Memory Fragment

A sharp sound echoed around Kael and then, sparks surrounded his tall figure. A spiral materialized and spun, intertwining several worlds. Kael was forced into this violent spin and welcomed into a white spinning vortex.

"What could this be? My transport?" He was surprised at his incredible balance, grasping how it worked until the system interrupted:

[ REWARD ACTIVATING... ]

As the system reward activated, Kael was momentarily frozen. A flood of sensations overwhelmed him—a distant warmth, the faint sound of laughter, and a soft voice calling his name:

"Kael!"

The voice. Soft, melodic, and so achingly familiar that his knees almost buckled. The woman stood at the edge of the meadow, her silhouette outlined by the sun. Her long hair swayed in the breeze, and her laughter carried across the field.

She waved at him, her smile brighter than the sunlit sky.

"Don't just stand there," she called. "Come on."

His feet moved on their own, carrying him towards her. He didn't know her name—couldn't remember her face clearly—but his soul recognized her. She was someone important. Someone he had lost.

"Kael... you promised to protect us. You promised."

In the vision he was seeing, he stood in a sunlit meadow holding hands with a woman. Her features are blurry, but her voice is clear, filled with trust and love. She smiled at him, her eyes gleaming with hope.

Suddenly, the scene shifted. The meadow burned, the sky darkened and the woman's laughter turned to screams. Kael moved his head and spotted himself in the vision on his knees, bloodied and powerless as shadowy figures surrounded her.

Kael froze as flames erupted around him, consuming the grass and turning the idyllic scene into a hellscape. The woman stood in the center of the inferno, her figure flickering like a candle about to go out. Her smile faded, replaced by a look of fear.

Her voice echoed in his mind: " Why didn't you save me?" Kael was engrossed, feeling the same sadness as the version of himself in the vision did.

He reached out for her, but his hands passed through her as though she was made of smoke. Shadows swirled around her, colliding like vipers, and her voice grew faint.

Her figure dissolved into ash, scattering in the wind as the fire roared higher.

The vision shattered like glass, the pieces falling into nothingness leaving Kael gasping for breath. The white spiral faded into nothingness but the memory lingered.

The world was white noise. Kael saw himself in a white version of the black rippled void awaiting his next quest. The space was where his mind could wander but his body was held captive by the system. This time, the emptiness was heavier like it soaked up the weight of his decisions.

A cold monotone voice broke the silence—the cold chime of the system:

[ QUEST COMPLETED. REWARD ISSUED.

MEMORY FRAGMENT UNLOCKED. REDEMPTION SCORE UPDATED

Preparing next scenario... ] The voice immediately faded, leaving the lingering golden text floating before him.

"So I'm a world hopper now? What a joke." Kael muttered, a sinister smile forming on his face.

He closed his eyes, bracing himself for whatever twisted test the system had planned for him. As his mind wandered about in idleness, the faint vision resurfaced and Kael clenched his fists, the woman's final words clawing at his heart.

Why didn't you save me?

"I don't know," he muttered. "I don't even know who you are."

But he knew one thing for certain—this memory fragment was real. It wasn't a trick or a lie. The woman had been part of his life, part of whatever he had been before he became the villain that everyone feared.

And he failed her.

The void shifted, the system pulling him to his next world—or rather, trial. Kael gritted his teeth and gently slapped his cheeks forcing himself to focus. He couldn't afford to dwell in the past no matter how much it hurt him. The system wouldn't wait for him to figure things out.

The void shattered and Kael landed hard on cold, stone ground. The unusual and painful landing had become distasteful to Kael. He pushed himself up, his body still aching from his battle with the Raider King.

He took a glance at his body and noticed a baffling sight. His wounds had healed—not completely, but to a point, it didn't hurt him as much. He raised his head and around him, a towering structure loomed, its spire disappearing into the stormy sky. The air was thick with magic, crackling like static electricity.

As he reminisced in its architectural beauty, a system notification appeared:

[ Quest: Climb the Tower of Eternity and retrieve the Heart of Aeons.

Time Limit: 96 Hours.

Failure Penalty: Termination ]

Kael sighed at the sight of the failure penalty, forced to go through with a quest he didn't desire to even look at. He rolled his eyes, the weight of the task pressing on him. "Of course. Climb a cursed tower. Why not?"

He surveyed his surroundings. The base of the tower was surrounded by jagged rocks and overgrown vines buried in snow. Strange symbols glowed faintly on the tower's surface, pulsing like a heartbeat.

He took a deep breath, steadying himself. The Tower of Eternity wasn't just another test—it was a distraction. The system was trying to keep him from dwelling on the fragment it had just revealed.

But, Kael wasn't about to let it win.

"Fine," he muttered, stepping towards the entrance. "You want me to climb? I'll climb. But you're going to give me answers.

He leaned towards the door, pushing them with great force. The heavy stone doors groaned as they opened, revealing a dark corridor lit by flickering blue flames. Kael's eyes narrowed as he stepped inside, the air growing colder with each step.

He stared into the large tower, grazed by cold air and immediately cited the central stairs that spiraled upwards and at the verge of freezing.

"Of course it's a magical tower," Kael muttered sarcastically as he braced himself for his impending adventure.