Heavenbreaker: The Rebirth of the cursed Hero

Chapter 5 -THE VOICE IN THE RUINS

Kai jolted awake.

His lungs seized, then dragged in a ragged breath. He lay on cold stone, the chill biting into his back. For a moment, he couldn’t tell if he was dead or alive. His vision swam in and out of focus, shapes twisting like smoke.

Then the ringing in his ears faded.

He pushed himself up slowly.

The world around him wasn’t the arena.

It wasn’t the village.

He was in… ruins.

Massive white stones lay shattered across a floor carved with glowing runes. Broken pillars stretched upward like the bones of a dead giant. A soft, pale light illuminated the space, but Kai couldn’t see the source.

The place felt ancient. Sacred. And wrong.

Kai’s pulse hammered. “Where… am I?”

The system answered, voice quieter than usual.

“Dimensional drift detected. You are inside a remnant space connected to your sealed memories.”

A memory chamber? A soul-echo?

Kai stood, wobbling slightly. His entire body felt sore, but the burning pain from earlier had faded.

“What happened to the village?”

“Unknown. The blast disrupted normal space. Your physical body may be unconscious or missing.”

Kai’s heart clenched.

Lira… Raven… the others… are they safe?

Before he could ask more, a deep vibration rolled through the ruins , a hum that felt alive. The runes beneath his feet flickered.

Something was waking.

Kai’s breath hitched. “System… what’s happening?”

No response.

Silence.

Then he heard it.

Footsteps.

Slow. Heavy. Echoing across the ruined hall.

Kai tensed and turned sharply, A towering silhouette emerged from the dim light. Clad in celestial armor, cracked and stained with ancient battle marks. A long cloak of tattered white trailed behind him. His face was hidden under a hood, but glowing gold eyes stared from beneath it.

Kai’s knees nearly buckled.

Because the sight wasn’t unfamiliar.

It was like looking at a distant reflection of himself , older, sharper, terrifying.

The figure spoke, voice resonating with ghostly power.

“You have finally broken the first seal.”

Kai swallowed hard. “Who… are you?”

The figure stepped closer, runes flaring beneath his feet.

“I am what remains of you,” he said.

“A fragment of who you once were. A shard of the fallen hero… Azeriel Dawnblade.”

Kai’s mind reeled.

Another piece of him? Another life? Another identity?

“I’m not this Azeriel,” Kai whispered. “I’m just Kai Ren. A kid from the village. I don’t even remember”

“That is the purpose of the seals,” the figure interrupted. “You were reborn to hide from your executioners. To escape the judgment of the heavens.”

Kai shook his head. “Why would the gods want me dead?! What did Azeriel do?”

The figure’s eyes dimmed.

“You declared war on the celestial realm.”

Kai froze.

“I, I WHAT?!”

The air vibrated with the echo of forgotten destruction.

“You defied the gods,” the fragment continued. “You broke sacred laws. And in your final moment, as the divine blades pierced you, you forged the Heavenbreaker Curse , a rebellion against fate itself.”

The words slammed into Kai like a falling mountain.

Azeriel wasn’t a hero.

He was a traitor. A god-reborn defier. A destroyer.

Kai staggered backward, shaking. “No… There’s no way… I wouldn’t”

“You already have,” the figure said softly. “In another life.”

Kai clenched his fists. “But I’m not him now.”

The figure studied him.

“Azeriel Dawnblade was feared. Ruthless. Consumed by anger toward the heavens.”

Then he pointed at Kai’s chest.

“You… are different. And that difference is why the curse chose you.”

Kai’s breathing slowed. Slightly.

But questions pounded his skull.

“If I’m different… why did the assassin call me Azeriel? Why try to kill me now?”

The fragment raised one hand.

A sphere of golden energy formed, swirling violently.

“Because the heavens have sensed your awakening. They will send more assassins. Stronger ones.”

Kai stepped back as the sphere expanded.

“What are you doing?!”

“This is the first fragment of your past. Take it, before this remnant collapses.”

The ruins began to crack. Dust fell from the ceiling.

The space was breaking apart.

Kai hesitated. “If I take that… will I lose myself?”

The fragment paused.

“You will remember. But memory does not have to control you. You can shape a new destiny… or repeat the sins you once committed.”

Kai stared at the swirling sphere.

This was the key. The truth. The beginning.

But also danger. If he absorbed it, he might awaken something terrifying.

The ruins shook violently. Pillars crumbled.

“No time,” the fragment warned. “Choose.”

Kai reached toward the sphere, Lira’s face flashed in his mind.

Raven’s glare.

The villagers’ fear the assassin’s blade.

He exhaled sharply.

“I choose to know.”

His hand plunged into the sphere.

A blast of light swallowed him whole.

Pain. Voices. Screaming skies. Blinding radiance.

A sword dripping golden fire.

A throne of shattered stars.

The cry of a dying god.

His own voice, shouting a name he couldn’t remember,then Silence.

Kai collapsed to his knees, gasping, clutching his chest. The sphere dissolved.

The fragment’s glowing eyes dimmed.

“You have taken the first memory. When the next seal breaks… you will face the truth of your fall.”

Kai forced himself up, swaying.

“Wait… what truth? What did Azeriel do in the end?”

The fragment’s form cracked like broken glass.

The ruins shattered around them.

And with its final breath, the fragment whispered:

“You didn’t fall… Kai.

You were betrayed.”

The world exploded into darkness.