Chapter 66: Those Who Were Left Behind

Darkness.

For several seconds, Kael couldn’t see anything.

The underground chamber had been swallowed by an absolute blackness that seemed to consume even the faintest traces of mana. He could hear the others moving, the scrape of boots against stone, and the distant sound of something breaking.

Then came Mira’s voice.

"Kael?"

"I’m here."

"Leon?"

"Still standing."

"Elena?"

"Here."

A small noise followed.

"Pi!"

Kael reached towards his shoulder, but his hand met empty air.

His expression changed.

"Pi?"

Something touched his fingers.

A familiar little head pressed against his palm.

"Pi."

Kael released a breath.

"Don’t disappear without warning me again."

Pi climbed onto his shoulder and settled there.

"Pi."

"That isn’t an apology."

A faint golden light appeared beneath Kael’s hand.

It came from his silver mark.

The glow spread across his palm, illuminating the broken chain and unfinished circle. For an instant, the surrounding darkness seemed to recoil.

Then the chamber became visible.

Or at least, what remained of it.

Several pillars had cracked. Pieces of the ceiling floated motionlessly above the floor, suspended as though gravity had forgotten how to function. The walls were no longer entirely stone. Parts of them had become transparent, revealing fragments of places that shouldn’t have existed beneath Aetheris.

Leon examined the surroundings.

"Is everyone unharmed?"

"I think so," Elena answered.

Mira looked towards the place where the black door had disappeared.

"That thing..."

Her voice trailed off.

The corridor was gone.

So was the stranger.

Only First User and the Observer remained.

First User stood near the broken pillar, holding his closed book. The Observer was several steps away, its crimson eyes fixed on the empty space where the door had been.

Kael approached them.

"Explain."

First User didn’t look at him.

"Not now."

Kael stopped.

"You’re going to have to stop saying that."

"The chamber is no longer stable."

"And?"

"And whatever was behind that door has noticed us."

Kael glanced at the broken pillars.

"Those claimants?"

First User nodded.

"Yes."

Mira approached cautiously.

"What exactly are they?"

"Those who were excluded from the first decision."

Silence followed.

Leon frowned.

"Excluded? I thought you said the witnesses sacrificed their right to return."

"They did."

"Then who are these people?"

First User opened his book.

A page turned by itself.

For a moment, the surface remained blank. Then faint silver letters appeared.

THE UNACCEPTED REMAINS.

First User stared at the sentence.

"Interesting."

Kael crossed his arms.

"What’s interesting?"

"The record has changed."

"That seems to happen rather frequently around here."

First User ignored the remark.

He ran one finger beneath the words.

"These aren’t simply memories of the previous world. They’re remnants of possibilities that were abandoned when the first decision was carried out."

Mira’s eyes widened slightly.

"Possibilities?"

"People who could have existed. Futures that could have unfolded. Lives that were no longer permitted to continue because the world could not carry them forward."

Elena looked towards the transparent walls.

"Then those things we saw..."

"Were among them," First User replied.

Kael’s expression hardened.

"You’re telling me we sacrificed entire possibilities?"

"We sacrificed the ability to preserve them."

"That’s a convenient distinction."

"Perhaps. But it is an important one."

First User closed the book.

"The first decision wasn’t made because the witnesses wanted to abandon those possibilities. They made it because allowing everything to remain would have destroyed what little could still continue."

Kael stared at him.

"And now those possibilities are returning."

"Yes."

"Why?"

First User’s gaze shifted towards Kael’s palm.

"Because something has begun questioning whether the first decision should have been accepted."

Kael slowly lowered his hand.

"Me?"

"Not necessarily."

The Observer finally spoke.

"Someone has been trying to reopen what was sealed long before you returned."

First User glanced at the masked figure.

"You could have mentioned that earlier."

"You were the one who insisted on keeping him away from the truth."

"And you were the one who allowed the Witness to awaken."

The Observer’s crimson eyes narrowed.

"Pi was never asleep."

The small creature raised its head.

"Pi."

The Observer looked towards it.

"Exactly."

Kael sighed.

"Wonderful. Even the two of you have started arguing in riddles."

A sudden vibration shook the chamber.

The golden light from Kael’s palm flickered.

Mira immediately turned towards the western wall.

"Something is approaching."

Leon formed a golden blade.

"From where?"

Mira pointed.

"Everywhere."

The transparent portions of the chamber began filling with shadows.

At first, they were indistinct.

Then they gradually took shape.

A man standing beneath a rain-soaked sky.

A child holding a wooden toy.

An elderly woman sitting beside a window.

A soldier wearing unfamiliar armour.

They appeared inside the walls, each occupying a different fragment of the world.

None of them moved.

None of them spoke.

But all their faces were turned towards Kael.

Elena stepped closer to him.

"Why are they looking at you?"

Kael didn’t answer.

One of the figures moved.

It was a young girl with short hair, standing behind the transparent wall.

She raised her hand and placed it against the surface.

A faint sound escaped her lips.

"Please..."

The wall rippled.

Kael took a step forward.

"Wait."

First User immediately caught his wrist.

"Don’t touch it."

Kael looked at him.

"She’s asking for help."

"That isn’t necessarily what you’re hearing."

The girl opened her mouth again.

"Please... remember..."

The words echoed through the chamber.

Then the entire wall cracked.

Leon stepped forward, raising his blade.

"Everyone, move!"

A hand emerged through the fracture.

It wasn’t a physical hand.

Its outline was composed of pale light and dark threads, like a drawing being pulled out of a page.

The girl followed.

Her body passed through the wall.

For a moment, she stood before them.

Then her face changed.

The features blurred, disappeared, and reappeared in a different arrangement.

Her clothing shifted between several styles.

Her age seemed to change with every passing second.

Mira raised her hand.

"That’s not a stable existence."

The girl looked at Kael.

"You left us."

The words struck the chamber with unnatural force.

Kael remained still.

"Who are you?"

The girl tilted her head.

"You don’t remember?"

"No."

Her expression crumpled.

"Then why did you come back?"

The dark threads around her body began spreading.

First User raised his quill.

"Enough."

A silver line flashed.

The girl’s form froze.

But the threads continued moving.

One of them shot towards Kael.

Leon intercepted it.

His golden blade struck the thread, producing a burst of light.

The impact forced him backwards.

"That’s stronger than it looks!"

Elena moved beside him.

"Then don’t let it touch you!"

Violet mana gathered around her hand.

She released a narrow wave that cut through several approaching threads. Mira followed by compressing the surrounding space, forcing the remaining connections into a smaller area.

For a moment, their combined efforts held the entity in place.

Then the girl’s body split into three overlapping images.

One remained standing.

Another appeared behind Elena.

The third materialized beside Mira.

"Watch out!" Kael shouted.

The image behind Elena reached for her shoulder.

Kael moved immediately.

His silver quill flashed.

A thin line appeared between the figure and the chamber.

He drew the quill sideways.

The connection snapped.

The image dissolved into scattered fragments of pale light.

Mira managed to distort the space around the second image, pushing it away from her.

Leon drove his blade through the third.

It disappeared.

But the original girl remained.

Her gaze never left Kael.

"Why did you choose them?"

Kael’s expression tightened.

"Choose who?"

"The ones who remained."

The chamber shook.

The girl’s face changed again.

This time, it became familiar.

For a brief instant, Kael saw his own face staring back at him.

Then the image vanished.

The girl whispered:

"You promised we would have another beginning."

Kael froze.

The stranger’s words returned to him.

You were never supposed to come back as you are now.

He looked at First User.

"Is this one of the things you sacrificed?"

First User’s expression was grim.

"Not exactly."

"Then what is it?"

"A remnant carrying the memory of a possibility."

The girl reached towards him.

"Please..."

Kael raised his quill.

He could cut the connection holding her form together.

But something stopped him.

The girl wasn’t attacking.

She was frightened.

And beneath the unstable appearance, he could sense something painfully familiar.

Not mana.

Not Karma.

Something closer to a memory.

"Kael," Mira called cautiously.

"Don’t let it approach."

He didn’t move.

The girl looked down at her hands.

"I don’t want to disappear again."

For a moment, Kael saw the room from his previous visions.

The broken window.

The desk.

The clock frozen at seven minutes past midnight.

And the woman with tired eyes.

A strange sensation passed through his chest.

He didn’t know whether it was his memory or someone else’s.

But he recognized the feeling.

The fear of being forgotten.

Kael slowly lowered his quill.

"What’s your name?"

First User’s eyes widened.

"Kael, don’t—"

The girl looked up.

Her lips trembled.

"I..."

Her voice broke.

"I don’t know."

The threads around her body suddenly tightened.

The chamber’s floor split.

The girl screamed.

And every shadow behind the walls began moving at once.

"Kael!"

Leon rushed towards him.

The transparent walls shattered.

Dozens of unstable figures poured into the chamber.

Some appeared as people.

Others were little more than silhouettes.

A few had no discernible shape at all.

The Observer raised both hands.

Crimson lines spread through the air, forming a wide barrier around the group.

"Stay within the boundary!"

A wave of dark energy slammed against it.

The barrier trembled.

First User opened his book.

"These remnants are being pulled towards the Returned. If they establish a connection, they may begin inheriting his identity."

Mira’s expression changed.

"Meaning?"

"They’ll use his existence as an anchor."

Kael looked towards the approaching figures.

"Then cut the connections."

First User shook his head.

"Not all of them are connected in the same way."

"Then tell me which ones are."

"I don’t know."

Kael stared at him.

"You’re joking."

"Unfortunately, no."

A figure struck the barrier.

Then another.

The Observer’s crimson lines began to crack.

Elena stepped forward.

"Whatever they are, we can’t let them through."

She gathered mana around both hands.

Violet light spread across the floor, forming several intersecting circles.

Leon stood beside her.

"Kael, what do you need?"

"Keep them away from the barrier’s eastern side. Mira, find the strongest connection."

Mira nodded.

"On it."

Kael raised his quill.

The silver mark on his palm responded.

A series of faint threads appeared across his vision.

Some connected the remnants to the walls.

Others disappeared into the floor.

But one thread stood apart.

It stretched from the girl’s chest into the darkness above them.

Kael narrowed his eyes.

"There."

Mira followed his gaze.

"That’s not connected to the chamber."

"Can you trace it?"

She concentrated.

A moment later, her expression changed.

"Kael..."

"What?"

"It’s connected to something beyond this place."

First User looked up sharply.

The book in his hand began trembling.

"That’s impossible."

The Observer turned towards him.

"What is it?"

First User slowly opened the book.

The page was no longer blank.

A sentence had appeared.

THE CLAIMANTS HAVE FOUND THEIR KEEPER.

Kael’s expression darkened.

"Their keeper?"

The girl looked towards him.

For the first time, she seemed less frightened.

Instead, her expression carried something close to relief.

"You came back."

The thread connecting her to the darkness tightened.

Then another voice emerged from above.

"Not all of us were willing to remain forgotten."

The chamber fell silent.

A vast silhouette appeared beyond the broken ceiling.

It wasn’t the enormous entity that had once watched Aetheris from beyond the clouds.

This presence was different.

Its shape was difficult to understand.

It seemed to be standing somewhere behind the chamber, yet its shadow stretched across the ceiling, the walls, and the floor simultaneously.

A circular opening appeared where its face should have been.

Inside it were countless tiny lights.

Each one resembled a distant star.

First User took a step backwards.

The Observer raised its hand.

"That isn’t supposed to be here."

Kael glanced at the masked figure.

"You recognize it?"

The Observer’s answer came quietly.

"I recognize what it represents."

The silhouette lowered its head.

"Six accepted."

A voice echoed through the chamber.

"One remained."

The golden eye of Pi widened.

The silhouette continued.

"And one returned."

Kael felt the silver mark on his palm burn.

The creature’s attention shifted towards him.

"Returned."

The word carried an unusual weight.

"You have opened what was closed."

Kael raised his quill.

"I didn’t open anything."

"You remembered."

The silhouette tilted its head.

"Memory is a door."

First User stepped forward.

"Stop speaking to him."

The presence ignored him.

"The witnesses surrendered their claim. The boundary accepted their absence. The one who remained preserved the memory."

Its countless lights turned towards Pi.

"But the agreement was incomplete."

Pi trembled.

"NO."

The little creature’s voice rang through the chamber.

The silhouette paused.

For the first time, its countless lights flickered.

Then it spoke again.

"The seventh refused."

Pi lowered its head.

"Keep..."

The creature’s voice was weak, but the word remained clear.

The silhouette seemed to consider this.

"Yes. You kept what should have been released."

Kael moved in front of Pi.

"Whatever you’re trying to do, leave it alone."

The presence turned towards him.

"Then you must understand what it kept."

A pulse travelled through the chamber.

Suddenly, Kael saw something.

Not a memory.

Not a vision.

A place.

A vast field beneath a pale sky.

Seven figures stood around a circular platform.

Six of them were facing the same direction.

The seventh stood apart.

And beyond them was a person wearing a white mask.

The Fifth.

But this time, it wasn’t chained.

It was standing beside someone.

A younger version of Kael.

The younger Kael held a silver quill.

He looked towards the six figures and said something.

Kael couldn’t hear the words.

Then the younger version turned towards the seventh figure.

And extended his hand.

The vision shattered.

Kael staggered.

A sharp pain spread through his head.

Leon caught his arm.

"Kael!"

"I’m fine."

He wasn’t.

The silver cracks beneath his collarbone had spread further, forming a faint pattern beneath his neck.

He could feel his strength fading.

But the image remained in his mind.

The younger version of himself.

The seven figures.

And the white-masked Fifth standing beside him.

He looked towards First User.

"What did I see?"

First User’s face had become unusually pale.

"Something you weren’t supposed to remember."

Kael let out a humourless breath.

"That seems to be the theme of my existence."

The silhouette above them began fading.

But before it disappeared, it spoke once more.

"The first decision must be reconsidered."

The words echoed through the chamber.

"Not because it was wrong."

The countless lights dimmed.

"But because the one who carried it out has returned."

Then the presence vanished.

The remaining figures dissolved into pale fragments.

The chamber became still.

For several seconds, nobody spoke.

Then Mira slowly lowered her hand.

"Is it gone?"

First User closed his book.

"For now."

Leon looked towards Kael.

"What was that thing?"

First User didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, he looked at the place where the silhouette had appeared.

"It was the voice of those who were left behind."

Elena frowned.

"Those remnants?"

"Not exactly. They are the remnants’ collective claim. A presence formed from everything the first decision could not carry forward."

Mira looked uneasy.

"And it wants the decision reversed?"

First User nodded.

"Yes."

Kael stared at the empty ceiling.

"Then why did it say the decision wasn’t wrong?"

First User looked at him.

"Because it may not want to undo the ending."

Kael’s eyes narrowed.

"What does it want?"

First User’s answer was quiet.

"To reclaim what was surrendered."

Silence settled over the chamber again.

Kael looked at Pi.

The little creature had lowered its head, its golden eye reflecting the fading silver light.

He gently touched its back.

"Do you know what they want to reclaim?"

Pi remained silent.

Then it spoke.

"Everyone."

Kael froze.

Pi raised its head.

"Not world."

Its golden eye trembled.

"Everyone."

The words were simple.

But Kael understood enough to feel the weight behind them.

The remnants didn’t merely want their old world restored.

They wanted the people, identities, memories, and possibilities that had been surrendered when the first decision was carried out.

They wanted everything that had been left behind.

And if they succeeded—

The current world might not be able to survive the return.

A distant bell rang.

This time, it came from above.

The chamber’s ceiling gradually became solid again. The floating fragments settled into place, and the broken walls stopped shifting.

The Observer lowered its hands.

"We need to leave."

Kael looked towards First User.

"Not until you answer one more question."

First User met his gaze.

"What?"

"Why was I supposed to disappear after carrying out the first decision?"

The silver-eyed man remained silent.

Kael continued.

"You said the witnesses surrendered their right to return. The stranger said I wasn’t supposed to survive what came afterward. Yet I’m here."

His palm glimmered.

"And someone went through the trouble of bringing me back."

First User looked down at his book.

For a long moment, he seemed to be considering his answer.

Then he spoke.

"Because your role was finished."

Kael’s expression didn’t change.

"That’s it?"

"No."

First User opened the book one final time.

A single line appeared.

THE CARRIER MUST NOT BECOME THE CLAIMANT.

Kael read it carefully.

Then he looked up.

"What does that mean?"

First User closed the book.

"It means that you must decide whether you came back to protect what remained..."

He paused.

"Or reclaim what was lost."

Kael’s expression hardened.

"And if I refuse both?"

First User looked at him.

For the first time, he didn’t appear entirely certain of his answer.

"Then perhaps you’ll finally make a decision that belongs to you."

The Observer turned towards the exit.

"Enough. We are leaving."

Leon helped Mira towards the passage. Elena followed, but Kael remained where he was.

He looked at Pi.

The little creature stared back.

"Pi."

Kael sighed.

"You’re not going to explain anything either, are you?"

Pi tilted its head.

Then it gently pressed its forehead against his cheek.

Kael’s expression softened.

"Fine. We’ll figure it out together."

He turned towards the exit.

But before taking his first step, he noticed something on the floor.

A small silver fragment.

It hadn’t been there before.

Kael crouched and picked it up.

Unlike the fragment from the sixth witness, this one was perfectly smooth.

No inscription.

No symbols.

Only a faint reflection.

Kael looked into it.

For an instant, he saw a young man standing behind him.

The stranger from Room Seven.

The one who had asked Pi to wait.

The reflection raised one hand.

Then it pointed towards the silver fragment.

A message appeared across its surface.

YOU HAVE REMEMBERED THE WRONG PART.

Kael’s eyes narrowed.

Another sentence formed beneath it.

THE FIRST DECISION WAS NOT THE SACRIFICE.

The reflection disappeared.

Kael stared at the fragment.

Then a final line appeared.

IT WAS THE PROMISE THAT MADE THE SACRIFICE NECESSARY.

The fragment cracked.

A tiny voice whispered from within it.

"Don’t let him choose again."

Kael slowly stood.

He looked towards the passage.

The Observer was already waiting.

First User had disappeared.

And somewhere far beneath Aetheris, a seventh bell rang once more.

This time, something answered.

"I remember the promise."