Silence lingered between them for a long time.
William did not speak immediately after the old man finished talking.He remained seated where he was, his head slightly lowered, his eyes distant, as if his mind were trying to contain the overwhelming flood of thoughts that had just rushed into it all at once.
Abilities…Mind reading…The immortal body…
Each word sparked dozens of questions inside his head.
Several moments passed before he finally lifted his head.
He looked at the old man with tired eyes and asked in a quiet but clear voice:
"What is happening… to Earth?"
The old man did not answer right away.
He stayed silent for a moment, staring at the ground in front of him as if carefully weighing his words.
For a brief moment, his expression suggested he was considering how much truth he should reveal… or perhaps the best way to explain it.
Then he finally raised his gaze toward William.
And said in a calm, serious tone:
"To explain this… I must first give you some information."
He paused briefly before adding:
"And you must understand it well."
He looked directly into William's eyes and said firmly:
"So do not interrupt me."
He straightened slightly in his seat before continuing.
"The universe… is vast."
Then after a moment he added:
"So vast that the human mind struggles to comprehend it."
He gestured lightly in the air as if drawing something invisible.
"To illustrate… imagine that the observable universe discovered by your scientists is only one version."
He paused briefly before saying:
"And that it has an infinite number of counterparts."
William frowned slightly.
But the old man continued before he could speak.
"You call them parallel dimensions."
He slowly shook his head.
"But the truth… is that they operate through a completely different mechanism."
He sighed softly before continuing.
"It all begins when something known as a galactic rift is born."
Then he added:
"This event is extremely rare."
"It happens roughly once every billion years."
He extended his hand as if pulling something unseen.
"When this rift forms… it begins gathering everything around it."
"Matter… cosmic dust… stars… even entire galaxies."
"It functions similarly to a black hole."
Then he added slowly:
"But the difference is that it does not consume them to destroy them."
He raised a finger.
"It preserves them."
"It stores them within its core."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"And then… it releases them all at once."
His tone shifted slightly as he said:
"And in that moment…"
"The resulting gravitational force is enormous."
"A force beyond imagination."
"A force that violently pushes everything forward."
He suddenly moved his hand outward.
"And under that immense pressure… the rift tears itself apart."
"It collapses."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"But in the brief moment of its collapse…"
"An extremely powerful energy is created."
He raised his gaze toward the cabin ceiling.
"A force capable of slicing a portion of space itself."
"And opening a vast region."
"A space large enough to contain all the materials gathered by the rift."
He lowered his gaze again.
"And from there… a new universe begins to form."
"A visible universe."
"It starts small… then it grows."
"And over an immense period of time… billions of years…"
"That universe slowly takes its final shape."
He paused before adding:
"And when it is complete…"
"It stabilizes within the main universe."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"Like a fetus inside a womb."
He lifted his gaze toward William.
"And that… is the state of your universe."
He paused briefly.
Then continued:
"Your universe… not long ago… reached its final form."
William listened in absolute silence.
The old man continued:
"And now… I will tell you what happened to Earth."
He adjusted his posture slightly before continuing.
"Normally… the space within such a universe remains stable."
"No major disturbances occur."
Then he added:
"But in your universe… there was a different factor."
He paused briefly.
"Something known as… the Immortal Body."
William's eyes flickered slightly at the name.
But the old man continued.
"The existence of such an entity within a universe creates a certain degree of instability."
"Not always… but it can happen."
He exhaled softly before continuing.
"And in your case… something extremely rare occurred."
He raised his gaze directly to William.
"Chance."
Then he said:
"The Immortal Body happened to exist… on the same planet."
A short silence passed before he added:
"Earth."
Then he continued:
"Because of that instability… an attraction occurred."
"An attraction between your earth and the main universe."
He slowly moved his hand as if pulling two objects closer together.
"And your earth … was drawn toward the main universe."
He paused.
"And there… you encountered another planet."
He looked deeply at William.
"A planet very similar to Earth."
"Almost identical conditions."
Then he said calmly:
"But because the Immortal Body existed on your planet…"
"It was not your earth that merged."
He paused briefly.
Then delivered the final sentence without blinking.
"It was that planet."
Silence filled the cabin.
Then the old man said coldly:
"In other words…"
He looked directly at William.
"This… is Earth."
"Not the one you came from."
His words were shocking.
Yet he spoke them with complete calm…
as if the matter held little importance.
Meanwhile, William remained seated in place…
trying to comprehend a truth that might overturn everything he had ever known about the world.