In the heart of the void where the bridge had collapsed, a new land was born—woven from the ashes of past choices. The ground was not solid, but alive, pulsing like the heart of a dead man who still remembers how to beat.
Xiao stood before the *stone throne*, surrounded by seven seals, each one rippling with an energy foreign to any of the Nine Realms.
Suddenly… the *first seal opened*.
A wave of deep blue light surged through the space, like the reflection of an ancient memory. From that glow emerged a figure cloaked in ash, its features blurred, but its eyes burned faintly like dying embers.
It spoke in a low voice that pierced the chest:
> "You are the heir… heir to a curse you never chose, yet it lives in your blood. Will you break the cycle… or repeat the pain?"
Xiao stood silent, then calmly asked:
> "Who are you?"
The figure answered:
> "I was the first to fall… the first to sit upon this throne. But I failed. And now… it's your turn."
---
*The Invocation of the First Fracture:*
As Xiao stepped toward the seal, ashes began to rise beneath his feet. Shadowed arms emerged, slowly pulling him into the deep blue aura.
He saw himself as a child. Saw his mother. Saw the father who vanished without a trace. The first betrayal… the first blood spilled.
He walked through a living memory… but it wasn't quite the same. The events were familiar, yet the choices weren't his. He witnessed what might've happened if he had chosen hatred over sacrifice.
In one vision, he killed Heim.
In another, he abandoned Astaire to save himself.
In a third, he kneeled before Loki… and begged for power.
> "Each choice… could have forged you into a demon or a god.
> But you chose neither—you chose to be *human*."
The voice still echoed within him, this time in his father's voice:
> "Power doesn't grant choice, Xiao… it *reveals* it."
---
*Return to the Throne:*
Xiao emerged from the illusion of the First Fracture, faint black blood trickling from his eyes—but his heart was clearer than ever.
He knelt before the seal—not in submission, but in reverence.
He whispered:
> "I will not repeat history. I won't be a reflection of those who fell. I'll carry their curse… and walk it to the end."
The *first seal dimmed*.
Quietly, the *second seal* began to glow—this time in a *crimson hue*, beating like a living heart.
But suddenly… a new voice pierced the air.
A familiar one.
*Ragnar's voice*, laced with quiet mockery:
> "Lovely... Lovely. But did you truly think your trials would continue without me?"
He appeared from the void, perched on a floating rock, strumming a broken bone like it were an instrument.
> "I am part of the next fracture, Xiao… and I come bearing a gift:
> *a vision of the end—one you will not escape.*"
Xiao raised his sword. His heart was steady.
And he murmured inwardly:
> "If I must fight my shadow, I will.
> And if *you* are that shadow… I will show no mercy."