flashed through his mind.
Massive empty streets.
Buildings left intact with nobody inside them.
Entire nations collapsing overnight.
And the sky—
that horrible black sky—
appearing for the first time.
Kael exhaled sharply.
"What even is Echo?"
That question had haunted researchers, survivors, Watchers, and even gods for years.
Because unlike ordinary fragments—
Dimension Echo behaved differently.
It learned.
Adapted.
Expanded.
Almost like it was alive.
Kael's eyes narrowed slightly.
"And worse…"
A pause.
"…it keeps changing."
That was the terrifying part.
Every report from Echo contradicted previous ones.
Locations moved.
Structures appeared and disappeared.
Creatures evolved too quickly.
Even time behaved incorrectly there.
No stable laws.
No stable geography.
Only adaptation.
Kael looked toward the old records scattered around him.
"And after the first Collapse…"
His voice dropped lower still.
"…something inside Echo started looking back."
The cave went completely still.
Even the glowing fractures dimmed faintly.
Kael swallowed slowly.
Because that was the part almost nobody knew.
During the original catastrophe—
some survivors reported seeing figures watching them from inside the darkness before entire areas vanished.
Not monsters.
Not corrupted beasts.
Something else.
Something intelligent.
Kael closed his eyes briefly.
"…And now Arthur appears."
Another silence.
Then—
his expression hardened again.
"The timing is too strange."
Flight 220.
The shadowy figure.
Arthur surviving impossible situations repeatedly.
The unnatural evolution during battle.
And now—
Echo itself becoming more unstable again after years of silence.
Kael looked back into the abyss one final time.
"…What are you trying to wake up this time?" he whispered into the darkness.
For a moment—
something deep below the cave moved.
Deep within the cavern, the abyss below Kael stirred again.
Not violently.
But enough.
The darkness beneath the endless drop shifted unnaturally, like something massive had rolled over in its sleep. Low vibrations spread through the cave walls as the glowing fractures pulsed faster for several seconds.
Kael didn't panic.
He just sighed tiredly.
"…Relax."
The movement below paused briefly.
Kael stood slowly, brushing dust from his coat.
"I know," he muttered quietly while walking toward a narrow stone pathway descending deeper into the cave. "You're hungry."
The darkness below rumbled again.
This time almost impatiently.
Kael frowned slightly.
"And you're dramatic."
Another low vibration echoed upward.
Kael shook his head.
"…You survived this long. You can survive another five minutes."
The glowing cracks along the walls began reacting more violently as he descended deeper into the cave, illuminating strange markings carved into the stone.
Some looked ancient.
Others looked clawed into existence.
Kael's expression remained calm despite it all.
"…If you scare me before I feed you again," he muttered, "I'm genuinely leaving."
The rumbling quieted slightly.
"…That's what I thought."
And deeper into the abyss—
something massive shifted again.
Watching him descend.
---
Meanwhile—
back in Greenmire—
the atmosphere inside the shelter was far softer.
Outside, distant sounds of training and arguments echoed faintly through the forest while inside Arthur's room, the mood had settled into quiet conversation.
Layla sat near the window while Alexi Ravenheart remained beside Arthur's bed.
For a while, neither spoke.
The silence wasn't awkward anymore.
Just thoughtful.
Alexi gently adjusted the blanket over Arthur Ravenheart before finally glancing toward Layla.
"…Can I ask you something?"
Layla looked over.
"Depends."
Alexi hesitated slightly.
Then quietly—
"…Do you love him?"
Silence.
Layla froze instantly.
Completely.
Her brain visibly stopped functioning for half a second.
"…W-What?"
Alexi blinked once.
"You heard me."
Layla immediately looked away.
"…That was a very sudden question."
Alexi's expression softened faintly.
"You didn't answer it."
Layla opened her mouth.
Closed it.
Opened it again.
Nothing came out.
Which honestly answered the question by itself.
Alexi noticed immediately.
And for the first time in a while—
she smiled slightly.
Layla's face warmed rapidly.
"…Why are you smiling like that?"
"Because you're blushing."
"I am not."
"You absolutely are."
Layla covered part of her face immediately.
"…This is horrible."
Alexi let out a soft laugh for the first time in weeks.
A real one.
Quiet.
Gentle.
Layla stared at her in betrayal.
"…You're enjoying this too much."
"A little."
Layla groaned quietly and leaned back in her chair.
"…I hate conversations."
Alexi tilted her head slightly.
"…You confessed already, didn't you?"
Layla's soul nearly left her body.
"…HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT?!"
Alexi looked toward Arthur.
"…He talks in his sleep sometimes."
Layla went completely silent.
Then slowly lowered her face into her hands.
"…I'm moving to another continent."
Alexi laughed again softly.
And despite the embarrassment flooding Layla's entire existence—
the room somehow felt warmer afterward.
The quiet laughter between them slowly faded, leaving behind a softer atmosphere inside the room.
For the first time in a long while, Alexi Ravenheart didn't look weighed down entirely by fear and exhaustion.
And Layla, despite wanting to disappear after the previous conversation, found herself relaxing slightly too.
Outside, distant yelling from Lucas and Rivien echoed faintly through the trees again.
Something about "illegal elbow techniques."
Neither girl questioned it.
Alexi gently brushed some hair behind her ear before speaking again.
"…Your birthday is in two weeks, right?"
Layla blinked once.
The sudden topic shift hit her so hard she physically paused.
"…What?"
Alexi smiled faintly.
"Your birthday."
Layla stared blankly.
"…How do you know that?"
"You told Arthur once."
Layla's expression immediately changed.
"…Of course I did."
Alexi nodded slightly.
"You were complaining because he forgot the first time."
Layla groaned quietly.
"…I remember that."
A faint warmth appeared in Alexi's eyes.
"He looked genuinely terrified when he realized."
"That idiot forgot for three whole days."
"To be fair," Alexi said softly, "he nearly got punched."
"He deserved it."
Both of them glanced toward Arthur unconsciously after that.
Still unconscious.
Still silent.
Layla's expression softened faintly despite herself.
"…I don't even know if we'll still be here in two weeks," she admitted quietly.
Greenmire wasn't permanent.
Nothing about their lives was stable anymore.
Collapses.
Fragments.
Demons.
Watchers.
Everything felt temporary now.
Alexi looked at Arthur for a moment before answering softly.
"…Then we'll make it matter anyway."
Layla looked toward her quietly.
Alexi smiled faintly again.
"You should celebrate it."
Layla snorted lightly.
"In Greenmire?"
"Yes."
"With what exactly?"
Alexi thought for a second.
"…Rivien would probably somehow make decorations out of branches."
Layla immediately laughed.
"That sounds dangerously accurate."
"And Sunny would pretend he doesn't care while secretly helping."
"…Also accurate."
A small silence followed again.
Then Alexi glanced sideways toward Layla once more.
"…I think Arthur would want to be awake for it."
Layla's heart tightened slightly at that.
She looked toward Arthur again quietly.
"…Yeah," she whispered softly.
"…I think so too."
Darkness.
Endless darkness.
No sky.
No ground.
No sound.
Arthur Ravenheart floated within it without understanding how long he had been there.
Seconds.
Days.
Years.
Time didn't exist properly here.
There was only black.
An overwhelming void stretching infinitely in every direction.
Arthur tried to move.
Nothing happened.
Tried to speak.
No voice came out.
Even his own body felt distant, almost unreal.
Then—
a faint sound echoed somewhere far away.
Muffled.
Distorted.
Like hearing voices through deep water.
"…wake up…"
Arthur's eyes shifted slightly.
The voice faded before he could fully recognize it.
Silence returned immediately.
Cold silence.
Arthur frowned faintly.
"…Where…"
Even his thoughts sounded slower here.
Heavy.
Another voice echoed faintly afterward.
Softer this time.
"…idiot…"
A pause.
"…birthday…"
The words barely reached him before dissolving into the darkness again.
Arthur stared ahead blankly.
Something about those voices hurt his chest strangely.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
Fragments of memory flashed weakly.
Layla crying.
Alexi chained.
The Devourer smiling.
Fire.
Shadows.
Pain.
Then—
nothing again.
The darkness shifted slightly around him.
Not visually.
Conceptually.
As if something inside the void had noticed he was becoming aware.
Arthur's expression slowly hardened.
"…Who's there?"
No response.
But the darkness moved again.
Slowly.
Watching.
Arthur finally realized something unsettling then.
The blackness surrounding him wasn't empty.
It was alive.
A faint pulse echoed through the void.
Then another.
Like a heartbeat.
Massive.
Ancient.
Arthur narrowed his eyes slightly.
And far ahead in the endless darkness—
two dim crimson lights slowly opened.
Eyes.
Watching him silently from impossibly far away.
Yet somehow—
still close enough to feel overwhelming.
Arthur's instincts screamed instantly.
Not fear.
Recognition.
The void trembled softly around him.
Then—
a voice echoed from the darkness.
Deep.
Calm.
Inhuman.
"…You survived longer than expected."