Golden light flooded Hana's small room, making the entire house glow as if dawn from another world had been poured into it.
The winged woman stood right behind Hana transparent, graceful, beautiful… and impossibly ancient.
Not ancient like relics.
Ancient like the origin of a race.
Hana was still half-asleep, hugging her worn-out dog plushie with a sleepy grin.
"Brotherrr… why is my room so bright…"
The Great Ancestor rose slowly. No dramatic movement. No overwhelming aura.
Yet his entire existence… shifted.
The world around him seemed to pull back.
As if space and time themselves stepped aside for a meeting that should never happen again.
Violet Shadow collapsed to her knees.
Both hands trembling violently.
"I-I… I am unworthy to witness your form… Y-You"
The winged figure glanced at her once
and Violet Shadow immediately bowed until her forehead touched the trembling wooden floor.
The Great Ancestor stared at the winged woman without blinking.
"…You're still alive."
The woman smiled slightly.
A smile not meant for mortals too gentle, too pure, too… heartbreaking.
"I never died. I simply slept."
Hana rubbed her eyes again.
"Big Bro… who's this glowing auntie?"
Glowing auntie.
Violet Shadow choked on her breath.
The winged woman… actually laughed.
And her laughter made the air vibrate like a hymn sung across a starfield.
"A cute name," she said warmly, looking at Hana. "I don't mind it."
The Great Ancestor stepped forward once.
Space tightened around him.
"What are you doing here?"
The winged woman turned to him, her expression softening carrying a heavy, gloomy nostalgia.
"I came because the Mark has awakened."
The Great Ancestor's eyes sharpened.
"That's impossible. I sealed that Mark millions of years ago."
The woman replied softly:
"Yes. And that seal… has shattered."
Hana stood in the middle of the light, confused.
Slowly she looked up at the winged silhouette.
"Glowing auntie… do you know my brother?"
The winged woman stared at her for a long moment.
Her golden eyes reflecting strands of fate no human could ever see.
"I have known your brother longer than this world has existed."
"And what I thought was gone… I now see has returned."
She stepped toward Hana.
One step.
Two steps.
The light followed her feet like falling petals.
"Tell me, child… have you felt anything change inside your body?"
Hana blinked in confusion.
"Change? No… Hana just had a weird dream. There was a… super big firefly inside my chest."
The woman's smile was gentle.
Not happy.
More like someone who just found a truth she desperately wished was wrong.
"That firefly… was no dream."
The Great Ancestor raised a hand, cutting the distance between them.
"Not too close."
The winged woman sighed lightly.
"Great Ancestor… I would never harm her. You know that."
He stayed silent.
Their eyes locked.
Two primordial beings.
Two histories that once walked side by side.
Two destinies that should never collide again.
Violet Shadow, still kneeling, forced her trembling voice out:
"W-what exactly… is inside that human girl…?"
The winged woman glanced at her.
"What lies within that child…"
her voice fell to a whisper,
"…is the Last Remnant of the Empress of Eternity."
Violet Shadow jerked back.
Her blood seemed to freeze.
Her hand flew to her mouth to stop a scream.
"No… no… that's impossible… The Empress of Eternity is"
"Gone," the Great Ancestor cut sharply.
"Long before my era ended."
The winged woman nodded slowly.
"Yes. But her trace did not vanish with her."
She lifted a hand.
A soft light formed at her fingertip, drifting toward Hana like a golden thread.
It touched Hana's chest…
And from the little girl's body, a tender yellow glow emerged.
Twinkling like a tiny firefly.
But its vibration
The vibration of eternity.
Hana stepped back in surprise.
"Brother… what is that?"
The Great Ancestor immediately moved in front of her.
The golden glow faded.
The winged woman smiled.
"Relax. I only examined her. I caused no harm."
The Great Ancestor didn't smile.
"What do you mean the Mark is hatching now?"
The woman gazed outward, toward the dark sky beyond the window.
"The world is changing. Cracks between realms are forming."
"Monsters are growing stronger."
"Anomalous dungeons are being born."
"And something from beyond this world…"
"…is trying to enter."
She looked at him.
"With your power, you could destroy that threat alone."
The Great Ancestor said nothing.
"But"
her eyes flicked toward Hana
"now the world isn't the only one seeking her."
His heart thumped once. Heavy.
"What do you mean?"
She moved closer and whispered:
"There are ancient entities who can smell that Mark… even from other realms."
She looked at him with quiet sorrow.
"And they… will hunt your sister."
The Great Ancestor lowered his gaze to Hana hiding behind him.
A small, innocent girl.
Who only wanted instant noodles and cartoons.
Who had no idea that within her… slept the last spark of an era that should have died forever.
He looked up again.
The winged woman's eyes softened.
"If you keep living as an ordinary human… you will lose her."
"And not only to monsters."
The Great Ancestor frowned.
"…You're talking about the Watchers?"
The woman smiled bitterly.
"Not just them."
Her light began to fade.
"I must go. I have many eyes to seal before they turn toward this world."
The Great Ancestor reached toward her.
"Wait"
But she was already almost gone.
She looked at him one last time, her golden eyes glowing softly.
"I'm glad… I get to see you again."
He said nothing.
She smiled.
"Protect the girl, Great Ancestor."
"For the world that's coming…"
"…will not know mercy."
And she vanished.
The light faded.
The mist dissolved.
Night returned to what it once was.
Hana tugged on her brother's shirt.
"brother… am I… scary?"
The Great Ancestor shook his head.
Smiled softly.
"Not at all."
Hana looked down.
"…If I'm dangerous… you can leave me, you know."
The Great Ancestor froze.
Then looked at her
With the same eyes that once made nations bow when he opened the gates of heaven.
No anger.
No fear.
Only resolve.
"Listen, Hana."
He knelt.
Looked straight into her eyes.
"If the entire multiverse comes for you"
Hana swallowed hard.
"then I will destroy the entire multiverse."
Hana immediately hugged him tight.
"Don't say scary stuff like thaaaat, Brother…"
The Great Ancestor chuckled softly
the first laugh since he arrived in this world.
But deep in his chest…
He knew one truth:
The enemy approaching was no ordinary monster.
Not from this world.
Not from any world humans knew.
That night…
for the first time since he was born as the Great Ancestor
He felt something extremely rare.
Threat.