The world shimmered.
Valerian stood amidst a burning city that mimicked the capital—but twisted. The buildings groaned like dying beasts. Rivers of molten light split the stone. And overhead, stars bled trails of crimson fire.
Before him, stood Alex—his former self. The original soul that had once piloted this body. The boy who had died to become Valerian.
Alex smiled, hands in his pockets, his stance relaxed.
"You finally made it," he said. "Took you longer than I expected."
Valerian stepped forward, expression tight. "You knew I'd come."
"Of course," Alex said casually. "Everything you've done, I've done first. You're just catching up."
The shadows around Valerian twisted. From the cracked pavement rose spectral versions of his past: Kael from his academy years, beaten and bloodied; Lira turning her back on him in one timeline; Selene screaming in chains; Seraphine weeping with a blade through her chest.
They weren't real—but they felt real.
> [System Notification: Tomb of the Hollow Stars – Third Trial Initiated]
[Phase I: Reckoning of Memory]
[Objective: Survive the reflection of your sins. Duration: Unknown.]
Alex raised a hand. "These are your ghosts, Valerian. You think because you wear my face, you understand what it means to be me?"
"I'm not you," Valerian hissed. "Not anymore."
Alex's smile widened. "But you're close. Too close. And every seal you break, every piece of power you claim—it brings us closer."
"To what?"
Alex's eyes gleamed violet. "To becoming one again."
Valerian drew his sword.
The shadows attacked.
---
The first to strike was Kael's specter, his eyes hollow with betrayal. His blade moved in a rhythm Valerian once taught him, precise and cruel.
Valerian parried, spinning and driving his elbow into the specter's throat. It shimmered but didn't fall.
He slashed down—clean, merciless.
Another shade lunged. Lira—screaming, twisted, her face melting between timelines. "You abandoned me!" she shrieked.
Valerian gritted his teeth and turned aside her blade, slamming his palm into her chest.
Boom.
The impact sent her flying into a crumbling statue, but more kept coming.
Seraphine. Selene. His instructors. Even his mother's face appeared briefly, blood pouring from her eyes.
Each shade was a sin he remembered or a possibility he feared. The tomb was punishing him not for what he had done—but what he could have done. Every path he avoided. Every person he failed.
> [System Warning: Sanity Threshold Breached – 78%]
[Mental Load Increasing – Resist or Relinquish Control.]
"No," he growled, clutching his head. "This is mine now. Not his."
But Alex stood untouched, watching from a throne of shattered iron.
"You're not strong because you overcame me," Alex said, his voice echoing. "You're strong because of me."
"You were weak," Valerian snapped, standing amidst broken illusions. "You let them walk over you. Let them use you. I changed that."
"I let them," Alex replied, rising. "Because I was never meant to win. I was the mask. You were the weapon hidden behind it."
---
Valerian surged forward, blade arcing toward Alex's throat.
The impact shattered the illusion.
Suddenly, they stood in darkness.
Just the two of them.
No battlefield. No ghosts. Only a mirror between them—tall and jagged, reflecting both of their faces as one.
Alex spoke quietly now. "There is no third seal, Valerian."
Valerian blinked. "What?"
"There never was. The tomb is a lie. This entire gate—this dungeon—it's not testing your strength. It's accelerating your fusion."
> [System Alert: Critical Merge Rate Detected – 63%]
[Alex/Valerian Convergence Probability Increasing.]
[Initiating Emergency Lock...]
Valerian stepped back. "You're trying to take over."
"I'm not trying," Alex whispered. "I'm finishing what we started."
The mirror cracked.
A storm of memories slammed into Valerian. Pain. Hunger. Hope. Rage. Every choice Alex had made, every thought, every betrayal endured.
Every reason he broke.
And beneath it all, a single whisper:
"Become me."
---
> [System Override: Activating Subroutine—Anchor Protocol Detected.]
From beyond the tomb—like a lifeline—a voice called:
"Valerian. Come back to me."
Lira.
Her voice pierced the fog, wrapping around his mind like a tether. A spark flared inside his chest. His own memories—his, not Alex's—flashed before him.
Lira holding his hand after the academy duel.
Selene smiling under the moonlight after their escape.
Seraphine patching him up after his first kill.
Umbra kneeling, pledging fealty not to Alex—but him.
"I'm not a mask," Valerian said softly.
The mirror shattered completely.
Alex staggered back, bleeding from the chest. "You… denied me?"
Valerian approached, standing tall. "You're not my end. You're my beginning. But I'll write the rest."
He plunged his blade into Alex's chest—right through the heart.
Alex gasped, then smiled faintly. "Then finish it."
> [System Alert: Fragment Purged – Third Seal Broken (False Node)]
[System Stability Improved – Merge Delay Reinstated.]
[New Title Acquired: Warden of the Broken Path]
The world dissolved into light.
---
Valerian collapsed to one knee just outside the tomb. Lira caught him before he hit the ground.
"You did it," she said, voice shaking.
"I faced him," Valerian replied, gasping. "It wasn't a seal. It was a trap. A piece of him. Of Alex."
Selene stepped forward. "Then he's not gone?"
"No," Valerian said darkly. "He's waiting."
Umbra's expression was grave. "We have three seals down. But this confirms it—the System is hiding more than just power. It's hiding a purpose."
Seraphine added, "The countdown hasn't stopped. It's only paused."
Valerian stood, eyes cold.
"Then we prepare for war. Because when the fourth seal breaks, Alex won't just whisper in shadows."
He turned toward the horizon where red lightning cracked.
"He'll come in full."