The Aftermargin was no longer still.
Where once its air held whispers of what could be, now it trembled with tension. The confrontation Rei had avoided—the battle he never desired—had arrived. Not as a war with armies, but as a trial between truths.
Across from him stood Echo-Rei.
Identical in form. Identical in power. But without soul.
This version had no memory of warmth, of laughter, of loss. No dreams. No weight. Only a purpose forged from the hollow logic of Nullborn:
Eliminate the anchor. Collapse the narrative. Reclaim the void.
Inner Codex — Flame Instability Warning
[Detected: Identical Flame Resonance.]
[Probability of narrative disruption: 86%]
[Warning: Your spiritual core may desync upon clash. Suggested action: Avoid prolonged synchronization.]
Karasu circled overhead. "He's you without regret. Without sacrifice. If you fight him as you are now, he'll outlast you."
Rei stepped forward anyway.
"I don't need to outlast him. I just need to prove I'm more than fire."
The First Clash
Their flames collided—white-hot arcs of Sovereign-bound ether tearing through the broken veil. Where they met, space fractured into concept shards: names, memories, moments.
Rei called upon Memoryfire.
Echo-Rei answered with Flameless Authority, an absence of memory that devoured meaning.
The air became a battlefield of ideologies.
Eirenne, watching from the edges of the spiritual field, clenched her fist. "He's pushing too hard. He's burning too much!"
Noira barked, "We go in—now!"
Mireille held up a hand. "Not yet. He has to draw it out first. The core of the Echo."
Memory Collapse — The Price of Power
Rei's thoughts blurred.
He forgot his first battle.
He forgot his real name.
He forgot the voice that once told him he mattered.
But he remembered one thing:
Them.
Their smiles.
Their warmth.
Their unwavering belief.
And that thread anchored him.
Just long enough.
Rei's flame surged into a new form: Emberform: Bound Flame Monarch — a construct of chained fire and memory threads, orbiting his soul like loyal moons.
Echo-Rei faltered.
Its logic reeled. The flame was no longer stable. No longer symmetrical.
And then Rei spoke into the flame.
"You're what I left behind—but I didn't leave you to die. I left you to remind me."
The Echo stilled.
And for one fleeting moment... it listened.
Spiritual Intervention
Eirenne launched in, blade cloaked in Sovereign Wind. Noira followed with rapid strikes that echoed through dimensions. Mireille sealed time around the duel, binding the narrative leak.
Their synergy, through the Sovereign Interlink, amplified Rei's core.
The Echo shrieked—not in pain, but in confusion.
"Why does your story persist? Why don't you collapse?"
Rei's answer was simple.
"Because I chose to remember."
Final Phase — Unbinding the Echo
Rei clasped the Ashen Testament, pressing it to Echo-Rei's chest.
[Initiating Memory Transfer Protocol. Warning: Core instability imminent. Success rate 31%. Proceed?]
"Yes."
The moment it touched, a torrent of forgotten memories surged between them—joys, sorrows, hopes—streaming into the hollow version.
And slowly...
Echo-Rei began to cry.
It fell to its knees.
"I remember..."
Rei stood above it, eyes burning not with victory—but mercy.
"You're free now."
With one final pulse, the Echo shattered.
Not as an enemy defeated.
But as a soul returned.
Aftermath — The Story Reclaims Itself
The Aftermargin folded in upon itself, restored. The veil repaired. And Rei collapsed into the arms of his harem, drained but whole.
Mireille wept into his shoulder.
Eirenne held his face, repeating his name.
Noira whispered, "You're still you. You're still ours."
And Karasu, for once, was silent.
Above them, the stars returned.
And so did the world.