The moon was full.
Its silver glow bathed Hage Village in a gentle, watchful light, as though the heavens themselves were holding their breath. A thin mist crept along the edges of the fields, wrapping around the trees like ghostly fingers.
Kael stood at the edge of the village alone.
His crimson eyes glimmered, reflecting more than just moonlight—they pulsed faintly with something deeper. Something ancient. A whisper echoed at the edges of his thoughts.
> "Time bends... fate listens... eyes that see beyond..."
Kael blinked hard, shaking off the strange sensation. "Not again," he muttered.
For weeks now, ever since the system had awakened, something had changed in his vision. When he focused too long—too deeply—on something, the world… shifted. Lights grew sharper, movements slowed. Sometimes, he could read a person's mana like glowing threads dancing beneath their skin.
It wasn't just heightened perception.
It was insight.
---
Earlier that day
Sister Lily clapped her hands in front of the gathered children. "Alright everyone! Time to help sort supplies from the market."
Asta and Yuno grabbed baskets quickly, eager to help. Kael trailed behind them, taking his time as his eyes scanned the horizon.
> "Something is coming."
He didn't know where the thought came from, but it gripped him tightly.
As they walked into the village square, a loud crash echoed down the road.
BANG!
A merchant's cart had flipped over, and crates of goods scattered everywhere. A crowd began to gather.
"Get back!" a merchant shouted. "Don't touch that box! It's—"
A sudden burst of unstable magic erupted from one of the crates.
It formed a pulsing orb of dark, swirling energy—an ancient cursed relic that should have never left the Capital's containment vaults.
Kael's eyes widened.
"Yuno, Asta—get everyone back!"
Without thinking, Kael rushed toward the orb. His vision sharpened as his eyes glowed bright crimson.
> [Warning: Forbidden Artifact Detected]
Auto-Defense Trigger: Analysis Mode Activated
Decoding Mana Signature…
The orb throbbed violently.
> "Born again… touched by death… seeker of broken timelines…"
Whispers filled Kael's ears—but they weren't coming from the system.
He stumbled slightly, clutching his head. No… this is something else.
---
Suddenly, a tendril of cursed mana lashed toward a child standing too close. Before anyone could scream, Kael moved.
Windstep.
Acceleration.
Intercept.
In a blur, Kael was there.
He raised his arm—an invisible barrier of wind magic clashed with the cursed tendril, dispersing it.
A moment later, Lyra appeared behind him in ghostlike form.
"Kael, that artifact—" she warned.
"I know," he growled. "It's reacting to me."
The artifact's energy began to spin faster, growing unstable.
> [System Override: Initiate Spirit Fusion Alpha Test?]
[Y/N]
"Do it," Kael whispered.
Light exploded from his body as Lyra merged into him. His form didn't change completely, but ethereal wings of wind shimmered briefly behind him. His speed tripled.
Kael drew a short blade of hardened wind from nothing—half-real, half-magic.
In a single dash, he struck the orb.
CRACK!
The cursed artifact shattered with a cry that didn't sound human. A final burst of black energy hit Kael's chest… then vanished into his soul.
For a moment, silence.
Then a new message appeared before his eyes:
> [Corruption Fragment Absorbed]
Hidden Trait Unlocked: Time Echo (Dormant)
Warning: External Force Observing...
Kael staggered.
Time Echo…? External force? What the hell is watching me…?
---
Back at the orphanage, Yuno confronted him quietly.
"You moved like a Knight."
Kael said nothing.
"...No. You moved faster than that. You knew what that thing was."
Kael's gaze met his. Crimson eyes. Deep and ancient.
"I knew what it could've done," Kael answered calmly. "So I stopped it."
Yuno narrowed his eyes but said no more.
Asta clapped Kael on the back, all smiles. "Bro, you were AWESOME! Like—whoosh—and then bam! Can you teach me that trick?!"
Kael forced a chuckle. "Maybe someday."
---
That night, Kael sat by the window, crimson eyes watching the moon.
Lyra's voice echoed beside him. "What you absorbed… wasn't just a curse. It was memory. Broken memory."
"Memory of what?"
"Of you."
Kael froze.
"What do you mean?"
"The world… it's starting to remember you, Kael. And not just this version. It remembers your echoes. Your death. Your rebirth. And now, it's beginning to react."
Kael looked down at his hand—still slightly glowing.
He wasn't just changing the world.
He was unraveling its timeline.
---
Far away, deep beneath the Spade Kingdom's ancient ruins, a forgotten tomb glowed red.
A voice whispered from the darkness.
> "The Crimson Eyes… they've awakened again."