The atmosphere of the underground training hall shifted as if the entire world were holding its breath at the Elder Ancestor's words.
Even the air seemed to stop moving.
Hana stood still, a faint glow still crawling across her skin.
But the tiny tremor in her fingers revealed one thing:
She was still human.
She was still afraid.
"Brother…" Hana whispered, her voice barely there.
"Sibling?"
The Elder Ancestor didn't answer right away.
He walked toward the cracked stone floor caused by the earlier burst of light, then lowered himself slowly, as if wanting to speak from a position that wasn't intimidating.
"Do you know," he said softly, "why no First Light has ever survived more than one world cycle?"
Hana shook her head. Her breathing short.
"Because of Ensaria-Prime," the Elder Ancestor continued.
"He is the Original Light the earliest, the purest, the most dangerous. And he is the one who decided that… only one First Light may exist in a single era."
Hana clutched her shirt tightly, horrified.
"So… he killed them all?"
The Elder Ancestor looked at Hana for a long moment, choosing the most honest and human words he could offer.
"Not directly.
Ensaria-Prime never touches the physical world."
He pointed to the empty space where the crack of light had appeared earlier.
"He split them. Took back the memory of the First Light inside their human hosts. The rest were left to die slowly as ordinary humans… or explode."
Hana stiffened.
"So all First Lights were"
"potential versions of him," the Elder Ancestor cut in.
"Backups. Fragments. Pieces of himself scattered apart. You… are one of those pieces."
Hana hugged herself tighter.
"Then why was I born with an empty memory? Why am I… human?"
The Elder Ancestor exhaled a long breath the sigh of someone tired of carrying secrets.
"Because I stole you, Hana."
Hana froze.
"I… what?"
Her voice broke.
"You were meant to be Ensaria-Prime's direct vessel," the Elder Ancestor said, guilty yet firm.
"Body, soul, memory everything prepared to become his next self. But I knew what would happen. Ensaria-Prime does not allow his host to have a will."
He looked at Hana, his old brown eyes carrying thousands of regrets.
"So I made the decision Ensaria-Prime considers the highest betrayal."
He lowered his head a little.
"I severed you from the First Light network before your time. I sealed half your light. I cast you down as a human infant so you could grow with your own choices."
Hana froze in place, lips parted with no sound.
The Elder Ancestor added, bitter:
"I chose to make you… defective as a First Light. But whole as a human."
Hana exhaled shakily, a tear falling.
"So from the start… I was a mistake?"
"No." The Elder Ancestor stepped closer, gripping Hana's shoulders.
"You're the solution. The only one who ever had two identities at once."
Hana looked down, the glow in her eyes dimming becoming human again.
"Then…" her voice was low, afraid, but stubborn, "…why did the System suddenly choose to follow me?"
The question sent a faint tremor through the air.
The System appeared:
[PROTOCOL: FREE-WILL ANOMALY]
[VALUE: IDENTIFIED]
[STATUS: RECOGNIZING HOST AS A NEW ENTITY]
[PROPOSED DESIGNATION: "SECOND LIGHT"]
The Elder Ancestor tensed.
"No… it shouldn't be like this."
Hana stared at the system panel.
"Brother, what does 'Second Light' mean?"
The Elder Ancestor closed his eyes, his voice dropping to a whisper that was never meant to be spoken.
"It means… you're no longer just a fragment of Ensaria-Prime."
He opened his eyes raw fear visible there.
"You're becoming something he cannot control."
Hana swallowed.
"Brother… does that mean he'll kill me?"
The Elder Ancestor shook his head slowly.
"No."
He tightened his grip on her shoulders.
"He'll come to destroy the entire world if that's what it takes to claim you."
Hana flinched, her breathing quick and uneven.
The System displayed a countdown:
[68:11:44]
[FULL CONNECTION ALIGNING TOWARD THE PHYSICAL WORLD]
[HOST: PREPARE]
The Elder Ancestor rose to his feet, his posture shifting into something Hana had never seen before:
not a mentor, not a guardian, not an old friend.
But a war commander.
"Hana," he said firmly, "there is training we must begin. Training I have never allowed before."
Hana wiped her tears, forcing herself not to fall apart.
"What training?"
The Elder Ancestor looked at the faint light across Hana's skin.
"Training to merge your two selves without breaking."
Hana took a deep breath.
"Brother… if I fail?"
The Elder Ancestor replied without hesitation harsh but honest:
"Then Ensaria-Prime will claim you alive. And this world…
will die with you."