Chapter 28: Written in Flesh, Buried in Lies

Chapter 28: Chapter 28: Written in Flesh, Buried in Lies Kai didn’t dream that night. He didn’t sleep much either. But when he finally closed his eyes, exhaustion dragged him under. And when he woke— He screamed. The pain hit first. White-hot. Sharp. Ancient. As if someone had carved fire into his body with a quill made of godbone. He ripped open his shirt— And froze. Words. Burned into his chest. Not scars. Not ink. Divine script. Glowing faintly red. Elira was the first to hear him. She crashed into the tent with a drawn sword, eyes wide. Yulia followed seconds later, already scanning for poisons or curses. But neither was ready for what they saw. "Gods above..." Yulia whispered. The text wasn’t just a warning. It was a prophecy fragment. Etched from clavicle to navel, twisting like roots down his ribs. Elira stepped forward. "Is that... you?" Kai nodded slowly, voice hoarse. "It’s my name. And my death." [System Alert: Forbidden Timeline Activation Detected] Prophecy Fragment: 2 of 3 Content (translated): "He shall rise beyond the system. Burn brighter than the sky. And die before Chapter Sixty." Silence. Until Yulia muttered, "It’s counting by Chapters now?! That’s—meta as hell." Kai didn’t laugh. He just stared at the words — branded into his skin like expiration dates. Elira reached out as if to touch them, then hesitated. "What if they’re literal?" "They are," came Virela’s voice from the tent flap. She entered like a shadow wearing perfume, expression unreadable. Kai turned to her. "You knew." She nodded. "Of course." "When were you going to tell me?" "When it hurt the most," she said, smiling slightly. "Which is now." [System Update: Virela’s Class Fully Revealed] Title: Keeper of Echoes Function: Preserver of Lost Timelines Authority: Memory of Failed Heroes Passive: Immune to Time-Based Prophecies Active: May deliver one "Echo Revelation" per timeline Virela sat down on the edge of the bedroll, took a sip from her glowing flask, then said: "You’ve already died 12 times." Kai blinked. "What?" "In other versions. Other timelines. Other failed scripts." Elira froze. "You mean—?" "Yep. They keep rewriting you. Restarting your story. Nudging things. Adjusting girls. Swapping betrayals." She leaned forward, eyes sharp. "But you always die. Always. Usually by Chapter 60." Yulia looked stunned. "Why sixty?" "Because that’s when readers stop forgiving you." Kai stared. "Readers?" Virela smirked. "It’s more literal than you think." [Echo Revelation Triggered] The gods are not deities. They are the narrative system’s editors. Your life is a serialized story — one constantly revised to maximize engagement. You are not a hero. You are content. Kai felt sick. Like his bones weren’t real. Like his memories had been scripted. Because maybe... they had. "You’re lying," he said quietly. Virela tilted her head. "Am I?" Kai stood. "This can’t be just some story." Virela smiled sadly. "And yet, here we are in Chapter 28." [System Status: SELF-AWARENESS BREACH] Kai Veyron is now aware of structural narrative loops Prophecy Resistance: +20% Sanity Check: Pending... Kai turned to the others. "So what does that mean? That I’m not real?" Yulia stepped forward. "You’re real to me. That’s enough." Elira nodded. "Whatever this is — whatever they’ve done — we fight it. Like we always do." Kai looked at Virela. "Can I survive this?" She paused. Then said: "No one ever has." Later, alone, Kai sat at the edge of camp. He touched the words carved into his body. And whispered: "Screw your script." The wind didn’t answer. But something in the system shuddered. Far above, in the invisible halls of the divine edit-chamber, alarms flared. One editor — cloaked in ink and prophecy — leaned forward. "He’s not following the death path," they hissed. Another god answered: "Then it’s time to activate the Final Rewrite Protocol."