Time had no meaning in this world of memories. The stillness was suffocating, yet strangely serene—a place where only truths could exist.
I stood face to face with my other self—Alter Daichi—words flowing between us like echoes of a forgotten past. Yet, beyond this realm, something was happening.
A ripple in the void. A shift in energy.
And then, I felt it.
A pulse.
Like a heartbeat, yet not my own.
My golem—the guardian I had created long ago—was changing.
A deep tremor shook the air, and a brilliant blue glow surged from within its towering form. The once crude, formless mass of stone and raw energy trembled, its structure shifting, refining itself.
Cracks splintered across its rugged exterior, sending shards of stone drifting into nothingness like scattered embers. The crude edges softened, sculpting themselves into something more—something precise, something deliberate.
I barely breathed as I watched it unfold.
The faceless guardian that had once stood as nothing more than a monstrous protector now took on an unmistakable form—tall, poised, almost unsettlingly refined. Its newly shaped eyes burned with a chilling intensity, filled with something beyond mere sentience.
Awareness.
Purpose.
Dark fabric wove itself from nothingness, draping over its ethereal form. A perfectly tailored black coat, crisp and regal, adorned with silver-trimmed buttons. Pristine white gloves materialized over its hands—hands that once crushed boulders with raw force, now exuding an air of calculated precision.
It was no longer a mindless entity.
It was something more.
A butler.
A guardian.
A being of will.
And as its transformation completed, it turned. Its glowing gaze settled upon Alter Izumi, radiating an unshakable authority that sent a shiver through the void itself.
Izumi's eyes widened—shock, fury, disbelief contorting her expression. "Impossible!" she hissed, her voice sharp and venomous. "You should be frozen like the rest of this wretched world! My time manipulation should have stopped everything!"
The golem… no, he… smirked. The curve of his lips was subtle, but unmistakably mocking.
"Your power binds those with a soul," he said, his voice a low rumble, echoing like distant thunder. "But I am not alive. I am a construct—a fragment of Daichi's will and power. I have no soul."
He took a single step forward, and the void itself seemed to shudder beneath him.
"I only have purpose. And that purpose… is to stop you."
Izumi's expression twisted, her aura crackling with violent, black and violet flames. Her fury was a living thing, writhing around her like a monstrous serpent.
"You dare challenge me?" she spat. "You are nothing but a relic of his failure—a mindless tool! Do you truly believe you can restrain me?!"
The golem didn't waver. His glowing eyes held hers, unwavering.
"Let's find out."
A deafening hum filled the space, and then—
The air split open.
Dozens—no, hundreds—of portals materialized in a jagged circle around her, pulsating with an eerie crimson glow. Their unstable energy crackled violently, as if barely contained.
Izumi's sneer faltered. Her gaze flicked to the encroaching trap, unease creeping into her sharp features.
"What… is this?" she demanded, her voice tight with restrained tension.
The golem's expression softened—just barely. "My final stand," he said, almost as if it pained him. "I was created to protect Daichi's world… and to protect you from yourself."
His voice lowered, quiet yet firm. "You've suffered enough, Izumi. But this ends here."
A single motion of his hand.
And then the chains came.
They erupted from the portals—twisting, burning serpents of black and crimson flame, streaking toward her like hunting beasts.
Izumi screamed, thrashing against them as they coiled around her wrists, her ankles, her waist—binding her in place.
"Release me!" she shrieked, her voice raw with fury. Her power surged, black fire and violet lightning flaring outward in a violent attempt to shatter her restraints. The chains groaned under the pressure—but they held.
The golem stepped closer, his voice low with something I could almost mistake for sorrow.
"Izumi," he murmured. "Hatred will only destroy you. Please… let it go."
Her breath hitched. And for the briefest moment, I saw it—
A flicker of something beneath the fury. Beneath the madness.
Pain.
Raw, bleeding pain.
"Let it go?" Her voice wavered, but only for a second before her rage reignited. "DO YOU KNOW WHAT THEY TOOK FROM ME?!" she shrieked. "HUMANITY DESTROYED MY FAMILY! MY DREAMS! MY VERY LIFE!"
Tears—dark, twisted tears streaked with blood—rolled down her pale face.
"And now you ask me to forgive them?!"
The chains trembled. The golem staggered, cracks splintering across his pristine form.
"So much hatred," he whispered. "And yet…"
A slow inhale. A steady exhale.
And then—
A single, haunting whistle.
It was an unnatural sound. Piercing. Calling to something beyond the void itself.
And then… the gate appeared.
A massive, grotesque doorway carved from writhing patterns, pulsating with ominous symbols that shifted like living things. The moment it materialized, the air grew heavy—thick with an unbearable pressure.
Izumi's body tensed. For the first time… true fear flickered in her eyes.
"What… is this?" she whispered.
The golem—his form breaking apart, his strength failing—took a single step forward.
"This," he said, "is your prison."
The gate creaked open.
A howling wind swept through the void, whispering with voices lost to time.
The chains tightened, dragging Izumi toward the abyss. She thrashed wildly, her screams tearing through the air.
"NO!" she shrieked. "YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME! I WON'T FORGIVE YOU! I WON'T FORGIVE HUMANITY!"
The void swallowed her whole.
And then—silence.
The golem swayed. His body cracked and splintered, his light dimming.
"NO!" I lunged forward, my voice breaking. "WHAT'S HAPPENING TO YOU?!"
He turned to me, his fractured face curling into the softest of smiles.
"Daichi… don't worry." His voice was faint, like the last flicker of a dying flame. "My purpose… has been fulfilled."
I shook my head furiously, falling to my knees before him. "Don't say that!" My voice trembled. "You're more than a purpose! You're my creation—my friend!"
More fragments broke away, dissolving into the void.
"Thank you… for giving me life," he whispered. "You've grown so much, Daichi."
A pause.
"You've become someone… who can change the world."
Tears blurred my vision.
"No…" My voice cracked. "Don't leave me. Not you too."
His final words echoed in the silence.
"Always forgive. Even when it's hard."
And then—
He was gone.
I clenched my fists, my heart burning with grief… and resolve.
"I'll finish what you started," I whispered, my voice shaking. "I'll stop her… and I'll find a way to save her."
With that, I rose.
And I stepped into the darkness once more.