The heavy vault door groaned as it opened, flooding Ka-nar's vision with a white brilliance. For a heartbeat, he hesitated—half expecting another swarm of machines, or worse, more grotesque hybrid pods.
But inside, there was only silence.
The chamber was vast yet strangely empty, save for a single circular platform in the center, bathed in pale blue light. Its surface was etched with glowing lines, patterns that pulsed in rhythm with the Lens over his eye.
Behind him, the clash of steel and metal rang out—the Protector's blades cutting through drones, sparks raining like falling stars. Ka-nar clenched his fists, forcing his trembling legs forward.
His Lens flickered:
[Accessing… Archive of Hiyoro Goto.]
[Warning: Data classified. Neural strain probability: 67%.]
Ka-nar swallowed. "So… this is what you wanted me to see, huh?"
He stepped onto the platform. Instantly, the air thickened. Holographic screens burst into existence around him—shimmering windows filled with equations, anatomical diagrams, and pages of handwritten notes.
A voice crackled to life, distorted, distant… yet chillingly human.
< "If you are seeing this… it means the Lens has found its next bearer." >
Ka-nar froze. The voice was calm, steady, but carried an unmistakable authority.
The hologram sharpened, revealing the figure of a man—tall, with sharp features and dark eyes hidden behind glasses. His lab coat fluttered in the projection, as if caught in a non-existent wind.
Dr. Hiyoro Goto.
Ka-nar's heart hammered. The scientist… he's real.
The recording continued:
< "The Lens is not a weapon. Not truly. It is a vessel—a key to access memory beyond time itself. What you see in fragments are echoes of possible futures. What you hold in your eye is the culmination of decades of sacrifice… and betrayal." >
Ka-nar's throat went dry. His fingers twitched as if trying to grasp the glowing fragments floating around him.
One screen shifted, showing Sato Akira. Younger, alive, standing proudly in front of an early Neno Lens prototype. Behind him, a banner read Project Horizon.
< "Sato Akira stole everything," the recording went on. "He was once my partner. Together, we dreamed of bridging human consciousness with temporal pathways. But Akira was consumed by greed. He believed the Lens could control fate itself, not just glimpse it." >
Ka-nar's chest tightened. "So… Sato wasn't the creator?"
Another screen blinked. This one showed a handwritten note, signed by Goto himself. The words were clear:
'To Ka-nar. When the time comes, the Lens will choose you.'
His breath caught. My name… written decades ago? How—?
The hologram of Goto seemed to gaze directly at him, though it was only a recording.
< "You, bearer, are not coincidence. The Lens was never meant for Akira. It was meant for one who could withstand both its gift… and its curse. That is you, Ka-nar." >
Ka-nar staggered back, his mind racing. His stomach churned. How could he know me? Before I was even born…?
Suddenly, the images shifted. Schematics of exo-skeletons appeared, layered over medical scans of human bodies. Red warnings scrawled across them in Goto's handwriting: Unstable. Dangerous. Reject.
< "I fought against their weaponization," Goto's voice said. "But Akira wanted soldiers—monsters bound in steel. He called it the future of war. I called it damnation." >
Ka-nar's Lens flickered, overlaying data on the screens:
> Project: Exo-Genesis
> Status: Active under Neno Lens Corporation
> Director: Sato Akira Jr. - Sato Akari.
Ka-nar clenched his fists. "So it didn't stop. His son continued it…"
But before he could focus, alarms blared through the chamber. Red lights flared, cutting through the pale blue glow.
Outside the vault, the Protector's shout echoed: "Ka-nar! More incoming!"
Ka-nar spun back toward the hologram. "Wait! There's more I need to know! What's the curse? Why me?"
The projection of Goto flickered, destabilizing. His voice grew faint, almost mournful.
< "The curse of the Lens… is that it does not just show futures. It creates them. Every choice you make ripples across timelines, binding you to the weight of consequences you cannot escape. That is why I… vanished." >
The final image burned itself into Ka-nar's vision—Goto's silhouette walking into a vortex of light, fragments of time swirling around him. Then, the hologram collapsed, the screens vanishing into darkness.
Ka-nar staggered off the platform, his head throbbing. His Lens blinked one last message:
[Archive access complete. Future data unlocked.]
The vault rumbled violently. The ceiling cracked as more drones dropped from hidden hatches. Ka-nar's pulse surged.
"Ka-nar!" The Protector burst into the vault, his aura blazing gold. One blade sliced a drone in half mid-air, sparks exploding. "We have to go—now!"
Ka-nar nodded, but his eyes still lingered on the empty platform. Goto knew my name… before everything. And this curse—creating futures?
The Protector grabbed his arm, pulling him back as another wave of drones descended. Their rifles glowed, charging energy rounds.
This time, however, Ka-nar didn't cower. He steadied his breath, recalling the drones from before. They follow sound. Movement. Patterns.
He scanned the chamber quickly—pipes along the walls, loose metal panels. His Lens flared with predictive paths.
"Cover me for three seconds!" Ka-nar shouted.
The Protector raised his blades without hesitation. "Go!"
Ka-nar darted to the side, grabbing a metal shard. He slammed it against the floor and flung it into the far corner. The clang echoed loud, and instantly half the drones pivoted, firing in the wrong direction.
With swift precision, Ka-nar leapt onto one drone, his arm locking around its chassis. He drove the shard into its sensors, forcing it into a spiral crash. Sparks lit the chamber like fireworks.
The Protector smirked beneath his mask. "You're learning."
But the vault door behind them began to seal shut. Ka-nar's Lens pulsed urgently:
[Warning: Containment breach. Lockdown engaged.]
"Run!" the Protector barked.
Together, they sprinted out of the vault, the door slamming behind them with a thunderous clang. The chamber quaked, dust falling from the ceiling.
At last, they stumbled into a dim corridor, gasping for breath. The sounds of drones faded, at least for now.
Ka-nar leaned against the wall, his chest heaving. His thoughts swirled with everything he'd seen—the archives, Goto's words, the curse of the Lens.
The Protector placed a firm hand on his shoulder. "What did you find in there?"
Ka-nar's eyes burned with a new intensity. "The truth. About Sato Akira. About why this Lens chose me. And… about Hiyoro Goto."
He clenched his fists. "This isn't just about surviving anymore. I need to finish what Goto started. I need to end what Akira's family unleashed."
The Protector's gaze lingered on him, unreadable behind the mask. Then, he gave a single nod. "Then prepare yourself, Ka-nar. Because from here on, every choice you make… will shape not only your future, but the future of everyone."
Ka-nar exhaled slowly, his heart pounding in rhythm with the Lens.
The curse had already begun.