Fragments of Dawn

Darkness swallowed Kai.

For a moment, there was nothing—no sound, no sensation, no time. The weight of reality itself had been stripped away, leaving him suspended in an abyss of endless void.

Then—

A pulse.

A deep, resonating thrum in his chest, like the beating of a distant drum. His consciousness flickered back to awareness as his senses returned in disjointed fragments. He could feel the ground beneath him—cold, smooth, wrong. The whispering figures were gone, but their presence lingered in the air like an echo trapped in time.

Slowly, Kai forced his body to move. His limbs were sluggish, heavy, as if something was pulling at him from the depths of the void. The fragment in his grip burned against his skin, its energy coursing through his veins like liquid fire.

And then, he heard it.

A voice.

No, not a voice—voices.

Layered, overlapping, impossibly distant yet terrifyingly close.

"You were not meant to take it."

Kai’s breathing quickened. The chamber had changed. The smooth black walls pulsed, their ancient symbols shifting like living veins of light. The energy here was unlike anything he had felt before—denser, more suffocating, as though he had stepped outside the boundaries of existence itself.

He turned, scanning the chamber.

No figures.

No enemies.

But he wasn’t alone.

The fragment in his hand vibrated violently, reacting to something unseen. The whispers grew louder, forming words he could barely understand.

"The burden is yours now."

Kai gritted his teeth. “What are you?”

Silence.

Then—

A single, chilling answer.

"A warning."

Aboveground, Ava stood at the highest point of the ruined city, overlooking the fractured skyline. The power flowing through her veins had settled, coiling deep within her like a sleeping dragon.

She had never felt stronger.

Never felt more alive.

Serah stood behind her, arms crossed. “You’re sure he’s dead?”

Ava didn’t turn. “No.”

Serah’s expression tightened. “Then we should move now. If he resurfaces—”

“He will resurface.” Ava’s fingers tightened around the fragment in her palm. “And when he does, he won’t be the same.”

Serah hesitated. “You think he took it?”

Ava exhaled, glancing toward the ruins of New Horizon Lab. The air still crackled with residual energy from the collapse.

“I know he did.”

Serah’s voice dropped lower. “Then we have a problem.”

Ava finally turned, her golden eyes gleaming. “No. We have an opportunity.”

She took a step forward, her presence alone radiating an aura of control.

“Let him awaken whatever power he’s stolen,” she said. “It won’t matter in the end.”

Serah frowned. “Why?”

Ava smiled, her gaze fixed on the distance.

“Because I already won.”

Kai moved carefully, every step uncertain. The chamber wasn’t just a room—it was a threshold.

A door to something greater.@@novelbin@@

The whispers had stopped, but the weight of their message clung to him like an unseen chain. He had taken the fragment, but at what cost?

The ground trembled beneath him.

A surge of power ripped through the chamber, and suddenly—

The world shifted.

A wall of white-hot energy erupted in front of him, swallowing the chamber whole. Kai stumbled back, shielding his eyes. His fragment pulsed violently in response, as if trying to resist whatever force had been unleashed.

When the light finally faded, he found himself standing somewhere else entirely.

No longer in the ruins.

No longer in the underground chamber.

He was standing on the surface of the Moon.

Or rather—what was left of it.

Jagged, floating fragments of rock drifted in a vast, endless void, illuminated by a broken sun. The ruins of something ancient lay scattered across the expanse, their forms barely visible through the distortions of fractured space.

Kai’s breath caught in his throat.

This wasn’t real.

This was—

"The past."

The voice echoed all around him. Deep. Hollow. Endless.

Kai turned sharply. “Who are you?”

A figure stepped forward. Not human. Not entirely.

It was clad in tattered black robes, its face obscured by a shifting mask of liquid shadow. The energy around it pulsed, warping the space between them.

"I am what remains of the first."

Kai’s mind raced. “The first what?”

The figure tilted its head.

"The first to wield a fragment. The first to fail."

A cold chill ran through Kai’s spine. “Fail what?”

The figure slowly raised a hand. The fragments of the Moon trembled in response.

"The test."

And then—

It attacked.

A wave of force slammed into Kai, sending him sprawling across the shattered ground. He barely managed to twist his body midair, using his fragment’s power to rewind himself a split second—just enough to land on his feet.

But the figure was fast.

Before Kai could react, it was already upon him.

A blade of pure void slashed through the air.

Kai barely dodged, feeling the raw power tear through the space where he had just stood. He countered, his own fragment surging as he reached forward—

Time fractured.

For an instant, he saw two versions of himself—one attacking, one evading—collapsing into a single moment of possibility.

And then reality snapped.

The impact sent both of them staggering back. The figure paused, studying him.

Kai exhaled, his muscles tense. He had fought powerful enemies before, but this—

This was something else.

The figure spoke again, its voice like the grinding of ancient stone.

"You are not ready."

The ground beneath them cracked.

The void trembled.

Kai braced himself, gripping his fragment tighter. “Then I guess I’ll have to learn fast.”

The figure raised its blade once more.

"Then face the truth of power."

The battle had only just begun.

Far above, Ava stood at the ruins’ edge, gazing into the storm on the horizon.

Kai had disappeared into the abyss.

But he wasn’t gone.

She could feel him.

Serah stepped beside her. “What now?”

Ava smirked. “Now?” She turned away from the ruins. “We prepare for his return.”

She lifted her fragment, its glow pulsating in sync with the storm overhead.

“Because next time,” she murmured, “I won’t hold back.”