Blood ran like mercury.
The battlefield around the Hellgate shard bent, buckled, and twisted as reality folded around the throne.
> [Tongueless King – Phase 2/6 Initiated]
Core Mechanic: Echo Loop
Every action from Phase 1 is repeated in reverse.
Damage dealt is now reflected back unless perfectly timed.
All deaths now echo – 1 fallen = 1 ghost added to battlefield.
---
Jayce staggered backward as a mirrored version of himself lunged toward him—one made entirely of warped laughter and inverted colors.
> [Shadow of the Fool]
Counterpart Manifestation: Mocking Fate
– Copies your last 3 abilities, but corrupts them
– Can only be defeated by breaking your own rhythm
Jayce flipped a coin—only for it to float, frozen mid-air.
"I get it… I have to fail to succeed."
He stopped trying to be funny.
He said nothing.
The shadow burst into fragments, screaming in silence.
> [Shadow Defeated – 1/6]
---
The Ghosts Begin to Appear
The battlefield dimmed further. Ghosts of the dead survivors from past worlds emerged.
Not to fight—but to watch.
Their stares pierced deeper than blades.
Alina froze when she saw her father among them.
"Why are they… looking at us?"
Lian clenched his fists. "Because they remember. And they'll judge whether we're worthy of surviving where they didn't."
Each failure, each delay, made the ghosts more tangible—and more angry.
---
Clone Resurrection – With a Twist
> [All three clones: Reformed]
Modifier: Echo Core
– Each must be killed again
– Every death adds 1 ghost of a current teammate's future
Kuro struck down one clone instantly using Hollow Draw.
Then screamed as a younger version of himself emerged—eyes hollow, hands drenched in black ink.
"You died already," Kuro whispered. "You should've died with the first draft…"
Ria helped him stand. Her arm was mangled. "We don't run from who we were."
She charged the second clone and let it hit her. But instead of falling, she countered the attack perfectly—turning its own soundwave into a concussive blast.
The clone cracked open like glass.
---
The Second Death – The Real One
The team pressed forward.
The Tongueless King, now a creature of fused data and bone, began absorbing the ghosts.
His throne shattered.
He became a storm.
A black vortex of every voice ever stolen—whispers of children, cries of warriors, the sobs of broken dreamers.
> [Boss Critical State Achieved – System Intervention Available]
Lian activated it.
> [Fate Diver Evolution – Final Fork: Rewrite or Refuse]
– Rewrite: Attempt to erase the King's second life via raw fate
– Refuse: Let the King die naturally, but someone must willingly mute their own voice permanently
He looked at Jayce.
Jayce nodded—and smiled.
"I've made enough noise for two lifetimes."
He chose Refuse.
> [Jayce: Permanently Muted (Voice-based talents lost)]
[Tongueless King – Death 2/6 Achieved]
---
But the ghosts didn't vanish.
They screamed louder—angrier.
> [World Stability: 45% and falling]
[Next Phase: The King Rewrites You]
The battle wasn't ending—it was starting to matter more than anything before.
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