SWNOVELXO Chapter 37: Fractured Reflections
July 16th. 11:54 AM.
There was no floor.
No ceiling.
No end.
Just falling.
And then—
Silence.
---
12:01 PM – Spiral Subspace
Kael's body hit ground—hard. Or something like it. The surface rippled like liquid glass, solid one moment, surreal the next.
He groaned, pushed himself up. The air buzzed—low, static-laced, like a broken memory looping just out of hearing.
The world was... wrong.
Twilight sky.
Ruins suspended mid-air.
Cracked mirrors floated like stars overhead, all angled inward toward a pulsing black spiral in the sky.
> "Spiral Subspace," Kael muttered.
It wasn't just underground anymore.
They were inside it.
---
12:03 PM – Reflection Approaches
He heard footsteps. Slow. Intentional.
Kael turned.
Remnant Kael stood across the rippling surface. No longer bloodied—healed. Composed. Dagger in both hand, spiral mask dangling in the other.
"You fall fast," the Remnant said. "But you always get back up. That's what makes you predictable."
Kael drew his own blade. Eyes locked. "You're not me."
"No," Remnant Kael said, smiling. "I'm who you'd be if you stopped pretending you were still human."
---
12:05 PM – The Duel Begins
They moved at once.
Steel met steel—blades clashing with explosive force. The Spiral beneath them flared with each strike, responding to impact with bursts of light and distorted memory-echoes.
Remnant Kael fought with the exact same techniques—but faster. More ruthless. No hesitation.
Kael rolled, dodged a downward slash, then flipped into a spinning kick—connecting.
The Remnant slid back.
Smirked.
> "Divine echo."
A flash of green.
Remnant Kael blurred—his cooldown reset.
He was behind Kael in an instant using routine serge, blade dragging across his shoulder.
Blood.
---
12:08 PM – Fracture Field Expands
Far above them, the spiral sky cracked wider. Pieces of ruined streets and mimic bones began to orbit, slowly falling inward.
A new voice whispered from the black.
> "He learns. You hesitate."
"He mirrors. You forget."
Kael wiped blood from his arm.
"So it's not just you feeding him. It's the whole Spiral."
"Exactly," Remnant Kael said. "It studies your every failure. And I am what it builds from that."
---
12:10 PM – The Others
Elsewhere, suspended in similar pockets of Spiral space—
Elle awoke in a burning forest. Her Remnant stepped from the flames, smiling with her mother's voice.
Dain stood knee-deep in blood, his reflection wearing his black armor, eyes blank.
Armin knelt beside a field of his own remnants, each one whispering: "Why weren't you strong enough?"
But none could reach each other.
Each spiral was its own test. Its own arena.
---
12:13 PM – Kael's Awakening
Remnant Kael lunged again.
Kael caught the blow—barely. His dagger shattered.
Another slash—this time to his ribs.
He dropped to one knee.
Blood dripped onto the Spiral floor—absorbed instantly.
Then—
> The Spiral lit up.
A thousand voices echoed at once.
> "Echo recognized."
"Descent approved."
"Unlocking: True Surge."
Kael rose.
Eyes glowing faint green.
"Then let's stop pretending."
---
12:15 PM – Final Clash Begins
Kael charged, barehanded.
His real weapon was never the dagger.
It was the timing.
> Divine Echo: Surge Flow activated.
His strikes landed faster—three at once.
He caught Remnant Kael mid-step, flipped him, slammed him into the spiral floor.
But the Remnant laughed.
"Good," he whispered. "Then maybe you're finally worth consuming."
The Spiral trembled.
Dozens of smaller spirals opened in the sky—
And more Remnants stepped out.
Some twisted versions of Kael.
Others...
Were them.
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To Be Continued