Chapter 24: The Words I Don’t Remember Writing

Chapter 24: Chapter 24: The Words I Don’t Remember Writing They found the temple at dawn. Half-buried in vines and time, tucked inside a valley the system had erased from every known map. Not because it was dangerous. But because it was true. Akari was the one who led him there. Said she’d heard of it during her first year in this world — a place where old Heroes went when they were broken. A sanctuary. A grave. A warning. The others didn’t come. Yulia and Elira were still rattled after the memory trial. Lira claimed she had patrol duty. Virela didn’t explain — just handed Kai a health potion and said, "Don’t come back cursed." So it was just him and Akari now. Two Earthborns. One almost a god. One trying desperately not to become one. The doors were covered in glyphs. Not in divine script, but in Earth languages — etched by desperate hands over generations. Japanese. Korean. English. Swahili. Kai’s breath caught as he saw the first message clearly: "Don’t trust the system. It doesn’t serve you." Another: "The gods lie. Our purpose is pain." Then one in a trembling scrawl that hit him in the stomach: "I killed them all. And they still called me the Hero." [System Suppression Field Active] Divine Interference: Null Scan Mode: Passive Only Welcome to: Forgotten Temple of the Forsaken Path Warning: You are entering the final memory. Inside, the air was thick with stillness. Dust choked the beams. Relics of previous Heroes littered the altar — broken weapons, faded journals, cracked crowns. But at the very center, illuminated by a single beam of light from the collapsed roof, was a scroll. Black. Bound in red string. And glowing faintly with Kai’s own mana signature. [System Alert: Artifact Identified – Prophecy Fragment #13] Authorship Match: Kai Veyron (95%) Temporal Origin: Unknown Language: Earth Standard (English) Content: 73 words. Kai stepped forward. Akari didn’t stop him. She only said, "You wrote this, didn’t you?" "I’ve never seen it before," he whispered. But his hand was already shaking. Because it felt familiar. And when he unrolled the scroll— He saw the truth. "The world ends with me." "Not because I failed to fight." "But because I chose to protect the ones who broke me." "The gods feared my silence more than my rage." "And so they gave me a crown made of fire... and called it redemption." "But it wasn’t." "It was the fuse." Kai dropped the scroll. Staggered back. Akari caught him by the shoulder. Her voice was sharp now. "Do you remember writing it?" "No." "But you will." [System Update: Fate Fragment Absorbed] Memory Sync: 17% Prophecy Unlocked: 1 of 3 Trait Gained: Chosen of the Fuse Passive Effect: +10% damage when protecting bonded allies Curse Effect: Prophecy will attempt to self-fulfill under emotional distress "What does it mean?" he asked. Akari didn’t answer at first. Then said softly, "It means you’ve always known how this ends." On the way out, Kai paused at the altar. Carved into its side was a message he almost missed, barely visible under the dust. Not a warning. A plea. "If you’re reading this, and your name is Kai Veyron— —don’t save them all. You’ll only damn yourself." He stared at it. Then whispered, "Too late." Back at camp, Elira stared into the fire. Lira cleaned her daggers like she was preparing for war. Yulia tried and failed to contact the divine plane — her spells shorting out. Virela watched them all with a look no one could read. Then glanced west. Toward the horizon. Toward Hana. Because somewhere in the burning sands, Hana knelt before a war map lined with red flags and black feathers. She placed a hand on a glass token shaped like Kai. And whispered: "Three days, and you’ll make your choice." "Burn the world for them..." "...or be buried by it."