The World Held Its Breath.
The violin sang.
The snow lifted in sheets.
The air trembled as sound bent around Velvara's melody—
a haunting, delicate, almost tender tune that made the wind hesitate
and made Kairo remember things that hadn't happened yet.
---
FLASH – ECHO VISION
A battlefield. Endless.
Velvara in black.
Kairo on a throne made of swords.
She plays. He listens.
And every time she hits a note—
A version of him dies.
Quietly.
Without a fight.
Grateful.
---
BACK TO THE PRESENT
Kairo gasped, staggering as his sword hummed violently in his grip.
> "What is this song—!?"
Gix hovered beside him, her usual smirk gone, eyes glowing like a cursed flame.
> "It's her curse."
"It's your cure."
"It's also a damn nuke."
---
The Masked General didn't flinch.
He raised his spear—its blade inscribed with the names of forgotten gods—and drove it into the snow.
> "Enough."
The music stopped.
But the aftertone—the echo—rippled through the world like a dying heartbeat.
Velvara's hand bled from her strings.
> "You always interrupt the final verse."
> "I won't let you awaken him," the General said.
> "You already did."
---
Kairo stepped forward.
Snow gathered at his feet in the shape of a circle—a crown.
His eyes bled silver and red now. His hand trembled not from fear—but from restraint.
> "You knew what I was," he said to the General.
"Before I even knew myself."
> "I did," the man replied calmly.
"I watched you be born from a mistake."
> "Then why let me live?"
> "Because your death is the only key that can close the song."
---
Suddenly—ATTACK.
The Masked General moved in a blink.
Faster than thought. Faster than time.
Ayleth drew steel. Lyria screamed and flung knives.
Gix cursed and threw a literal blackhole.
But none of it hit him.
Kairo blocked.
The clash was soundless.
Not silent—soundless.
A blow so precise it erased its own impact.
---
> "He's suppressing existence," Gix whispered.
"He's not just fast. He's perfect."
Velvara's violin exploded into blue flame.
> "Then I'll play imperfection."
---
She sang—not with strings, but with her voice.
The stitched seams tore.
Her melody was broken, desperate, beautiful.
And the world answered.
---
The trees rose like soldiers.
The wind carried memories.
Snow twisted into specters—Kairo's dead selves, standing behind him.
Each one held a blade.
Each one bled guilt.
And each one said:
> "Let us help."
---
Kairo screamed as the Echo Surge activated.
> "Sin Progression: 5/10 — Fracture"
"Echo Skill Gained: Phantom Ring – Summon Echoes in real time (limit: 3)"
---
Three Kairo Echoes appeared:
The King of Chains – armored, cruel, calculating
The Laughing Flame – wild, chaotic, lewd as hell
The Broken Blade – silent, missing an arm, still fighting
All three stared at the Masked General.
And charged.
---
The battle was chaos.
Ayleth fought like a ghost.
Lyria moved like a storm.
Gix snapped reality and reset it just to land a single punch.
Kairo fought at the center of it all, flanked by himself, haunted by her.
And still—the General didn't fall.
Until—
Velvara kissed Kairo.
Right in the middle of it all.
---
The world paused.
Literally.
> "Temporal Pulse Detected."
"Emotion Lock Reached – Tier 3: True Intimacy Achieved."
Their combined aura pulsed outward.
The ground cracked.
And the Masked General?
He staggered for the first time.
Not from damage.
But from recognition.
> "You're… not him anymore."
Kairo looked up, eyes glowing like stars caught in sorrow.
> "No."
"I'm worse."
---
He stabbed the ground.
And the Echo Tower behind them shattered.
The past unraveled.
The world screamed.
And Kairo whispered:
> "Let's start rewriting this story…"