Chapter 96 – The Voice Before the Beginning
The door slammed shut.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
The Archive had gone completely silent.
Evetyl was still holding Kai's hand.
She could feel him trembling.
Not from fear of the shadow.
Not from the collapsing worlds.
Not even from the mysterious woman who claimed to have created the First Thought, the Eye, the Warden, and the first Archive.
He was afraid of the voice.
The child's voice.
The voice that had called his name.
"Kai..."
Evetyl looked at him.
"Who was she?"
Kai didn't answer.
"Kai."
He slowly looked at her.
"I don't know."
"You said you knew the voice."
"I do."
"Then how?"
Kai pressed his fingers against his forehead.
"I don't remember her face."
"Her name?"
"No."
"Then what do you remember?"
Kai closed his eyes.
"A room."
Evetyl waited.
"White walls."
"A small window."
"A wooden chair."
"And someone sitting beside me."
"Who?"
Kai opened his eyes.
"I don't know."
The Curator stepped closer.
"How old were you?"
Kai shook his head.
"I don't know."
"Did you look like yourself?"
"I don't know."
The Curator looked troubled.
"That's impossible."
Kai gave him a tired look.
"You've said that a lot today."
The Curator ignored the comment.
"If the person existed before you were created, then you shouldn't have a memory of her."
Kai looked toward the closed Second Door.
"Maybe it isn't my memory."
Everyone became silent.
Evetyl understood first.
"Then whose is it?"
Kai looked at her.
"Maybe..."
He swallowed.
"...it's hers."
---
The mysterious woman remained at the other side of the Archive.
She hadn't moved.
The First Thought was staring at her.
The Eye was silent.
The Warden's chains were wrapped tightly around its own arms.
Even the Curator seemed unable to decide what to say.
Finally, the First Thought stepped forward.
"You said you created me."
The woman nodded.
"Yes."
"Why don't I remember you?"
"Because I removed myself from your memory."
"Why?"
"Because you couldn't carry it."
The First Thought's expression hardened.
"You don't get to decide what I can carry."
The woman smiled sadly.
"You said the same thing the first time."
"When?"
"Before you became a thought."
The First Thought froze.
The woman continued.
"You were afraid."
"I wasn't."
"You were."
"Of what?"
"Of becoming aware."
The First Thought looked down at its hands.
"What happened?"
"I gave you a choice."
"What choice?"
"To know everything..."
The woman paused.
"...or to be able to live."
The First Thought whispered,
"And I chose to live."
"Yes."
"Then why do I feel like I've lost something?"
"Because you did."
The First Thought looked up.
"You."
The woman nodded.
"You lost me."
---
Evetyl walked toward them.
"Enough."
Everyone looked at her.
She looked at the woman.
"You know what is happening."
"I know some of it."
"Then tell us."
The woman was quiet.
"What do you want to know?"
"Everything."
The woman smiled.
"That's impossible."
Evetyl's expression hardened.
"Then start with Kai."
The woman looked toward him.
"Kai is not the first Kai."
Evetyl frowned.
"We already know that."
"No."
The woman shook her head.
"You misunderstood."
She pointed toward Kai.
"He isn't a copy."
"He isn't a replacement."
"He isn't a vessel."
"He isn't a memory."
Kai looked at her.
"Then what am I?"
The woman answered quietly.
"You are a survivor."
Kai said nothing.
"Before the First World existed, there was another world."
"Not a timeline."
"Not a dimension."
"Not an alternate reality."
"A real world."
"The first world."
Evetyl remembered the burning Garden.
"The one Aeterna destroyed."
The woman nodded.
"She didn't destroy it because she wanted to."
"Then why?"
"Because it was dying."
Evetyl frowned.
"What was killing it?"
The woman looked at the Second Door.
"The ending."
---
Kai stepped forward.
"Why was I there?"
The woman looked at him.
"You were born there."
"But you said I existed before the First World."
"Correct."
"Then why don't I remember?"
"Because you were a child."
"How old?"
"Three."
Kai's face changed.
"Three?"
The woman nodded.
"You were three years old when the first world began collapsing."
"And she found me?"
"Yes."
Evetyl looked at the woman.
"That's why I remember him."
"Yes."
"You didn't create him."
"No."
"I found him."
"Yes."
"And I took him with me."
"Yes."
Evetyl's breathing became unsteady.
"Then everything I remembered about creating him..."
"Was false."
The Curator suddenly opened his book.
Pages turned by themselves.
He looked shocked.
"The records were rewritten."
The woman nodded.
"By Aeterna."
Evetyl stared.
"Why would I rewrite my own memories?"
"Because you couldn't live with the truth."
"What truth?"
The woman looked directly at her.
"You didn't save Kai."
Evetyl's face went pale.
"You abandoned everyone else to save him."
Silence.
Kai stared at Evetyl.
"No."
The woman continued.
"When the first world began dying, there was only one way to escape."
"The First Key."
"Aeterna could use it to move one living soul beyond the world's ending."
Evetyl whispered,
"One."
The woman nodded.
"You chose Kai."
Kai immediately shook his head.
"No."
Evetyl looked at him.
"I chose you."
"You shouldn't have."
"I was a child."
"So was I."
"I couldn't leave you."
Kai's eyes filled with tears.
"What happened to everyone else?"
The woman answered.
"They died."
Kai looked away.
Evetyl whispered,
"I thought I had saved you."
"You did."
"Then why does it feel like I didn't?"
"Because you remembered the cost."
---
Aren stepped forward.
"But if Kai survived..."
"Then why did the first world need to end?"
The woman looked at him.
"Because Kai wasn't the only thing Aeterna carried out."
Everyone waited.
"What else?"
The woman answered:
"Her guilt."
Evetyl stared.
"The guilt became the First World."
The Curator's book fell from his hands.
"What?"
The woman continued.
"Aeterna couldn't accept what she had done."
"So she created a new world."
"She gave it new laws."
"New people."
"New histories."
"She buried the first world beneath them."
"And then she erased Kai's past."
Kai stared at Evetyl.
"So..."
He struggled to speak.
"The world we've been protecting..."
Evetyl couldn't answer.
The woman did.
"Was built on the grave of the world he came from."
---
Nobody spoke.
Even Cr-Hook had nothing to say.
Finally, he whispered,
"That's messed up."
Noah looked at him.
"Very."
Cr-Hook shook his head.
"I was expecting some ancient god."
He pointed at Evetyl.
"Not emotional trauma."
Evetyl almost laughed.
Almost.
Kai looked at Cr-Hook.
"Thanks."
"For what?"
"Making this slightly less depressing."
Cr-Hook nodded.
"I'm talented."
Noah sighed.
"Don't encourage him."
For a moment, the tension eased.
Then the Archive shook again.
The Second Door began glowing.
The mysterious woman turned toward it.
"We're running out of time."
Evetyl looked at her.
"Why?"
"Because the first world has started waking up."
"What does that mean?"
"It means the dead are remembering."
---
Suddenly, voices began filling the Archive.
Thousands of voices.
Millions.
People calling names.
Parents.
Children.
Friends.
Lovers.
Soldiers.
Kings.
Ordinary people.
Everyone who had existed in the first world.
Evetyl covered her ears.
"Make them stop."
The voices grew louder.
Kai looked around.
"They're looking for us."
"Why?"
"Because we're the ones who survived."
A figure appeared behind one of the doors.
Then another.
Then another.
People.
Millions of them.
They weren't monsters.
They weren't spirits.
They looked human.
They looked tired.
They looked confused.
Some were crying.
Some were angry.
Some simply stared.
One man pressed his hands against the glass of a door.
"You left us."
Evetyl froze.
Another voice:
"You promised."
Another:
"You said we'd be safe."
Another:
"Why did you choose him?"
Evetyl stepped backward.
"I didn't know."
The voices continued.
"You knew."
"You chose."
"You left."
"You forgot."
Kai stepped in front of her.
"Stop."
The voices went silent.
Every figure looked at him.
Kai looked at them.
"I don't remember what happened."
One of them answered:
"But we do."
Kai lowered his head.
"I'm sorry."
The man behind the door shook his head.
"Sorry doesn't bring us back."
Kai nodded.
"I know."
"Then why should we forgive you?"
"I don't know."
He looked at them.
"But I won't lie to you."
A pause.
"I survived."
"Because she chose me."
"I didn't ask her to."
"I didn't understand."
"But I won't pretend it didn't happen."
The figures remained silent.
Kai continued.
"If you want someone to blame..."
He looked toward Evetyl.
"...don't blame her alone."
Evetyl looked at him.
"Why?"
"Because I chose to stay."
"You were three."
"I know."
Kai looked at the dead world.
"But I'm alive now."
"And I won't waste it."
The Archive became quiet.
One by one...
the figures disappeared.
Not because they had forgiven him.
But because they had heard him.
The woman watched quietly.
Evetyl looked at her.
"Did that change anything?"
"Yes."
"What?"
"The first world can hear him now."
---
The Second Door opened.
This time, there was no darkness behind it.
There was a small room.
White walls.
A wooden chair.
A small window.
Evetyl recognized it.
"The room."
Kai stepped forward.
"That's where I remember her."
The woman nodded.
"Yes."
"Who was she?"
"You need to see."
Kai entered.
Evetyl followed.
The Curator tried to follow too.
The woman stopped him.
"No."
"Why?"
"Because this belongs to them."
The Curator looked at Evetyl.
She nodded.
"We'll be okay."
He stepped back.
The door closed.
---
Inside the room, everything was quiet.
Kai stood in the center.
Evetyl looked around.
"There is nothing here."
"Wait."
Kai walked toward the chair.
He touched it.
The room changed.
A little boy appeared.
Three years old.
Kai.
He was sitting on the floor.
A woman sat beside him.
She had long dark hair.
A simple white dress.
A tired smile.
She was holding a small wooden toy.
Evetyl stared.
"Who is she?"
Kai couldn't answer.
The woman looked at the little Kai.
"Do you know what happens when the world ends?"
The little boy shook his head.
"It gets dark."
"Yes."
"Will you leave?"
"No."
"Promise?"
"I promise."
The woman hugged him.
"I'll stay until the end."
The little Kai smiled.
Then the woman looked directly at Evetyl.
Evetyl froze.
"She can see us."
Kai whispered,
"That's impossible."
The woman smiled.
"It isn't."
She stood.
She walked toward them.
The memory continued.
But the woman wasn't acting like a memory anymore.
She was looking directly at Evetyl.
"You finally came back."
Evetyl's heart stopped.
"Who are you?"
The woman smiled.
"My name is Lyra."
Kai stared.
"Lyra..."
She looked at him.
"You remembered."
Kai stepped closer.
"Are you real?"
Lyra smiled.
"Not anymore."
Evetyl felt tears forming.
"What happened to you?"
Lyra looked toward the window.
"The world ended."
"You died?"
"Yes."
"Then how are you here?"
"Because Kai remembered me."
Kai's eyes widened.
"What?"
Lyra touched his chest.
"You carried my last memory."
Kai looked down.
"The voice..."
"Yes."
"The voice that called me."
"Yes."
"You've been inside my memories this entire time."
Lyra nodded.
"Since the beginning."
Evetyl asked,
"Why didn't you tell him?"
"I tried."
"How?"
"Every time he remembered me, Aeterna erased the memory."
Evetyl's face fell.
"I did that."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because you were afraid he'd remember the first world."
"I was."
"And you were afraid he'd remember what you did."
Evetyl lowered her head.
"Yes."
Lyra walked toward her.
"You made a terrible choice."
Evetyl closed her eyes.
"I know."
"But you also made a beautiful one."
Evetyl looked up.
"What?"
"You saved a child."
"I destroyed a world."
"You saved him."
"I couldn't save everyone."
"No."
Lyra smiled sadly.
"But you tried."
---
Kai looked at Lyra.
"Why did you say I'm the door?"
Lyra became serious.
"Because you are."
"To what?"
"The first world."
Kai's face changed.
"The door is inside me?"
"Yes."
"Then how do I open it?"
Lyra looked at Evetyl.
"You already did."
Evetyl froze.
"When?"
"When you chose him."
The room began shaking.
Kai looked around.
"What is happening?"
Lyra's expression changed.
"The memories are returning."
The walls began cracking.
The white room was disappearing.
Behind it was the first world.
A vast landscape.
Cities.
Forests.
Oceans.
People.
The Garden.
Everything.
Evetyl stared.
"It's still there."
Lyra nodded.
"Not physically."
"Then what is it?"
"A memory."
Kai stepped toward the landscape.
"I can feel it."
Lyra nodded.
"Because you're connected to it."
"Can we restore it?"
Lyra looked at Evetyl.
"Yes."
Evetyl's heart jumped.
"Then do it."
Lyra shook her head.
"You can't restore the first world without destroying the First World."
Evetyl froze.
"The world we've been protecting."
"Yes."
"Crosshaven?"
"Yes."
"The people?"
"Yes."
"Everyone?"
"Yes."
Kai looked at Evetyl.
"We don't have to do it."
Lyra looked at him.
"Then the first world remains dead."
Kai nodded.
"I know."
Evetyl stared at the two worlds.
One was the world she knew.
One was the world she had abandoned.
Both were real.
Both had people.
Both had memories.
Both wanted to exist.
She whispered:
"There has to be another way."
Lyra smiled.
"There is."
Evetyl looked at her.
"What?"
"Someone has to become the new beginning."
Kai stepped forward.
"No."
Lyra looked at him.
"Not you."
Kai relaxed slightly.
"Then who?"
Lyra looked at Evetyl.
Evetyl's eyes widened.
"No."
"You are the first."
"I can't."
"You already were."
"I don't want to."
"I know."
Lyra smiled sadly.
"That's why it might work."
The room went silent.
Evetyl looked at Kai.
"If I become the beginning..."
Kai understood.
"You'll disappear."
"Yes."
"No."
"But the worlds survive."
"No."
"Kai."
"No."
He grabbed her hand.
"We'll find another way."
"What if there isn't one?"
"Then we'll make one."
Lyra watched them.
Then she smiled.
"You sound exactly like you did the first time."
Kai looked at her.
"What did I say?"
Lyra answered:
"I told Aeterna there was no way to save everyone."
"And she told me..."
"What?"
Lyra looked toward Evetyl.
"Then we'll make one."
Evetyl stared.
She remembered.
She had said those exact words.
Years ago.
Before the First World.
Before Crosshaven.
Before the Curator.
Before everything.
She smiled through her tears.
"I really was stubborn."
Kai laughed.
"Still are."
Suddenly...
the entire room shook.
A deep crack appeared across the sky of the memory.
Lyra looked up.
Her expression changed.
"No."
Evetyl turned.
"What?"
Lyra whispered:
"He found us."
The crack widened.
A black hand reached through.
Kai stepped in front of Evetyl.
The shadow's voice echoed across the first world.
"You cannot hide from me."
Lyra looked at Kai.
"Listen carefully."
"What?"
"When it reaches you..."
She placed her hand against his chest.
"...don't fight it."
Kai stared.
"Why?"
"Because it isn't trying to kill you."
"Then what is it doing?"
Lyra looked at Evetyl.
"It's trying to wake you."
Evetyl's eyes widened.
"Wake me from what?"
Lyra whispered:
"The dream."
The black hand broke through the sky.
The first world began collapsing.
Kai grabbed Evetyl.
"What dream?"
Lyra smiled sadly.
"The one where you believe this is your first life."
Evetyl froze.
The world went silent.
Kai looked at her.
"What does that mean?"
Lyra disappeared.
Her final words echoed through the room:
"You have both done this before."
Then the shadow appeared.
And this time...
it wasn't looking at Kai.
It was looking at Evetyl.
"Evetyl."
Her eyes widened.
"You finally remembered."
The shadow reached toward her.
"You and I..."
A pause.
"...were the first two things to exist."
Evetyl couldn't breathe.
Kai stared at her.
And somewhere deep inside her mind...
a memory began to wake.
A memory older than the Garden.
Older than the First Mother.
Older than the first world.
A memory of Evetyl standing alone in endless darkness.
And beside her...
stood the shadow.
Holding her hand.
To Be Continued...