[Sanctuary was beautiful.]
[Which immediately made Abaksa suspicious.]
[Nothing this deep beneath the Poison Valley should have existed.]
[Yet it did.]
[Crystal bridges stretched between towering stone structures.]
[Blue lanterns illuminated winding streets.]
[People laughed.]
[Children played.]
[Normal.]
[Far too normal.]
Abaksa Einsro— "Something's wrong."
[The guard escorting him glanced over.]
Guard— "With what?"
Abaksa Einsro— "This place."
Guard— "Most people say it's beautiful."
Abaksa Einsro— "Exactly."
[The guard laughed.]
[Abaksa didn't.]
[He had lived through kingdoms collapsing.]
[Watched cities burn.]
[Seen empires erased.]
[Places this peaceful rarely stayed that way.]
[The guard eventually left him at a guest residence.]
[A modest stone building overlooking part of the city.]
Guard— "The Elders will meet you tomorrow."
Abaksa Einsro— "Tomorrow?"
Guard— "They're deciding whether you're a problem."
[The guard walked away.]
Abaksa Einsro— "...Comforting."
[The door closed.]
[Silence.]
[For the first time in days—]
[He was alone.]
[No gargoyles.]
[No poison.]
[No collapsing cities.]
[No Demon Lord.]
[His body finally relaxed.]
[Just a little.]
[Then it happened.]
[The whisper.]
"Eleventh."
[Abaksa froze.]
[The room was empty.]
[The voice wasn't.]
"Eleventh."
[The whisper returned.]
[Older this time.]
[Ancient.]
[His hand immediately went to his sword.]
Abaksa Einsro— "Who's there?"
[No answer.]
[Only silence.]
[Then the voice spoke again.]
"Come."
[The word echoed inside his head.]
[Not through his ears.]
[Directly through his mind.]
[Abaksa frowned.]
Abaksa Einsro— "Absolutely not."
[The voice ignored him.]
"Come."
"Below."
"I have waited."
[The room trembled slightly.]
[Then stopped.]
[Abaksa stared at the floor.]
[Something beneath Sanctuary was calling him.]
[And somehow—]
[He knew it wasn't hostile.]
[Dangerous.]
[Yes.]
[Hostile.]
[No.]
[That distinction worried him more.]
[Hours passed.]
[He tried sleeping.]
[Failed.]
[The voice continued.]
[Patient.]
[Relentless.]
"Eleventh."
"Come."
"Time grows short."
[Eventually Abaksa stood.]
Abaksa Einsro— "...Fine."
[He grabbed his sword.]
Abaksa Einsro— "If this gets me killed, I'm blaming the System."
[Complaint Recorded.]
Abaksa Einsro— "You can record complaints?"
[Yes.]
Abaksa Einsro— "Useless."
[Complaint Recorded.]
[The System disappeared.]
[Abaksa hated it.]
[Leaving the residence, he moved through the sleeping city.]
[The streets were nearly empty.]
[Only a few lanterns remained lit.]
[The voice guided him.]
[Left.]
[Right.]
[Down a staircase.]
[Through an abandoned district.]
[Eventually he reached the oldest section of Sanctuary.]
[The buildings here were different.]
[Older.]
[Worn by centuries.]
[Forgotten.]
[And at the very end—]
[A door.]
[Massive.]
[Black stone.]
[Covered in silver chains.]
[Thousands of them.]
[Every chain carried glowing symbols.]
[Seals.]
[Powerful ones.]
Abaksa Einsro— "...What are you?"
[The voice answered immediately.]
"A prison."
[His eyes narrowed.]
"And a grave."
[The chains rattled.]
[Not violently.]
[Softly.]
[Like something breathing.]
[Abaksa stepped closer.]
[The symbols intensified.]
[Blue.]
[Silver.]
[Gold.]
[Then his ring finger burned.]
[Not physically.]
[Something deeper.]
[Unknown Synchronization Detected]
[The System appeared instantly.]
[Source Unknown]
[Analysis Failed]
[That had never happened before.]
[Abaksa's heartbeat slowed.]
[Whatever was behind this door...]
[The System couldn't understand it.]
[Slowly he reached forward.]
[His hand touched one of the chains.]
[The reaction was immediate.]
CLANG.
[The entire structure shook.]
[Thousands of chains illuminated simultaneously.]
[The cavern beneath Sanctuary trembled.]
[Something awakened.]
[Something ancient.]
[The voice spoke again.]
[For the first time—]
[Clearly.]
Unknown Voice— "Interesting."
[The chains began moving.]
[Not breaking.]
[Moving.]
[Like living things.]
[They pulled away from the center.]
[Creating a narrow opening.]
[Darkness waited beyond.]
[Ancient.]
[Watching.]
Unknown Voice— "You carry it."
Abaksa Einsro— "...Carry what?"
[A pause.]
Then laughter.
[Not cruel.]
[Tired.]
Unknown Voice— "The same curse."
[The darkness shifted.]
[Two enormous eyes slowly opened.]
[Ancient silver irises.]
[Older than kingdoms.]
[Older than history.]
[Older than memory.]
[The entire cavern trembled beneath their gaze.]
[Abaksa felt it immediately.]
[Not power.]
[Weight.]
[The weight of countless timelines.]
[Countless failures.]
[Countless lives.]
Unknown Voice— "Tell me, Eleventh."
[The eyes narrowed.]
Unknown Voice— "Has the Time War begun?"
[Silence filled the chamber.]
[Abaksa stared into the darkness.]
[And for the first time since his regression—]
[He felt truly small.]
Abaksa Einsro— "...Who are you?"
[The ancient eyes smiled.]
And the entire cavern shook.
Unknown Voice— "A fragment."
Unknown Voice— "A survivor."
Unknown Voice— "The First."
[The words echoed through the underground city.]
[And somewhere far above, hidden deep within Sanctuary...]
[An Elder suddenly opened his eyes.]
Elder— "...Impossible."
[The First Fragment had awakened.]