Nobody moved after the figure's warning.
The crimson doorway continued hanging above the mountains while the valley remained trapped beneath its blood-red glow. Earlier, Ayan had believed the shadows within the fracture were the source of danger. Now every instinct told him otherwise. The shadows were afraid. The realization was difficult to accept, but impossible to ignore.
The figure remained staring into the darkness beyond the doorway. Its expression had changed completely. Until now, it had carried itself with calm certainty, even while discussing the End and the fall of civilizations. That certainty was gone. For the first time since its arrival, it looked like someone confronting a nightmare they had hoped never to see again.
Ayan felt the bridge pulsing rapidly beneath his skin. The reaction was unlike anything he had experienced before. It wasn't recognition. It wasn't memory. It felt closer to panic. The sensation spread through his body like cold water, leaving him tense and uneasy.
"What is it?" Aelira asked quietly.
The figure didn't answer immediately.
Its gaze remained fixed on the darkness beyond the fracture. Even the giant seemed reluctant to speak. The ancient being stood motionless near the doorway, his attention focused entirely on whatever had appeared deeper inside the crimson abyss.
Finally, the figure inhaled slowly.
"Something that should still be asleep."
The answer did not help.
Ayan frowned while Lucien's expression darkened further. The king remained silent beneath the great tower, but the silver light surrounding him had grown noticeably brighter. Across the impossible city, millions of citizens watched the doorway with growing unease.
The bridge pulsed again.
A memory surfaced.
Ayan found himself standing within a massive hall constructed from silver stone. The room stretched far beyond sight, filled with thousands of people gathered around a circular chamber at its center. The atmosphere felt tense. Fear lingered beneath every conversation.
At the center of the hall stood a gigantic gate.
Unlike the fractures he knew, this gate appeared stable. Silver symbols covered its surface while streams of light flowed through countless channels carved into the surrounding floor.
Then someone shouted.
The gate had opened.
The memory shifted.
People began running.
The atmosphere transformed from tension into panic.
Ayan never saw what emerged.
The vision shattered before he could.
Reality returned.
His breathing had become uneven.
The bridge continued pulsing.
"What did you see?" Lucien asked.
Ayan explained the memory.
The reaction was immediate.
The giant closed his eyes.
The figure looked away.
Even the king seemed troubled.
Ayan noticed all of it.
"You know what it was."
The statement wasn't a question.
The figure nodded.
"We called it the First Door."
Silence followed.
Nobody interrupted.
The figure continued.
"It was the first fracture ever discovered."
Ayan felt a chill run through him.
The explanation alone carried enormous implications. Every civilization he had seen in the memories seemed connected to fractures somehow. Learning there had been a first one changed everything.
"The first door appeared before the war," the figure said. "Before the collapse. Before anyone understood what fractures actually meant."
The giant folded his arms.
"We thought it was an opportunity."
His expression hardened slightly.
"It wasn't."
The bridge reacted.
Another memory surfaced immediately.
This one felt older.
Much older.
Ayan saw explorers standing before an enormous silver doorway. Excitement filled the air. People celebrated. Researchers hurried between observation stations while leaders discussed possibilities.
Nobody looked afraid.
Nobody expected disaster.
The atmosphere felt hopeful.
Then the door opened.
The memory ended instantly.
Ayan inhaled sharply.
The sudden interruption bothered him. The bridge seemed unwilling to show what happened next. That alone made the missing information feel important.
Far beyond the silver fracture, the king slowly stepped forward. His gaze remained fixed on the crimson doorway while silver light flowed around him like a storm gathering strength.
"Is it really awake?"
The question carried unusual weight.
The figure remained silent for several seconds.
Then it nodded.
The valley became quiet.
Even the refugees gathered below the fortress walls seemed to sense the significance of the answer.
The giant looked toward the darkness.
"I thought it was trapped."
"So did I," the figure replied.
Neither sounded particularly happy.
Ayan glanced between them.
The conversation felt strangely familiar. Earlier, they had spoken about the End in a similar way. Not as an enemy. Not as a creature. More like a force of nature.
Something inevitable.
Something ancient.
The bridge pulsed harder.
Another fragment appeared.
Ayan saw countless worlds connected by silver pathways stretching across reality. Millions of lights moved along those roads while civilizations exchanged knowledge and resources.
Then one pathway vanished.
Another followed.
Then thousands disappeared.
Panic spread.
The memory accelerated.
Entire worlds began sealing gateways. Fleets launched. Armies mobilized. The atmosphere shifted from prosperity to desperation within moments.
At the center of everything stood a single symbol.
An eye.
The vision shattered.
Reality returned.
Ayan froze.
The bridge trembled.
The eye remained burned into his thoughts.
The figure noticed immediately.
Its expression became grim.
"You saw the mark."
Ayan nodded slowly.
"What is it?"
The answer took time.
The figure seemed reluctant to speak.
Eventually, it sighed.
"The first thing that crossed the door."
The words settled heavily over the valley.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody moved.
Even the wind seemed to disappear.
The giant lowered his head.
The king remained silent.
Ayan suddenly realized that nobody present had ever described the enemy directly. They had discussed the End. They had discussed fractures. They had discussed reality collapsing.
Yet nobody had ever explained what actually came through the first door.
Perhaps because they didn't know.
Or perhaps because they didn't want to remember.
The figure stared into the darkness beyond the crimson fracture.
Its voice became quieter.
"When the first door opened, something looked back."
A cold feeling spread through Ayan's chest.
The bridge pulsed.
Hard.
Another memory surfaced.
This one lasted only a second.
A gigantic eye.
Nothing else.
No body.
No face.
No shape.
Only an eye large enough to fill the sky.
The vision disappeared instantly.
Ayan staggered slightly.
The bridge continued trembling.
And somewhere beyond the crimson doorway, hidden within endless darkness—
Something blinked.