Kael stood before the enormous eye beneath the ruins.
The First Hunger.
Its presence pressed against his mind like an ocean.
Yet Kael didn't attack.
He remembered the younger version of himself's warning.
Don't fight it.
Kael looked toward Eryx.
"Why would I create something like this?"
Eryx shook his head.
"I don't know."
The First Hunger laughed.
"You really don't remember."
Kael's fists tightened.
"Then show me."
The creature's eye widened.
The ruins around them began glowing.
Suddenly, the world disappeared.
Kael found himself standing somewhere else.
A laboratory.
The Firstborn surrounded him.
But they weren't celebrating.
They were terrified.
In the center of the chamber stood the Origin.
Its silver light was unstable.
Aetherion was there.
Nox was there.
Eryx was there.
And Kael...
stood between them.
The older Kael spoke.
"We can't keep running."
One of the Firstborn answered,
"The Origin is collapsing."
"If it collapses, every universe connected to it will collapse."
Kael looked at the silver sphere.
"Then we need something that can consume the excess."
Aetherion's expression changed.
"No."
Kael turned.
"What?"
"Don't create it."
Kael frowned.
"If we don't, everyone dies."
Eryx stepped forward.
"There has to be another way."
Kael shook his head.
"There isn't."
He reached toward the Origin.
Darkness began gathering around his hand.
Nox suddenly grabbed him.
"You don't know what you're making."
Kael looked at him.
"I know exactly what I'm making."
Then Kael said the words that made the memory stop.
"I'll create something that can consume anything."
The vision shattered.
Kael returned to the ruins.
His breathing was heavy.
Eryx stared at him.
"You created the First Hunger..."
Kael nodded slowly.
"But why would I do that?"
The First Hunger answered.
"Because you needed me."
Kael looked toward the darkness.
The creature continued.
"I was born from the part of the Origin you could not control."
"Your fear."
"Your hunger."
"Your desire to save everything."
Kael's eyes widened.
"So you're part of me."
The First Hunger laughed.
"I am what you become when you decide that saving everyone matters more than anything else."
Kael suddenly understood.
The First Hunger wasn't simply a monster.
It was a reflection.
A version of himself stripped of compassion.
A Kael who would consume anything to achieve his goal.
Eryx stepped beside him.
"Then we don't destroy it."
Kael looked at him.
"We understand it."
The First Hunger went silent.
Kael stepped forward.
"You were created from me."
"But you're not me."
The creature's eye narrowed.
"Then prove it."
The ground exploded.
Darkness erupted from beneath the ruins.
Kael raised his hand.
His new Core responded.
Silver energy spread across the battlefield.
But this time...
He didn't attack.
He reached toward the First Hunger.
The creature recoiled.
"What are you doing?"
Kael answered,
"Taking responsibility."
The silver energy surrounded the darkness.
Memories began flowing between them.
Kael felt every emotion that had created the creature.
Fear.
Anger.
Loneliness.
Desperation.
The need to save everyone.
Kael closed his eyes.
"I understand now."
The First Hunger screamed.
"YOU CANNOT ACCEPT ME!"
Kael opened his eyes.
"I can."
The darkness began shrinking.
Not disappearing.
Changing.
The First Hunger's enormous form slowly became smaller.
Until a single figure stood before Kael.
It looked exactly like him.
But its eyes were completely black.
The figure stared at Kael.
"Why?"
Kael answered quietly.
"Because you were created by me."
"I won't repeat the mistake of destroying something just because I fear it."
The dark figure remained silent.
Then it smiled.
"For the first time..."
"...you understand."
It stepped forward.
And entered Kael's chest.
The new Core exploded with power.
Kael screamed.
White.
Black.
Silver.
And now—
A fourth force.
Hunger.
But it wasn't consuming anything.
It was controlled.
Kael opened his eyes.
The First Hunger was gone.
Or so he thought.
Eryx suddenly looked toward the sky.
"Kael..."
Kael turned.
A massive crack had appeared above them.
Beyond it was a universe filled with countless stars.
But every single star was dying.
Aetherion's voice echoed through Kael's mind.
"That's impossible."
Kael stared.
"What?"
"The First Hunger wasn't the one consuming those stars."
Silence.
A voice came from the other side of the crack.
"You finally understand."
Kael's blood ran cold.
The voice continued.
"The Hunger was never the enemy."
"It was a warning."
The crack widened.
Something enormous moved beyond it.
Eryx raised his weapon.
Kael's new Core began trembling.
And Kael realized...
The true threat had been hiding behind the First Hunger all along.