---
The sealed door stood open behind them, but no one moved forward.
Even the wind had gone silent.
Yuki stepped in first. The world beyond wasn't a world at all.
It was… fractured.
Floating pieces of landscape drifted in an endless space of stars and shadow. Bits of memory formed platforms: a school hallway, a shrine at dusk, a burning field—echoes of places Yuki barely recognized.
Ren narrowed his eyes. "This isn't just a realm. It's you, Yuki."
Nogitsune, arms crossed, let out a soft chuckle. "Welcome to the Archive. The place where thought and memory fuse into form. Only someone like you can walk here without being torn apart."
Aiko, trembling slightly, touched one of the floating fragments—a younger Yuki laughing in the sun. "It's all… him."
Suddenly, the light dimmed.
From the distance, a shifting shadow appeared. Not quite a form, not quite a voice—but every eye turned.
> "Finally," it whispered. "You've returned to the edge of all things."
Yuki stepped forward, fists clenched. "Who are you?"
> "I am what was forgotten. I am the eighth flame. And I have waited long enough."
The world began to shake. Fragments rearranged, forming a spiraling path that led into a vortex of blinding white light.
Nogitsune looked unusually tense. "This thing's been feeding off the mythic imbalance. We go in, and we don't leave unchanged."
Kai cracked his neck. "Then we don't leave at all."
Ren placed a hand on Yuki's shoulder. "You lead. We follow."
Yuki nodded once. He could feel something calling from the center of the storm—a presence older than anything. And somehow… it knew his name.
---
The moment they crossed the threshold, the door vanished.
Not closed.
Erased.
Each member of the group found themselves standing alone—on separate pathways, each warped by memory and myth.
---
Yuki's path was filled with mirrors—not of his body, but of all the versions he could have been: monster, savior, destroyer. They whispered to him.
> "You bend reality, but do you understand it?"
A single orb floated ahead—dim, but pulsing.
---
Nogitsune walked through a hall where time was reversed.
He saw Yuki's childhood, the clone aunt he had made, the choices he had made alone…
And then, a voice behind him.
> "Was it mercy, or manipulation?"
He didn't answer. But his hands shook.
---
Aiko found herself in a shrine lit by a thousand floating flames. Each flame carried an emotion: pain, love, loss, hope.
She reached out and one flame fused into her chest.
Her aura turned violet. A new power was awakening.
---
Ren faced warriors long gone—tengu who had perished fighting the imbalance.
He realized the burden he carried wasn't just his own—but a legacy that demanded he choose:
> Fight alone... or protect together.
Himari stood before a massive book that wrote itself.
> "The Fate of the Kitsune"
Every word on the page vanished when she tried to read it—until one phrase remained:
> "Yuki must fall… to rise."
Her hands trembled.
---
Kai found himself cooking.
But for no one.
The scent of warm ramen filled the silence. Then a younger version of Yuki appeared—starving, confused.
> "You were always feeding more than our bellies, Kai," the illusion whispered.
Kai teared up. "Tch… why's it always food with me?"
---
Back to Yuki—
He finally reached the orb. It didn't glow now.
It spoke.
> "You reached for me… now I reach for you."
A tendril of flame burst forth—and Yuki's vision turned black.
Then a heartbeat echoed.
Then a whisper:
> "The Eidolon is listening."
---
The deeper they walked into the spiral of light and fragments, the more distorted everything became.
Time lagged behind them. Sound echoed before it happened. Reality rippled with every breath.
Yuki gritted his teeth. "This place… it's warping me. Like it's trying to rewrite what I am."
Nogitsune stepped beside him, cloak fluttering despite the still air. "That's its game. The Eidolon doesn't fight with fists—it rewrites truths. Memories. Identity."
A floating stairway led them to a chamber that defied shape—walls folding and unfolding, light pouring in from directions that didn't exist. In the center burned a tall, blue-white flame. It pulsed like a heart.
They approached—and the fire spoke.
> "Do you remember, Yuki? The first time you cried? The moment you felt alone? The second your reality cracked?"
Yuki froze. His knees buckled as images hit him—his aunt disappearing in mist, his reflection shifting in the mirror, his scream echoing across an empty playground.
Aiko grabbed his arm. "Yuki, don't listen! That's not all of you."
But it was too late.
The flame reached for him. And as it touched his chest, something ancient responded.
Void met flame. Reality bent. And the Eidolon saw him fully.
Suddenly, everything stopped.
Time shattered.
And Yuki found himself… alone. On the floor of his childhood room.
But something was sitting across from him.
A figure, wearing his face—but older. Eyes deeper. Wiser. Hungrier.
> "You're finally ready," the double said.
Yuki swallowed. "Who are you?"
> "I'm the one you forgot to become."
---
Inside the Flame.
Yuki stared at the older version of himself—calm, confident, terrifying.
> "You survived what you shouldn't have. You fought what you didn't understand. But now... you're starting to remember, aren't you?"
Yuki's voice trembled. "No… you're not me."
> "A version of you. One born when the void touched your soul. I watched every moment. Every choice. Every time you denied who you were."
He stepped forward, and with every step, the room shifted—childhood toys turned to ash, walls melted into stars.
> "You think power is about strength. But it's about acceptance. The Eidolon feeds on denial. Doubt. Fear. And now that you're waking up…"
He placed a hand on Yuki's chest.
> "…it's scared."
The void inside Yuki pulsed violently. Reality cracked behind his eyes.
---
Meanwhile, in the Flame Chamber—
"Yuki's aura just vanished!" Aiko shouted, rushing toward the flame. "It's like he's not even here anymore!"
Ren's eyes narrowed. "No… it's deeper. He's still here—but he's facing something."
"Alone?" Himari stepped beside him. "No one should face this alone."
Haru clenched his fists. "This place is playing games. We should break the flame. Force it to let him go."
Nogitsune's voice was calm, but his eyes burned. "No. This isn't a prison. It's a mirror. If we shatter it, he might shatter with it."
A silence fell—until Kai muttered, "Do you guys feel that? Something's looking at us."
They turned. The flame behind them… flickered.
And the Eidolon, in its shifting form, leaned through it.
> "He was never alone. Not really. Not with you watching so eagerly."
Aiko raised her staff. "You speak like you know us."
> "I am you. I am what you deny."
---
Inside, Yuki stood tall.
The void and flame warred inside him.
"I'm not afraid of you," he said.
> "Good," said the double. "Then remember what you are."
And the double merged into him.
Yuki gasped. Light and shadow collided—and the flame around him exploded outward, revealing the true door behind it.
---
"If you're enjoying the ride, don't forget to leave a power stone or a comment—it really helps this grow!"