Everything had returned.
But nothing was right.
I — Aren Kael — stood in a world entirely made from my memories.
Memories of a past I never lived.
A Spiral-forged reality…
Where I was the villain.
---
Tomo (crackling with static):
> "Bro… this is the Reverse Memory Spiral."
"Your past has been rewritten here. And now everyone remembers you… as the monster."
---
I turned — and froze.
Aika stood before me.
But her eyes… weren't warm.
They were cold. Terrified.
Behind her… stood Spiral soldiers.
---
Aika (cold, distant):
> "Aren Kael. You burned the Spiral Core."
"You're responsible — for Blissborn, for Cindros… for everything that died."
---
Me (shocked):
> "Aika… no. I— I tried to save—"
She stepped back.
One word.
> "Stay away."
---
I shouted, the Spiral Rod trembling in my hand:
> "This is a lie! A Spiral trap!"
But Tomo said something worse:
---
Tomo (low, heavy):
> "Bro… this echo field was built from your own voice."
"The more you deny it… the more real this world becomes."
---
Then, from the smoke — a Spiral Knight approached.
Full armor. Rod in hand. His stance… familiar. Too familiar.
---
Knight:
> "I'm just a reflection of you."
"The version that burned everything for the Spiral."
---
He removed his helmet.
And there he was — me.
Same face.
But the Spiral Mark on his face… was inverted.
His eyes were crimson. His smile — shattered.
---
Reflection Aren:
> "I'm the one they remember."
"You're the one they forgot."
---
REVERSE SPIRAL DUEL BEGINS
I activated Epoch Mirror.
He raised his rod — Ash Recollection burned into the air.
Every strike sent a false memory searing into me:
> Aika dying.
Tomo glitching to pieces.
My mother — whispering blame.
---
Me (weakened, gripping the rod):
> "These… aren't my memories…"
---
Reflection Aren (grinning):
> "But to Spiral, what's remembered is reality."
---
We clashed — rod against rod.
The Spiral cracked around us.
I roared:
> "I'm not made by memories—
I've learned how to live between them!"
---
I brought the rod down — Reflect Spiral Slash!
My reflection shattered like glass.
---
Reality itself splintered.
---
Tomo (screaming):
> "BRO!! The Spiral echo is collapsing —
Choose your core memory or you'll vanish into the reflection!"
---
I shut my eyes.
From the chaos of it all — one memory floated up:
Tomo's first smile.
> "Bro… you feel like light."
I chose that.
The memory burned into my Spiral Rod.
A new engraving flared across it:
> "Flame of Self — I remember who I am."
---
The mirrored world shattered.
I fell — through Spiral fire and fractured thought —
—Until two hands caught me.
---
YUI.
Her Spiral chains glowed like silent lightning.
---
Yui (soft, serious):
> "You forget everything, Aren…"
"But I won't let you forget yourself."
---
TO BE CONTINUED…