The universe remained silent.
Kael stood beneath the shattered sky, staring at the doorway that had appeared behind the ancient creature.
Thousands of universes were visible beyond it.
Some were burning.
Some were collapsing.
Others were already completely dark.
But every single one seemed to lead toward the same destination.
The place where Kael and Eryx had been born.
Kael slowly turned toward Aetherion.
"You said this thing is going back."
Aetherion nodded.
"Yes."
"To our birthplace."
"Yes."
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"Then why is it going there?"
Aetherion didn't answer.
Eryx stepped forward.
"You know something else."
Aetherion remained silent.
Eryx's expression hardened.
"You've done this before."
Aetherion looked at him.
"What?"
"Hidden something from us."
The ancient being's silence was enough.
Kael's hands tightened.
"Aetherion."
The creature beyond the crack suddenly stopped moving.
Its enormous eye turned toward them.
And the voice returned.
"He cannot tell you."
Kael looked up.
"Why?"
"Because he remembers what happened the last time you reached the Beginning."
Aetherion's body trembled.
Kael looked at him.
"What happened?"
Aetherion finally spoke.
"I killed you."
Silence.
Eryx froze.
Kael stared at Aetherion.
"You… killed me?"
"No."
Aetherion's voice cracked.
"I killed what you became."
Kael stepped closer.
"Explain."
Aetherion lowered his head.
"Your first universe was collapsing. The Origin was losing control. The First Hunger had already been created, but it wasn't enough to contain everything."
Kael's memories began returning.
A dying universe.
Millions of voices.
The First Hunger.
His own hands covered in light.
Eryx screaming his name.
Aetherion standing behind him.
And something else.
Something watching.
Aetherion continued.
"You discovered the existence of the thing beyond creation."
Kael's breathing slowed.
"And?"
"You tried to fight it."
Kael looked toward the enormous eye.
"Did I lose?"
Aetherion shook his head.
"No."
"You won?"
"No."
Aetherion looked directly at Kael.
"You frightened it."
For the first time, the ancient creature's eye changed.
It narrowed.
Kael noticed.
"What did I do?"
Aetherion whispered:
"You consumed part of it."
Kael's eyes widened.
The Hunger inside his Core suddenly pulsed.
A memory flashed through his mind.
His younger self standing before the ancient creature.
Not attacking.
Not defending.
Opening his mouth.
Devouring a piece of the darkness.
Kael staggered backward.
"No…"
Eryx caught him.
"What did you see?"
Kael looked at his brother.
"I ate it."
Eryx's expression changed.
"What?"
"I consumed a piece of that thing."
The Hunger inside Kael answered.
Yes.
Kael closed his eyes.
And suddenly he understood.
The Hunger hadn't only been created to consume the Origin's excess energy.
It had been created to consume something that couldn't be killed.
Something that existed outside the rules of reality.
The ancient creature spoke again.
"You were the first thing capable of hurting me."
Kael opened his eyes.
"Then why didn't you kill me?"
The creature's enormous eye stared down at him.
"Because I could not."
Kael froze.
The creature continued.
"You were already becoming something I could not understand."
Eryx stepped forward.
"And that's why you called us mistakes?"
The creature remained silent.
Kael looked at his brother.
Then something clicked.
"Wait."
He looked toward Aetherion.
"You said there were two of us."
Aetherion nodded.
"Kael and Eryx."
"But if I consumed part of that creature…"
Kael's gaze shifted toward Eryx.
"Then what did you do?"
Eryx's expression became confused.
"I don't know."
The Last Core inside Kael suddenly reacted.
Silver light erupted between the brothers.
Eryx's body began glowing.
Kael reached toward him.
"Eryx!"
A symbol appeared on Eryx's chest.
A symbol Kael had never seen before.
Aetherion's eyes widened.
"No."
Kael looked at him.
"What?"
Aetherion took a step backward.
"That symbol."
Eryx looked down.
"What is it?"
Aetherion whispered:
"The Seal of the First Boundary."
The universe shook.
The ancient creature finally moved.
Its massive body began crossing through the crack.
Kael raised his power.
But Aetherion shouted—
"Don't attack!"
Kael stopped.
"Why?"
"Because if you fight it here…"
Aetherion looked at the countless dying universes beyond the doorway.
"Every universe connected to this boundary will collapse."
Kael slowly lowered his hand.
"So what do we do?"
Aetherion looked at the symbol on Eryx's chest.
"Go with it."
Eryx stared at him.
"You want us to follow that thing?"
"No."
Aetherion shook his head.
"I want you to follow the path it opens."
Kael looked at the doorway.
"What happens when we reach the end?"
Aetherion's expression became grim.
"You'll remember everything."
Kael felt a chill.
"Everything?"
"Your first life."
Aetherion paused.
"Your creation."
Another pause.
"And the reason you and Eryx were separated."
Kael's eyes hardened.
"Then we're going."
Eryx nodded.
"Together."
Kael stepped toward the doorway.
The moment his foot crossed the boundary—
The Last Core went silent.
No heartbeat.
No energy.
Nothing.
Kael looked down.
His Core had disappeared.
"Eryx."
Eryx looked at him.
"What's wrong?"
"I can't feel the Core."
Aetherion shouted from behind them.
"KAEL, DON'T MOVE!"
Kael froze.
The darkness beneath his feet began spreading.
Not around him.
Inside him.
His white power disappeared.
His black power disappeared.
Even the silver transformation energy vanished.
For the first time since becoming the Star Eater—
Kael was completely powerless.
Then a voice whispered beside his ear.
"Now you understand."
Kael slowly turned.
There was no one there.
The voice continued.
"You never devoured a dying star."
Kael's heart stopped.
"You devoured yourself."
Kael's eyes widened.
Another voice answered.
Eryx's voice.
But it wasn't coming from Eryx.
It was coming from somewhere deep inside Kael.
"And I was the part you left behind."
Kael turned toward his brother.
Eryx was standing perfectly still.
His eyes were completely black.
Kael whispered:
"Eryx?"
Eryx smiled.
But it wasn't his smile.
"We've finally returned."
Behind him—
The doorway closed.
Kael and Eryx were trapped.
And somewhere in the darkness before creation—
Something began to awaken.