Beastbound: Reincarnated in the Abyss

The Person Who Borrowed My Name

Layer Sixteen's air was still.

Too motionless.

Raen had become accustomed to the throbbing energy, the hum of some ancient predator's breathing just below the surface, even in the Abyss. But here? The silence wasn't natural; it was the result of deceit rather than death.

They reached a desolate white stone plateau that stretched into an endless mist and had neither a ceiling nor a sky. A silver-clad figure with their back to the center stood.

Raen moved forward, his footsteps too loud.

The figure then pivoted.

Raen's breath caught.

He was the one.

Not a perverted version. It's not a trick. It was him, right down to the silent burn in his eyes and the jagged scar on his right palm.

No. Not only him.

He used to be like that.

Prior to the Abyss.

Prior to the animals.

prior to Kaelyn's passing.

[Entity Found:???]

[Error: Identity Clash Is Coming. Name Conflict]

The copy grinned.

"Raen Tiberis," he said in a flawless voice. "Lost Flame General." The Seventeen's Slayer.

Raen did not pull a weapon.

"Who are you?"

The copy cocked his head. "The world thinks I survived. You fell, and I got up. I adopted your name. The memories you have. Your legend.

Behind him, Jester Wyrm snarled. Is he a beast? A impersonator?

"No," Raen muttered. "He has a fracture."

Once more, the system pulsed a warning:

[Narrative Pollution] Detected: Your timeline has been taken by an echo. Destroy or absorb.]

Raen moved in closer. "You can speak for me. but not my spirit.

There was no humor in the mimic's laughter. "Soul? Souls belong to the weak. Your victories are carried by me. I created a hero for the populace. And I accomplished what you were never able to.

Raen balled his fists. "What?"

"I caused them to forget about you."

The plateau shimmered abruptly.

The villages Raen had rescued were now worshiping him as memories flashed into view. twisted shrines that resembled him. icy gaze. The crown of gold. A Raen who never shed blood for them was bowed to by the populace.

Ember Vow's grip tightened around her blade.

She whispered, "This is corruption."

"No," Raen muttered. "When a story is stolen, this is what happens."

The mimic's face became stern. Do you want it returned? Accept it.

He held up a hand.

The stone also broke.

An army of mirror beasts, each donning fragments of Raen's past, rose up from below. One sounded like Kaelyn. His father's blade was wielded by another. Like the child he once was, another sobbed.

Raen didn't hesitate.

"Stand down," he instructed his friends. "I own this battle."

Despite his protesting growl, Hollowfang complied.

Raen entered his own storm.

The first beast lunged; its claws bled with guilt, but it whispered like Kaelyn. Raen used memory alone to dodge, spin, and cut through it.

The second's face was hollow, but it laughed like he did as a child. "You're not him," Raen said, catching its arm before destroying it with fire.

He felt burdened by every beast he conquered as if he were throwing away echoes of his potential self.

The mimic was the only one left.

Two Raens stood facing each other. One that was born out of hardship. A child of stolen glory.

"You wish to remove me?" The impersonator spit out. "All right. But be aware that they forget you if I'm not around. They lose all memory.

Raen did not flinch.

"I would rather be forgotten than turn into you."

He took a step forward.

Silently, rather than in flame, their swords collided.

Blades were not the only weapon used in the conflict.

Every blow was a reclaimed memory. Every parry was a restored name.

Raen's motions weren't flawless. However, they were accurate.

He fought with memory, not strength.

As their blades locked and shook in the final blow, Raen uttered these words in a low voice:

It's possible that you stole my name. However, you never merited it.

The blade broke in his hands.

The impersonator let out a gasp and then broke like glass.

And Raen muttered, "Goodbye," as he broke.

[94% of the narrative was restored.]

[Title Reclaimed: Sovereign Beastbound]

[Unlock: Soulbrand: Truthwalker Signature Skill]

Raen fell to his knees.

His bones were once again burdened by the actual weight of memory.

However, it didn't break him this time.

His friends came silently up.

Hopelessness In a silent act of grief, Maw pressed its forehead against his shoulder. In silent respect, Ember Vow knelt with her sword in front of her. All Jester Wyrm could say was, "Well, at least we still have the ugly version."

Raen chuckled softly. Then got up.

With his gaze focused on the haze outside, he declared, "I don't need to be remembered." "All I have to do is finish the story."

Then they moved forward.

where the subsequent layer was waiting.

Where the very truth would be put to the test.