The shock of merging with X-13 still lingered in Ling Yu's mind.
But now, he stood in a place of utter silence—no wind, no light, no sound—like an extreme "still dream," or a space stripped of all senses.
No system prompts, no responses, not even a visible ground.
Ling Yu crouched, touching the surface beneath him, only to find it wasn't earth but a viscous, transparent "flow of time." The liquid-like time rippled faintly at his touch, like an ocean of half-awake consciousness.
"Is this… the domain of the second fragmented self?" he murmured, but his voice didn't carry, swallowed by the space itself.
This wasn't a part of the Fracture Realm—it was X-07's inner world.
He recalled the system's prompt: Subjective Interference Type. This fragment controlled a space born from mental projection, meaning everything here was shaped by X-07's subconscious.
As he pondered, a faint glow flickered in the distance. Following it, the liquid time beneath thickened, each step like wading through a childhood dream. At the light's core stood a dilapidated classroom.
Outside its windows stretched endless night, a clock on the wall frozen at 3:33.
On the podium sat a boy, thirteen or fourteen, head bowed, tearing pages from a workbook.
Ling Yu's heart jolted. The scene wasn't from his known past, yet the boy's face made him nearly cry out, "…Is that me?"
The boy looked up, his eyes hollow and lifeless. He stood, staring coldly at Ling Yu. "You're here. Do you remember me?"
Ling Yu nodded, then shook his head. He'd never lived this moment, but his subconscious whispered—this was a buried memory, held by X-07, now the core of this nightmare space.
"You're always like this," the boy sneered, his words sharp and rapid, slicing into Ling Yu's mind. "Choosing to forget the ugly parts, pretending you were never hurt, never made mistakes. I remember how you hid when your mother left; I remember how you lied to yourself after getting caught cheating on that exam; I remember when you stood at the dorm window, wanting to jump but lacking the courage to fall."
Ling Yu's throat tightened, unable to argue.
These weren't illusions but his true self—memories he'd suppressed, forgotten, or pretended never existed, now standing before him as another personality.
X-07 rose, and the classroom shook. Walls cracked, black ink-like emotions seeped out, forming a swirling vortex. The diary on the podium, desks, and chairs floated, morphing into blade-like memory weapons.
"I'll make you remember every past you tried to escape," X-07 growled.
Ling Yu knew this battle wasn't about fusion—it was a trial of his self-deceptions.
The black vortex spun wildly, countless memory blades surging toward him like a storm.
He tried to dodge, but his body slowed, his mind fogged—this wasn't ordinary space but X-07's emotional domain, where fear, shame, and avoidance became chains binding him.
A blade pierced his shoulder, and he grunted in pain, seeing the memory: his first year of high school, watching a friend being bullied but turning away.
He'd thought it faded, but now it cut like a knife.
Another blade grazed his side, not physical pain but a surge of guilt: sitting by his comatose
These weren't imposed by others but fragments he'd chosen to ignore.
"You want to be strong, to save others, to be some Fate Rewriter…" X-07's voice echoed from all directions, growing frenzied. "You can't even face your own wounds! You're not worthy!"
The classroom collapsed into a shattered void-space. Time ceased to flow linearly; past memories rose like thick fog, "failed selves" circling around—cowardly, evasive, hesitant, fallen. Some self-destructed, others broke, some chose eternal sleep…
Ling Yu sank to his knees, emotions flooding like a torrent.
These weren't enemies but parts of him. He'd tried to deny, suppress, forget—but now, he had nowhere to hide.
"You're not fighting me," X-07 said, standing before him, eyes icy. "You're fighting the self you refuse to accept."
Ling Yu raised his head, sweat dripping from his brow. He thought of the forest path, the rift, the orb—each choice was a chance to face "himself."
He stood slowly, pressing a hand to his chest.
"I've run away, been weak, lived in illusions I built for myself," he said, meeting X-07's gaze calmly. "But that's why I'm qualified to keep going—not because I'm perfect, but because I'm still alive and willing to bear it."
His palm's mark glowed, a light-blade forged from "raw emotion" forming in his hand—not system power, but courage born from self-honesty.
X-07's form trembled, his lips quivering as if a hardened defense cracked.
Ling Yu stepped forward, raising the light-blade. "I'm not here to erase you. I'm here to embrace you and make us whole again."
The space quaked, the circling "fallen selves" dissolving into light particles one by one, as if a sealed chamber of the heart opened, a warm energy rising from within.
X-07's figure blurred, his voice a faint murmur. "…Is this your true strength? Not denial, but acceptance?"
Ling Yu approached, extending his hand.
X-07 met his gaze, gave a slight nod, and placed his hand in Ling Yu's.
The moment their palms touched, the space flared violently, a grand ring of fate's law materializing from the void, enveloping them both.
To be continued…
The ring of fate's law spun faster, as if the entire Fracture Realm were pulled by its force. Light particles surged from the void, like countless sealed memories unlocking from deep consciousness, flowing and merging along the point where their palms met.
This wasn't an energy exchange but a reconstruction of personality and belief.
Ling Yu felt his inner structure expanding—X-07's pain, avoidance, and paranoia didn't vanish but were woven softly into his "core self." The truths he'd once refused to face now became strength and depth, grounding his consciousness more fully.
Text flickered in his mind's depths:
[Subjective Realm stabilization in progress… Personality fragment reintegration: Complete]
[Self-Authenticity Rate: 57.2% → 71.6%]
[Second-stage synchronization complete. Skill unlocked: Mind-Mirror Projection]
[System Prompt: Higher internal integration rate will progressively unlock Fate Rewriting Authority]
Ling Yu's heart stirred.
Mind-Mirror Projection was a rare psychic ability, allowing him in certain domains to transform an opponent's emotional fluctuations and inner memories into "tangible energy" for combat. This wasn't just power gained—it was agency born from understanding others' pain.
It meant that each time he embraced a past self, he could more precisely unravel the structure of the fate network.
The fusion complete, X-07 dissolved into a beam of light, flowing into the mark on Ling Yu's chest, merging into the star-ring.
The space began to collapse—the classroom vanished, the endless night receded, and the world reverted to a pure-white dimensional transition zone. Ruiya's voice echoed in his mind:
"You've integrated the second fragment well. You've completed the 'primary phase' of consciousness traversal."
Ling Yu exhaled, replying softly, "Each step feels less like a mission and more like… soul repair."
"That's the true nature of fate's trial," Ruiya said, her calm tone tinged with approval. "You're reclaiming yourself while providing material and samples for the 'mainline reconstruction' of the multidimensional consciousness network."
Her words made Ling Yu pause.
"What do you mean? I'm not just reclaiming myself?"
"When you integrate all fragmented selves, you'll gain the qualification to restart the Fracture Realm's core—including access to the 'Prime Fate Layer,' where you can rewrite past, future, and infinite branching fates."
Ling Yu's mind reeled, a grand vision faintly emerging.
Ruiya's voice sounded again:
"Prepare for the third fragmented self. He'll be harder to face than the previous two—he cares neither for pain nor mistakes. His existence revolves solely around one goal: control."
Before Ling Yu could respond, the space around him tore open. A deep black rift, like the gravitational warp of a dying star, appeared beneath his feet.
No time to think—he was sucked into it.
The next world wouldn't be a cradle of personal memories but a high-dimensional battlefield of will and domination.
Ling Yu clenched his fist, feeling the star-ring mark on his chest burn faintly. Ruiya was right—the first two fusions were mere patches for his fractured self, but the third would touch not memories or emotions, but the source of his existence.
"Controller…"
He murmured, fragmented images flashing: motives behind choices, costs behind victories, even beliefs he'd never questioned—were they truly his?
As these thoughts swirled into an invisible vortex, the ground beneath split into a bottomless black crevice. A powerful falling sensation engulfed him, like a high-dimensional force "peeling" him from this space. Before he could process, he was swallowed whole.
This wasn't a fall but a crossing.
His consciousness was pulled into a directionless, timeless tunnel—an indescribable "imaginary space" where every inch echoed his name. Not external calls, but voices from multiple versions of himself.
Some roared in anger, some wept, some sneered, some stayed silent.
Each voice asked, "Are you really 'you'?"
Amid this near-splintering state, a clear, cold, resolute voice cut through the chaos, piercing his consciousness core like a blade:
"Identity verification in progress… Mainline Personality: Ling Yu (Code 01) has entered the high-dimensional interference preprocessing layer."
"Observation protocol initiated: All your choices, memories, and self-definitions will be reconstructed, compared, and judged."
This was no longer fragment fusion but a direct scan and rewrite preparation by fate's designers targeting his "primary self."
Ling Yu tried to question, but his voice couldn't escape. His thoughts began to fragment, encode, and replicate—he felt a will attempting to take over.
Ruiya's voice broke through, a beacon in the fog.
"The third fragmented self isn't a piece of your past but your core potential and darkness—he holds a sovereign structure equal to yours."
"If you can't defeat him, he'll replace you—becoming the 'true Ling Yu.'"
Ling Yu froze, a surge of unease rising within.
Before he could retort, another voice interrupted, resonating directly in his mind, cold, fearless, and ruthlessly rational:
"Ling Yu, I'm here to take back this body."
The voice was nearly identical to his own.
But Ling Yu instantly knew—this wasn't him, but a version who'd sacrificed emotion, suppressed feelings, and destroyed everything to control outcomes.
The next moment, time froze.
He and that self faced each other at the junction of fate.
To be continued…