Chapter 100 – The City Beneath Crosshaven
The first person stepped through the First Door.
Then another.
Then another.
Soon, the Archive was filled with footsteps.
Thousands of people entered.
Some looked young.
Some were old.
Some carried weapons.
Others carried nothing.
But every single one of them looked at Evetyl.
Not Kai.
Not Cr-Hook.
Evetyl.
And none of them smiled.
Kai moved closer to her.
"Stay behind me."
Evetyl shook her head.
"No."
"Kai—"
"This is my past."
She stepped forward.
"I need to face it."
Cr-Hook stood beside her.
"Then you're not facing it alone."
Evetyl looked at him.
"You remember more than I do."
"Unfortunately."
Cr-Hook glanced at the crowd.
"And these people seem to remember everything."
A woman from the crowd stepped forward.
She looked directly at Evetyl.
"You finally returned."
Evetyl swallowed.
"Who are you?"
The woman smiled sadly.
"You don't remember me."
"No."
"You used to call me Mira."
Evetyl's eyes widened slightly.
A tiny flash appeared in her mind.
A garden.
Flowers.
A woman laughing.
Aeterna sitting beneath a tree.
Mira beside her.
Then the memory vanished.
Evetyl pressed her forehead.
"I…"
Mira looked at her.
"You don't have to force it."
"Why?"
"Because memories don't come when you demand them."
She looked at Kai.
"They come when you're ready to accept them."
Kai stepped forward.
"What happened here?"
Mira looked at him.
"You happened."
Kai froze.
"I didn't know."
"I know."
"You hate me?"
Mira shook her head.
"No."
"Then why did everyone look at Evetyl like that?"
"Because she was the one who made the choice."
Kai looked at Evetyl.
Mira continued.
"She chose to save you."
"She chose to create another world."
"And she chose to forget us."
Evetyl lowered her head.
"I didn't know I had forgotten."
Mira nodded.
"That was the point."
The Curator walked toward the city.
He looked around in disbelief.
"This place is impossible."
Cr-Hook glanced at him.
"That's becoming your favorite word."
The Curator ignored him.
"The architecture…"
He touched one of the ancient walls.
"This is older than Crosshaven."
"Older than the First World," said the First Thought.
The Curator looked at it.
"How?"
The First Thought looked toward the city.
"I don't know."
The Eye suddenly spoke.
"I have found something."
Everyone looked up.
"What?"
The Eye's voice was unusually quiet.
"There are no timelines here."
Kai frowned.
"What does that mean?"
"There are no alternate versions."
"No possible futures."
"No recorded past."
"Nothing."
The Curator stared.
"Then what is this city?"
The Eye answered:
"A place outside history."
Cr-Hook looked around.
"So…"
He pointed toward the buildings.
"This city existed before history?"
"Yes."
"And somehow people lived here?"
"Yes."
"Then who created it?"
Silence.
The woman who had greeted them answered:
"No one."
Everyone looked at her.
She continued:
"It was never created."
"It simply existed."
Evetyl's eyes widened.
"The world before the world."
The woman nodded.
"Yes."
Kai walked through the ancient streets.
People watched him.
Some whispered.
Some cried.
One little boy pointed at him.
"That's him."
His mother immediately pulled him back.
"Don't stare."
Kai stopped.
"Who am I to them?"
Mira answered from behind.
"The child who survived."
Kai looked down.
"I don't remember."
"You weren't supposed to."
"Who made me forget?"
Mira looked toward Evetyl.
Kai turned.
Evetyl closed her eyes.
"I don't know."
Mira answered:
"She did."
Kai stared at Evetyl.
"Evetyl…"
She looked at him.
"I don't remember doing it."
"But you did."
"Yes."
Kai was quiet.
Then he asked:
"Why?"
Mira answered:
"Because the truth would have destroyed you."
Kai frowned.
"What truth?"
Mira looked toward Cr-Hook.
"Ask him."
Everyone turned.
Cr-Hook froze.
"What?"
Mira smiled.
"You were there."
Cr-Hook looked away.
"I don't remember everything."
"But you remember enough."
Cr-Hook's jaw tightened.
"Not enough to tell him."
Kai walked toward him.
"Tell me."
Cr-Hook looked at him.
"I can't."
"Why?"
"Because you won't like the answer."
"I'd rather know."
Cr-Hook sighed.
"You were never supposed to survive."
Kai went silent.
"What?"
"The first world was ending."
"Aeterna found you."
"She wanted to save you."
"But there was a problem."
"What problem?"
Cr-Hook looked at Evetyl.
"You weren't human yet."
Kai stared.
"What?"
Cr-Hook continued.
"You had a body."
"You could speak."
"You could feel."
"But you weren't fully…"
He struggled to find the word.
"…defined."
Kai whispered:
"What does that mean?"
"It means you could have become anything."
"Anything?"
"Anything."
Cr-Hook looked toward the city.
"You were a possibility."
Kai looked confused.
"Then how did I become Kai?"
Cr-Hook answered:
"She named you."
Evetyl looked at him.
"You gave me my name."
"Yes."
"And that made me…"
"Human."
Silence.
Kai touched his chest.
"So…"
He looked at Evetyl.
"You gave me a name."
"Yes."
"And that gave me an identity."
"Yes."
"And then you built a world around me."
Evetyl nodded.
Kai smiled faintly.
"Then…"
He looked at his hands.
"…I really did begin with you."
Evetyl's eyes filled with tears.
"Yes."
Kai hugged her.
Evetyl froze.
Then slowly hugged him back.
"I don't care what happened before," Kai whispered.
"You're my beginning too."
Evetyl closed her eyes.
"Thank you."
Cr-Hook looked away.
"I'm going to pretend I didn't see that."
Kai laughed.
"You're crying."
"I have dust in my eyes."
"Both eyes?"
"Very dusty city."
Mira laughed softly.
For the first time, some people in the city smiled.
Then the ground shook.
Everyone stopped.
A deep rumble came from beneath the city.
Mira's smile disappeared.
"No."
Cr-Hook immediately raised his weapon.
"What?"
"The lower city."
"What about it?"
"It's opening."
The Curator frowned.
"There is another city beneath this one?"
Mira nodded.
"The place where the first people lived."
The First Thought looked toward the ground.
"Then this isn't the original city."
Mira shook her head.
"No."
"This is only the entrance."
The ground split.
A massive staircase appeared.
It descended into darkness.
Cr-Hook stared.
"I don't like stairs that lead into ancient civilizations."
Kai looked at him.
"You don't like stairs?"
"I don't like ancient stairs."
"Why?"
"They're usually hiding something."
The Curator sighed.
"Unfortunately, he's correct."
The woman who had greeted them walked toward the staircase.
"You must go down."
Evetyl asked:
"Why?"
"Because the answer you're searching for is there."
"The answer about Aeterna?"
"No."
"The answer about Kai?"
"No."
"Then what?"
The woman looked at Cr-Hook.
"The answer about the First Lock."
Cr-Hook's expression hardened.
"What is down there?"
She answered:
"The person who created it."
Cr-Hook froze.
"You said the First Lock wasn't created."
"It wasn't."
"Then who is down there?"
The woman smiled.
"The person who made you."
Cr-Hook slowly lowered his weapon.
"My creator?"
"Yes."
"What are they?"
The woman looked toward the stairs.
"A person."
Cr-Hook frowned.
"Just a person?"
"No."
She paused.
"The first person."
The group began descending.
Evetyl and Kai walked together.
Cr-Hook walked behind them.
The Curator followed.
The First Thought, Eye, and Warden remained close.
The stairs seemed endless.
No torches.
No lamps.
Yet the path was illuminated by faint white symbols carved into the walls.
Kai touched one.
The symbol immediately glowed.
A memory appeared.
A little boy.
Cr-Hook.
He was sitting beside a woman.
She was teaching him how to fight.
Cr-Hook watched the memory.
"That's me."
The woman in the memory said:
"Never fight because you're angry."
Young Cr-Hook nodded.
"Then why fight?"
"To protect someone."
"Who?"
The woman smiled.
"Anyone who needs you."
The memory disappeared.
Cr-Hook stopped walking.
Evetyl turned.
"Are you okay?"
He nodded.
"I remember her."
"Who?"
"My mother."
Everyone stopped.
Cr-Hook stared at the wall.
"I never had a mother."
The Curator frowned.
"Apparently you did."
Cr-Hook touched the symbol again.
Another memory appeared.
The same woman.
This time she was holding Cr-Hook's hand.
Behind her stood a much younger Evetyl.
And beside Evetyl...
was the faceless figure.
Cr-Hook's breathing stopped.
"She knew Evetyl."
Evetyl stepped closer.
"I know her."
"You do?"
"Yes."
"Who is she?"
Evetyl stared at the memory.
Then whispered:
"Her name was Elara."
The First Thought suddenly went silent.
The Eye stopped moving.
The Warden's chains froze.
Cr-Hook looked at them.
"What?"
The First Thought answered:
"Elara."
It sounded shocked.
"You know her?"
"I know the name."
"Who was she?"
The First Thought slowly looked at Evetyl.
"She was the first person to teach existence how to live."
Cr-Hook frowned.
"That doesn't make sense."
The First Thought shook its head.
"It does now."
"What?"
The First Thought looked down the staircase.
"Elara was the first human."
Silence.
Cr-Hook stared at the memory.
His mother.
The woman who had taught him to protect people.
The woman who had known Evetyl.
The woman who existed before the First World.
Cr-Hook whispered:
"My mother was the first human."
Evetyl nodded slowly.
"And you were her son."
Cr-Hook looked at his hands.
"Then why was I made the First Lock?"
The answer came from below.
A woman's voice.
"Because you were the only one strong enough to survive."
Everyone froze.
The voice continued.
"Come down."
Cr-Hook gripped his weapon.
"Who are you?"
The voice answered:
"Your mother."
Cr-Hook's face went completely pale.
Evetyl looked at him.
"Cr-Hook…"
He stepped forward.
"I have to go."
Kai followed.
"We're coming with you."
Cr-Hook nodded.
They descended further.
At the bottom was a massive chamber.
In the center stood a single chair.
Someone was sitting in it.
A woman.
Long dark hair.
White clothing.
A familiar face.
Cr-Hook stopped breathing.
His weapon fell from his hand.
"Mom…"
The woman slowly opened her eyes.
She looked at him.
And smiled.
"You came back."
Cr-Hook couldn't move.
"You're alive."
The woman shook her head.
"No."
She looked at Evetyl.
"None of us are."
Then she looked at Kai.
"But you…"
Her expression changed.
"…should never have survived."
Kai froze.
The woman stood.
The entire chamber shook.
Cr-Hook stepped in front of Kai.
"Don't touch him."
His mother looked at him.
"You still protect him."
"Yes."
"Even now?"
"Especially now."
She smiled.
"That is why you were chosen."
Cr-Hook frowned.
"Chosen for what?"
His mother looked toward the darkness behind the chamber.
"To close the door you opened."
A massive sound echoed.
BOOM.
The First Door appeared behind them.
But this time...
it wasn't opening.
It was closing.
Something on the other side was desperately trying to get out.
His mother whispered:
"And if that door closes…"
Everyone looked at her.
"…the thing inside will be trapped forever."
Cr-Hook asked:
"And if it opens?"
She looked at Evetyl.
"The First World returns."
Then she looked at Kai.
"And this world ends."
Finally, she looked at Cr-Hook.
"And you must choose which world dies."
Cr-Hook stared at her.
"No."
His mother smiled sadly.
"I knew you'd say that."
The door began shaking violently.
Something struck it from the other side.
BOOM!
A crack appeared.
Then another.
And through the crack...
a single eye looked out.
Cr-Hook raised his weapon.
Kai stepped beside him.
Evetyl stood behind them.
The eye blinked.
Then a voice came from behind the door.
Cr-Hook recognized it immediately.
The voice of the thing he had once locked away.
"Cr-Hook."
He tightened his grip.
The voice continued:
"Open the door."
Cr-Hook shook his head.
"No."
The voice laughed.
"You always do."
The crack widened.
And something began stepping through.
To Be Continued...