The Last Core shattered.
Kael felt nothing.
For one terrifying moment, there was no pain.
No sound.
No energy.
Just silence.
Then—
BOOM!
A wave of silver light exploded from his chest.
Kael was thrown backward.
"Eryx!"
Eryx reached for him, but the force separated them.
The darkness around them began collapsing.
Fragments of the Last Core floated through the air like pieces of broken glass.
But inside every fragment—
Kael could see a memory.
His first death.
His first universe.
The First Hunger.
Eryx.
The Firstborn.
Everything he had forgotten.
Kael pushed himself off the ground.
"Where is he?"
Eryx looked around.
"Who?"
"The third one."
A voice answered.
"I'm here."
Kael froze.
The voice wasn't coming from anywhere around them.
It was coming from inside his mind.
Kael slowly raised his head.
A small figure stood several meters away.
A child.
He looked exactly like Kael.
But his eyes—
They were Eryx's.
Kael stared.
"What are you?"
The child looked at him.
"I don't know."
Eryx stepped forward.
"What's your name?"
The child looked confused.
Then he touched his chest.
"Eryx."
Kael's heart tightened.
"You remember?"
The child shook his head.
"No."
"Then how do you know your name?"
"I don't."
The child looked at Kael.
"I just know that you are my brother."
Kael slowly approached him.
Every instinct told him to be careful.
But something deeper told him this child wasn't dangerous.
Kael crouched down.
"Do you remember the first universe?"
The child shook his head.
"Do you remember the Boundary?"
Another shake.
"The First Hunger?"
Nothing.
Kael frowned.
"Then what do you remember?"
The child looked down.
"I remember being alone."
Kael's expression softened.
"Where?"
The child pointed toward the darkness.
"Inside you."
Kael froze.
Eryx looked at him.
"He was trapped inside your consciousness."
Kael looked at the child.
"Why?"
The child didn't answer.
Instead, the darkness around them suddenly moved.
The ancient creature was approaching.
Its enormous eye appeared through the darkness.
The child immediately stepped behind Kael.
For the first time—
The creature showed fear.
"No."
Kael turned toward it.
"What?"
The creature stared at the child.
"That piece should have been destroyed."
Kael's expression hardened.
"Why?"
The creature didn't answer.
Kael stood.
"Tell me."
The darkness shook.
"Because he remembers what you forgot."
Kael looked at the child.
"What does he remember?"
The child suddenly grabbed his head.
Pain crossed his face.
"I..."
He fell to his knees.
Kael rushed toward him.
"Eryx!"
The child screamed.
A wave of energy erupted from his body.
Kael was forced backward.
Then the memories came.
Not one.
Thousands.
Kael saw the first universe.
But this time, he wasn't watching from the outside.
He was inside it.
He saw himself.
He saw Eryx.
And he saw something else.
A third figure.
Standing between them.
The child.
Kael's eyes widened.
"You were there."
The child nodded.
"I was."
Kael watched the memory.
The three stood before the Origin.
The Origin spoke.
"You cannot remain together."
Kael's younger self asked:
"Why?"
The Origin answered:
"Because together, you can consume the rules of reality."
Kael's younger self looked toward Eryx.
"What happens if we stay together?"
The Origin remained silent.
Then the ancient creature appeared.
It wasn't attacking.
It was afraid.
The creature spoke:
"They will eventually reach me."
Kael watched in silence.
The three versions of himself and Eryx stood together.
Then—
Kael made a decision.
He reached toward the third child.
And pulled him into himself.
The child disappeared.
Kael's eyes widened.
"I did that."
The memory continued.
Eryx shouted:
"Why would you do that?!"
Kael answered:
"Because one of us has to survive."
Eryx shook his head.
"We can survive together!"
Kael smiled sadly.
"Not if it finds us."
The memory ended.
Kael stood frozen.
The child looked at him.
"You put me inside yourself."
Kael nodded slowly.
"To protect you."
The child stared at him.
"From what?"
Kael looked toward the ancient creature.
"From it."
The creature's enormous eye narrowed.
"You misunderstand."
Kael turned.
"What?"
"I wasn't hunting you."
Silence.
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"Then what were you doing?"
The creature moved closer.
"I was running from you."
Kael froze.
Eryx stared.
"Running?"
The creature nodded.
"You three were the only things capable of destroying me."
Kael looked at the child.
Then Eryx.
Three pieces.
One existence.
A hunger capable of consuming anything.
A boundary capable of separating reality.
And a third piece that could exist inside another consciousness.
Kael suddenly understood.
"You weren't mistakes."
The creature remained silent.
Kael's eyes hardened.
"The Firstborn called us mistakes because they were afraid."
The creature's eye moved toward him.
Kael continued.
"They didn't create us."
He looked at Eryx.
"They discovered us."
Then at the child.
"And they tried to control us."
The child nodded.
Kael looked toward the ancient being.
"And you?"
The creature answered:
"I tried to prevent what would happen when you became complete."
Kael's expression hardened.
"What happens?"
The creature's voice became quiet.
"You remember."
The child suddenly grabbed Kael's hand.
"I remember."
Kael looked down.
"What?"
The child's eyes changed.
They became completely silver.
"I remember why you separated us."
Kael's heart began beating faster.
"Why?"
The child looked directly into his eyes.
"Because the three of us were going to become something."
"What?"
The child whispered:
"The next Origin."
Silence.
The universe seemed to stop.
Even the ancient creature didn't move.
Kael looked at Eryx.
His brother's expression was one of disbelief.
"The next Origin?"
The child nodded.
"But that's not the worst part."
Kael's expression tightened.
"What could be worse?"
The child looked toward the enormous creature.
"It wasn't supposed to happen naturally."
Kael waited.
The child whispered:
"Someone made us."
Kael's eyes widened.
"Who?"
The child looked at him.
"I don't know."
"Then how do you know?"
The child pointed toward the darkness.
"Because they're still watching."
Kael turned.
Nothing.
Only darkness.
Then—
A single point of light appeared.
Another.
Another.
Thousands of lights appeared throughout the darkness.
They weren't stars.
They were eyes.
Watching them.
The ancient creature slowly stepped backward.
For the first time—
It looked terrified.
Kael raised his power.
White.
Black.
Silver.
All three erupted around him.
Eryx stood beside him.
The child stepped between them.
And from somewhere beyond the darkness—
A voice whispered:
"The experiment has finally reunited."
Kael's eyes widened.
Experiment.
The word echoed through his mind.
Then the voice continued.
"Begin the final stage."
The thousands of eyes opened.
And every single one looked directly at Kael.
TO BE CONTINUED...