The rain fell without a sound that night.
Not because it was gentle
but because every noise seemed swallowed by something far bigger than weather.
The Great Ancestor stood on the balcony of the small house.
Just a thin T-shirt, messy hair caught by the wind.
Yet the aura of his ancient power
even suppressed to its deepest limits
still leaked out like magma breathing beneath the earth.
He hadn't moved since the winged woman vanished.
He only stared at the empty sky.
As if something behind that darkness… was staring back.
Hana appeared from behind him, dragging a thin blanket, letting out a small yawn.
"Big Bro… you haven't slept?"
The Great Ancestor turned.
His smile was soft
but his eyes were hard.
"Not yet. Go to sleep, Hana. It's late."
Hana shook her head, lips pouting.
"If you're not sleeping, Hana doesn't wanna sleep either."
The Great Ancestor exhaled
and somehow, the clouds shifted faster across the sky.
He reached for Hana's little hand.
And the moment he touched her…
Something pulsed.
Soft.
Subtle.
But absolutely not human.
A pulse like an echo from a time before history existed.
Hana looked up. "Why, Big Bro?"
"…Nothing," he said.
A lie.
And the worst he had ever spoken as an ancient being.
Hana looked up at the sky.
"That glowing auntie… she was nice, right?"
"…she is not an enemy," he answered.
"But that doesn't make her safe."
Hana pinched her own arm.
"If she comes again… will you protect her too?"
The Great Ancestor chuckled faintly.
"I don't need to protect her. She's far stronger than you think."
Hana nodded
but suddenly her face turned pale.
"B-Big Bro… why does my chest… feel warm?"
The Great Ancestor immediately knelt before her.
"Hana. Look at me."
She stared back, confused.
"Breathe."
Hana inhaled.
And at that exact moment
The pulse returned.
Stronger.
Clearer.
Like a tiny sun opening its eyelids inside Hana's body.
Her chest glowed faintly
just for a heartbeat
but enough to make the Great Ancestor clench his jaw.
"…The Mark is awakening faster than I calculated."
Hana panicked.
"What's happening to me, Big Bro??"
The Great Ancestor raised two fingers and touched the point between her brows.
A gentle light spilled from his fingertips kept low, carefully restrained, so Hana's mortal body wouldn't explode under ancient pressure.
"Someone is trying to reach the Mark," he murmured.
Hana grew even paler.
"Reach? Like… calling me?"
"…More like whispering your name across thousands of dimensions."
"And anything that hears it will know you exist."
Hana hugged herself, trembling.
"B-Big Bro… I'm scared…"
The Great Ancestor stroked her head.
Soft.
Human.
A stark contrast to the immeasurable force he kept chained inside him.
"I'm here. No one can touch you."
Yet behind his calm voice, he could feel it:
a tiny crack in the world's barrier,
faint murmurs from dimensions he never wished to hear again,
and the scent of an ancient power that should have been extinct.
The voice whispered:
Heir… has awakened…
The Great Ancestor froze.
Hana felt his hand tighten.
"Brother…?"
He stood slowly, lifting Hana into his arms and scanning the sky.
But he wasn't looking at the sky.
He was looking through the Third Dimensional Layer.
And there
A single eye.
Colossal.
Opened behind the cosmic dark, staring down at the human world.
The eye smiled
without lips, without a face.
The Last Light… has returned…
The Great Ancestor growled.
Low.
Quiet.
Yet enough to make the air vibrate.
"Shut your mouth," he muttered.
"This world is not yours."
The eye pulsed
then shattered into black mist.
Gone.
Hana clutched his shirt, shaking.
"Brother… I didn't see anything… so why do I feel so scared?"
The Great Ancestor cupped her face gently.
"Because that creature… was looking for you."
Hana looked down.
"Am I… a mistake?"
He shook his head instantly.
"No. You are not a mistake."
He stared at the ocean of rain ahead.
"You are the universe's final choice."
Hana fell silent.
Then hugged him tightly
as if the world might crack open at any moment.
"Brother… don't leave me…"
The Great Ancestor held her closer.
Tighter.
Deeper.
"I won't. Ever."
And far behind them…
in the dark forest miles away…
Something opened its eyes.
The same eye the Great Ancestor saw beyond the dimensional veil.
But now
it had entered the human realm.
The air fractured.
Trees bent.
The ground bled red.
And the creature whispered, its voice carved from the groans of ancient eras:
Heir…
I have found you.