With that, she smiled.
"So," she said softly, "now let us begin… with the Fairy's Sanctuary."
They stepped between the stationed pillars. Light erupted—rays splitting outward as fragments and glowing orbs spiraled around them. In an instant, the world shifted.
They stood within a sand garden, carefully arranged, impossibly still. At its center rose a statue: a maiden sculpted with reverence, her expression serene, timeless, unmistakably her.
Adam glanced at it, unimpressed.
"Well, isn't that magnificent," he said flatly, his sarcasm barely concealed. He exhaled sharply. "So how do I do it? Finally get it. Whatever this is."
His irritation was obvious. Too much time wasted. Too many paths forced upon him.
She remained silent for a moment.
"How?" she finally said. "For Manori to find a universe, she must know where it came from."
Adam frowned. "What do you mean, where it came from?"
The vagueness grated against him. Every answer felt like another delay, another detour he never asked for.
Rehan's voice cut in.
[And what about you, Adam?]
"…What?"
Adam turned slightly. Rehan was watching the girl now, her expression unreadable.
[Your essence originates from that universe… and from many others as well.]
[Wouldn't that mean something?]
Adam stiffened.
"I…" His voice faltered before steadying. "I came from that universe."
The girl's smile widened, calm and knowing.
"Then," she said, "you will see it for yourself."
She raised her hand.
A tower manifested—silent, isolated, untouched. The space around it was unnaturally empty. No living presence. No sound. No movement. True solitude.
She stepped forward.
"I call upon my creator," she said evenly. "Manori."
Silence answered.
Nothing stirred. No echo. No response.
She lowered her hand.
"Well," she said after a pause, "that is… technically possible."
Adam sighed, rubbing his temples. Too many routes. Too many systems. Why was he being dissected into paths he never wanted to walk?
"It seems," she continued, "that she has refused."
Adam looked up sharply. "Can I call her?"
The Guardian of the Sanctuary regarded him.
"…You may."
Adam didn't hesitate.
"Hey!" he shouted into the emptiness. "Get over here! I'm irritated that I'm doing all of this!"
The world answered.
The sky fractured.
A colossal presence turned its gaze downward. A beast descended, crashing through layers of existence until it struck a hexagonal plane near Adam. Its form was immense, incomprehensible—its attention fixed not on the world, but on him.
It examined Adam's essence.
Then it moved.
Reality tore open.
The creature surged forward, passing through countless universes, threads and orbs trailing behind it like strings of fate. It plunged through the infinite expanse of the plexus—ever expanding, ever consuming—yet stopping just short of what it was destined to become.
It traveled.
It searched.
Following the resonance of Adam's origin of that universw
Finding what he was truly trying to reach