The chamber warped again, the air humming like a struck bell. Before Kaito stood seven figures—each bearing a face he had worn in lifetimes past. Their armor differed, their blades unique, but the eyes were unmistakable. His own.
The first—cloaked in noble silver—stepped forward. "I was the king who sought order at any cost."
The second, wrapped in flame-colored silk, laughed bitterly. "I was the rebel who burned empires to feel alive."
The third, armored in blood-streaked bronze, said nothing. His silence was heavier than words.
Kaito raised Nightcleaver. "I'm not who I was."
"No," the fourth said, dressed like a monk, "you are all of us."
They attacked in unison. Each strike came from a different era of his soul—strategies he once mastered turned against him. He blocked the first, dodged the second, but the third—his silent, wrathful self—landed a blow that sent him skidding.
Kaelyra tried to intervene, but the Vault forced her back. "He must fight them alone," the echo king whispered from the shadows. "You cannot rewrite a soul with help."
Kaito rose slowly. Pain surged—but so did understanding.
He turned to the monk. "You sought peace, but fled responsibility."
To the rebel: "You wanted freedom, but left ashes."
To the silent one: "You never forgave."
As he spoke, their forms flickered.
Then he faced the noble king. "And you... turned love into law. You forgot people."
They paused.
"You are not my enemies," Kaito said. "You are my scars."
He lowered his blade.
And one by one, they sheathed theirs.
Their light rose like dust in moonlight, drifting into Kaito's chest.
The chamber went still. The Vault shimmered—no longer hostile.
Kaelyra stepped forward. "What just happened?"
"I stopped fighting myself," he said quietly.
But before they could leave, the echo king emerged once more—transformed. His shape was no longer twisted.
"You have passed the trial," he said. "But now you must bear what comes next."
Kaito asked, "What is that?"
The king's eyes turned to fire. "The door to the real war. Beyond this Vault lies the Realm of Ascension. And they are waiting for the emperor… reborn."