"There are places not made of matter or time, but of memory and collapse."—The Living Tribunal (Apocryphal Fragment)
The Rift
Kael floated.
Not fell. Not flew. Floated.
His breath caught in his chest as the world folded around him like a paper lantern, layers of color and shadow peeling away. Riri clung to his arm, her thrusters sputtering against the pull of the rift.
They weren't in Jakarta anymore.
"Where are we?" Kael shouted over the roar.
Riri squinted into the void. "No idea. But I think... we're inside the shard."
They burst into light.
The Shattered Tower
The ground reassembled itself beneath them in stages—tiles locking into place like puzzle pieces as they landed in a vast corridor of glass and metal.
Above them rose a tower of mirrors, each pane reflecting different versions of Kael.
A Kael in armor.A Kael with glowing blue eyes.A Kael with a scar shaped like a lightning bolt across his face.
"What is this place?" Kael whispered.
Riri's visor adjusted. "It's a nexus node... a convergence of collapsed timelines. This whole tower is built out of broken realities."
They moved cautiously, passing fragments suspended in the air like frozen dreams.
A city drowned in sky.An upside-down Earth.A battle between Iron Man and... himself.
"These are all alternate timelines that fractured," Riri said. "The tower is built on the memories of what could've been."
Kael turned. One mirror showed him—not just older, but darker, shadows swirling around his hands.
He stepped closer.
The reflection moved independently.
And smiled.
Meanwhile – Earth, Kamar-Taj
Doctor Strange hovered cross-legged inside a runic circle, hands moving in practiced motion.
"The shard has pulled the boy into the Conflux Tower," he said.
Wong stood by, arms crossed. "And the Eidolon?"
Strange's eyes narrowed.
"It's already inside. But Kael isn't alone."
He flicked his hand. A projection of Riri lit up above the floor.
"She's keeping him grounded. But even she won't be enough for what's waiting at the top."
Tower of the Shattered – Spiral Stairwell
They ascended carefully. The mirrors flickered with chaotic energy now—showing other heroes, even ones Kael didn't recognize.
"That's... that's Peter Parker," he whispered, recognizing the black-suited Spider-Man in one.
"That's a Peter," Riri corrected. "You're not seeing history. You're seeing a scrambled memory of the multiverse."
Then came the laughter.
Distorted. Echoing. Like something wrong had been left on repeat.
From the next floor up, something stepped into view.
It wore a ragged version of the cloak Kael had seen on his reflection. Its eyes glowed orange. Its chest... bore the same shard as Kael's.
But inverted.
"Welcome," the creature said. "I'm what you could become if you stop pretending you're ordinary."
Riri raised her arm. "Back up, Kael. That's not a ghost."
Kael stared.
"No," he murmured. "That's... me."
[To Be Continued in Chapter 6 – Refraction]