The Broken Realms…
In a void between universes, where time choked on itself and space twisted like serpents in a storm, a figure knelt before a throne made of bones and dying stars.
A voice—cold, deep, infinite—rippled across the dimension.
> "Unit 07-A. Identity: Whisper Engine.
Threat Class: Omega.
Target: Rael Syn, Multiversal Anomaly.
Execution Protocol: Soul Wipe."
The figure stood. It was neither man nor machine, but an amalgamation of both. Its body pulsed with spectral data and old magic, and eyes of black flame flickered with ancient hatred.
> "Command acknowledged. Targeting spectral resonance. Launching in 3… 2…"
With a silent boom, the Whisper Engine tore through realms, heading toward Earth-199.
---
Earth-199 – Arkanis Academy, Sector 7
Rael sat in the library, calm as ever, his fingers flipping through ancient rune manuscripts no student should've had access to. In front of him, projected via NeXus, the System displayed a hex-code screen detailing the coordinates of the Ruin Matrix.
> Coordinate Lock Acquired
Hidden Vault – Earth Core Sector
Quantum Access Required: 0%
Estimated Time to Unlock: 6 Days
Rael leaned back. "Too slow…"
But NeXus blinked violently.
> Spectral Alert! Unknown Entity Approaching Atmosphere. Tracking Energy Signature…
Threat Level: UNKNOWN
Energy Core Type: Broken Realm Forge. Multiversal Weapon Confirmed.
Rael's heart rate didn't change. But his mind raced.
"NeXus, prepare Phase Cloak. No one must see me leave."
> Phase Cloak Engaged. Exit Route Ready.
Seconds later, the boy who'd been quietly reading in the library… disappeared.
---
Downtown Arkanis – Above Earth-199's Sky
Clouds split.
The Whisper Engine entered orbit like a silent storm, invisible to satellites, known only to those who could perceive dimensional pressure.
A crater formed in midair—and from it, the figure stepped onto Earth's surface. It didn't walk. It floated.
Humans stared blankly as the air shimmered, unaware of the death god now scouting their world.
> "Spectral Signature Detected."
"Target in Motion. Location: 12 kilometers southeast. Pursuit authorized."
It vanished again.
---
Underground – Rael's Secret Lair
Behind a waterfall in an abandoned subway tunnel, Rael dropped into a hidden chamber—a multiversal lab no one knew existed.
It wasn't just tech. It was art.
A fusion of ancient relics, alien core fragments, and forbidden AI scripts floated in stasis. At the center stood a containment vault: inside it, a white mask with golden circuitry.
> Identity Mask: Specter Prime
Status: Unused
Bonding: Pending
Rael whispered, "It's not time for that yet."
NeXus popped a red window.
> ALERT: Whisper Engine Arrival Confirmed.
Tracking Complete.
Estimated Encounter: 3 minutes.
Rael closed his eyes, inhaled deeply. The world outside thought he was just a top student. Smart, charming, but normal.
They didn't know he'd reverse-engineered time-based weapons in his free hours.
They didn't know he'd already merged his Specter Core with fragments of the First Void Titan.
> Specter Points: 36
— Skill Tree Updated
— New Ability Unlocked: Phantom Shell: Projected Clone Deception
— New Ability Unlocked: Pulse Warp Dagger – Level 1
Activate?
Rael selected both.
"Let's test this enforcer."
---
Abandoned Cathedral – Just Outside Arkanis
Rael arrived before the Whisper Engine did. The cathedral groaned with the weight of time and dust.
He stood in the center, shadows curling around him, his real face visible. Calm. Eyes sharp.
The doors blew apart.
The Whisper Engine hovered into the ruined church, its body buzzing like a hive of digital wasps.
Rael whispered, "So, you're their first move."
> "Target Confirmed."
"Engage."
The engine launched a beam so bright it turned stone into vapor.
Rael was gone before it landed.
His Phantom Clone appeared to the left, striking with the new Pulse Warp Dagger. It made contact—sending the engine crashing into an ancient altar.
But the monster laughed.
> "Clever. Adapting. Calculating counter-strategy."
"Activating Kill Script: Layered Dimensional Chains."
Rael's eyes narrowed. "Now it's fun."
He activated his Specter Core fully—for the first time since awakening.
White flames spiraled around him. Time around his body distorted. His aura pierced dimensions.
> Specter Core Release – 14%
Warning: Instability risk past 25%.
Rael ignored the warning and charged.
Their battle lit up the ruins like a second sun, cracks of energy splitting the dome overhead.
The Whisper Engine struck with a chained reality loop—forcing Rael into five-second time traps—but Rael was faster. He bent between dimensions, using the Ruin Echo he unlocked earlier.
Slash.
Stab.
Warp.
Clash.
Then—
Rael stood still, breathing heavily. His dagger vanished. The Whisper Engine stumbled… and fell.
Its chest exploded inwards from a delayed energy strike.
> "Impossible…" it gurgled. "You're still… evolving…"
It tried to self-destruct. Rael snapped his fingers.
> "Null Core Lock."
And just like that, it was over.
---
NeXus popped another window.
> Specter Points: 52
— New Location Synced: Broken Realm Relay
— Enemy Core Absorbed: Whisper Engine
— Ability Unlocked: Reality Chain Override
Message from Subject-03 Fragment Decoded
Rael leaned forward as text scrolled across his System screen:
> "If you made it this far, brother, it means you survived your first envoy. But it was just a test. The real war… begins when the Convergence starts. You have 5 days."
5 Days Until the Convergence
The cathedral's shattered ruins still echoed with silence.
Rael stood above the Whisper Engine's crumbling form, pieces of broken dimensional plating twitching around him. NeXus buzzed beside his left ear, only visible to him—like a phantom tethered to his soul.
> Core Absorption: 92% Complete.
Whisper Engine's Residual Memory Access – Initiated.
Rael's eyes glowed for a second. A data stream rushed into his mind—snippets of the Engine's orders, multiversal coordinates, a symbol etched in celestial fire: a jagged omega surrounded by six collapsing stars.
> "Omega Guild…" Rael murmured.
"So they've finally started moving."
His hand reached for his mask—the one not yet worn.
> Specter Prime Identity Mask – Status: Pending Bond
Warning: Bonding before 'Mirror Soul Sync' will trigger unstable divergence.
He placed the mask back into its containment slot. "Not yet. That's not who I need to be today."
Instead, he activated his NeXus interface with a blink. New overlays lit up around him in radiant blue:
Specter Points: 52
Skills Unlocked: 3
Core Stability: 87%
Mental Fatigue: Low
Tracking Signals: Passive
Clones Active: 0
Threat Level: Omega Class Detected Nearby
Rael frowned. "Another one? So soon?"
---
Elsewhere – Arkanis Academy | Hall of Mirrors
Professor Kael was lecturing the elite class—students known as the Primaries. Among them sat Aria Velan, the academy's second-highest scorer… right after Rael.
Aria looked distracted today. Her eyes kept flicking toward the glowing mirror behind Kael's platform—a relic said to be from a "world that no longer exists."
Only Rael had ever dared step through it.
And survived.
Aria reached into her satchel and pulled out an encrypted holo-shard. She pressed it to her palm and whispered.
> "Open Comm-Link: Subject Rael Syn."
The shard buzzed, then died.
Blocked.
Again.
> "Why do you keep disappearing, Rael?" she whispered. "What aren't you telling me?"
---
Underground: Rael's Lab
Rael sat cross-legged on a crystalline platform, letting the Whisper Engine's memory fragments fill the holographic space around him.
One memory caught his eye.
> [File# 077 – Omega Directive: Target-03]
In the memory, a shadowy figure stood on the ruins of a floating citadel. Even from behind, Rael recognized the stance, the way the person's hand moved—a motion he'd repeated hundreds of times himself.
The figure turned slightly. The face was half-covered by a mask—but the visible eye…
Was his.
Or… almost.
Rael clenched his fists. "A mirror version of me…"
NeXus glowed red.
> Warning: Dimensional Divergence Approaching Critical Point. Multiple Rael Syns Detected Across Broken Realms. One is infected.
Timeline Merge Probability: 68% within 96 hours.
That's when the lights dimmed.
The platform shook.
Another NeXus alert popped up.
> Proximity Breach. Omega-Class Specter Detected. Codename: "Dollmaker."
Origin: Dream Shard Worldline
Power Level: Unknown. Estimated Class – S++
Rael rose, and without hesitation activated Phantom Shell, leaving a clone at the lab.
"I'm not walking into this blind."
---
Surface – Glass Garden District
The Dollmaker didn't look like a threat.
A woman in a porcelain dress stood under a shattered glass archway, spinning an umbrella with bleeding lace. Dolls lay scattered across the plaza, each smiling with lifeless eyes. Citizens passed her without noticing.
Only Rael saw the truth—her aura bent reality around her like silk.
She smiled when he approached.
"Rael Syn," she said sweetly. "I was expecting the masked one. You disappoint me… just a little."
Rael didn't speak. He scanned her vitals through NeXus.
> Vital Signs: Irregular. Dimensional Signature: Fragmented. Soul Thread: Dissonant.
"You're not fully here," Rael said calmly.
The Dollmaker smiled wider. "Neither are you."
Suddenly, a dozen dolls leapt into the air. Their mouths opened wide, screaming with layered multiversal voices.
Rael didn't move.
Each doll exploded mid-air—snapped out of existence by a shimmer of spectral chains erupting from Rael's back. The new skill from the Whisper Engine—Reality Chain Override—acted on instinct.
The Dollmaker giggled. "You really are him…"
"But," she said, raising a blood-red hand, "what happens when you see a memory you don't remember?"
The world around them shimmered—and suddenly, Rael stood in a burning classroom.
Children screamed.
In the center of it all… a younger Rael, his hand outstretched, eyes glowing black, and a girl in his arms—her face… Aria's.
Rael gasped. "This… never happened."
The Dollmaker's whisper echoed in the burning memory.
"Didn't it?"
---
Back to Reality
Rael dropped to one knee, clutching his head.
> NeXus: Mind Distortion Detected. Reality Corruption 14%
Warning: External Memory Injection.
He forced his Specter Core to
spike—burning through the false memory like fire through frost.
When he looked up, the Dollmaker was gone.
But her voice echoed.
> "Three days, Rael Syn. Then she remembers too…"