The revelation of that word took all of us by surprise.
The Nexus of the End.
For generations, it had been something of an open legend among the members of the families. We had all heard its name at some point, although almost no one really knew what it was.
To some, it was a weapon.
To others, an object created by the Supreme Beings.
There were even those who claimed it had never existed, that it was nothing more than a story that had survived for thousands of years, changing and becoming distorted from one generation to the next.
It was strange.
We ourselves belonged to families that protected secrets the rest of humanity would consider legends, and yet even among us, the Nexus of the End was considered a legend.
A legend within our own history.
And now Étienne was assuring us that it was real.
No one spoke for several seconds.
Chief Ciara remained with her hands clasped on the desk.
Isabela stared intently at Étienne.
Haruki didn't seem to know what to say either.
I could only repeat that name in my head.
The Nexus of the End.
Étienne continued.
—As I already told you, the Nexus of the End is a device capable of altering reality.
He paused.
—We don't know exactly to what extent it can do so. There are no complete records of how it works and, as far as we know, no one from our families has ever seen it directly.
—But we do know it exists.
Isabela frowned.
—Then how did something so important end up becoming a legend?
Étienne slowly shook his head.
—Because much of that information simply doesn't exist. All our records tell us is that it exists, that it is extremely powerful, and at the same time, extremely dangerous.
Ciara intervened.
—For generations, it was considered too dangerous to allow its existence to become known.
Haruki glanced to the side.
—Even to us?
—To everyone —Ciara replied.
Silence fell over the room again.
Étienne took a deep breath before continuing.
—According to the records we possess, the Nexus of the End was one of the main reasons the war against the Kartnod began.
We all immediately turned our attention toward him.
—What was that reason? —Eleonor asked.
Étienne answered:
—They tried to take possession of it.
—The records say the Kartnod discovered its existence and tried to steal it so they could use it to free themselves from the Supreme Beings.
The room fell completely silent.
—Use it how? —Sophie asked.
Étienne shook his head.
—We don't know.
—We only know they wanted to obtain it, and the Supreme Beings couldn't allow that.
—So the war began because they wanted to free themselves.
—Yes —Étienne replied—. And the Nexus was one of the events that ultimately led to open conflict.
His expression became more serious.
—The tensions already existed.
—But when the Kartnod tried to take possession of it, everything finally fell apart.
I remained there, listening to him.
For some reason, as he spoke, I couldn't stop thinking about what we had found in China.
The cylinders.
The Claimoor.
The experimentation records.
The creation of the Kartnod.
And everything the fragment of the First Bearer had told me.
Étienne continued.
—According to the historical records, the war lasted approximately twenty years.
—Twenty years of fighting between the Kartnod and the Supreme Beings.
—During that time, the conflict spread across much of the known world, wherever the other factions they themselves had positioned were located.
Haruki spoke.
—Us. The Guardian Families.
—Yes —Étienne replied—. And all of you already know the rest of the story.
After what we had discovered in China, those words had an entirely different meaning.
Étienne continued speaking.
—The war dragged on until one of the Supreme Beings intervened directly.
We all knew the name.
Even so, when Étienne said it aloud, the atmosphere changed.
—The Deity of the Cosmos.
Eleonor looked at me for a moment.
Étienne continued.
—She was the one who ended the war.
—Using a power our families were never able to comprehend, she opened the Mirror Dimension and imprisoned the Kartnod and most of their forces within it. But not all of them were subdued. The Kartnod were the largest family. Some branches avoided capture and continued living among us.
—After that —Étienne continued—, the war ended.
—The Supreme Beings remained in this plane for some time and eventually disappeared.
—The records say they returned to their dimension.
Ciara added:
—And from that point on, our families were given the responsibility of guarding the seals, preserving history, and preventing anything like that from ever happening again.
I watched Étienne.
Something didn't fit.
Not because I thought he was lying.
Quite the opposite.
He seemed completely convinced of what he was saying.
But after what I had seen in China...
After hearing that voice directly...
After discovering how the Kartnod had been created...
I could no longer accept that version of history in the same way.
I slowly raised my hand.
—Chief Étienne.
He looked at me.
—Tell me, Noah.
—There's something you still don't know.
Eleonor immediately turned toward me.
Sophie did the same.
Étienne narrowed his eyes slightly.
—What do you mean?
I looked at the bracelet on my arm.
The six emblems remained visible on its surface.
I felt a slight pressure in my chest.
I didn't know how to explain any of it.
But I had to.
—When we found this relic in China... I didn't just activate it.
I raised my arm so everyone could see it.
—I went inside it.
Étienne frowned.
—You went inside it?
—My consciousness was taken to another space.
Sophie remained silent.
Eleonor already knew what I was about to tell them.
But Étienne didn't.
Neither did Ciara.
Nor Isabela.
Nor Haruki.
I took a deep breath.
—And while I was there, I spoke with someone.
Étienne's expression changed.
I looked at the bracelet again.
—With a fragment of the First Bearer's consciousness.
The silence that followed was absolute.
Étienne stopped moving.
For several seconds, he simply stared at me.
—Noah...
His tone was different now.
—I want you to tell me exactly what happened.
I slowly nodded.
I lowered my gaze for a few seconds, trying to remember every detail.
The darkness.
The golden light.
That voice.
And the words that were still engraved in my mind.
Then I began to speak.
—When my fingers touched the bracelet, everything disappeared.
—The laboratory.
—Eleonor.
—Sophie.
—Everyone.
—Only darkness remained.
I paused.
—And then I heard a voice say:
—You have finally arrived.