The eyes opened.
Thousands of them.
They filled the darkness in every direction.
Kael stood completely still.
He could feel every gaze upon him.
Not just his body.
Not his energy.
His memories.
His soul.
Even the parts of himself he had forgotten.
The third Eryx moved closer to Kael.
"Don't look at them."
Kael frowned.
"Why?"
"They can see you when you look at them."
Kael slowly lowered his gaze.
"What are they?"
The third Eryx shook his head.
"I don't know."
Eryx raised his hand.
"I do."
Kael looked at him.
Eryx stared into the darkness.
"They're observers."
"Observers?"
"They don't fight."
Eryx's expression darkened.
"They watch."
A voice echoed through the darkness.
"Correct."
Kael's eyes narrowed.
The voice continued.
"We have watched every version of you."
Kael clenched his fist.
"Who are you?"
No answer.
Instead, one of the thousands of eyes began moving closer.
It grew larger.
Then—
A figure stepped out from behind it.
A humanoid shape made entirely of white light.
Its face was completely blank.
No eyes.
No mouth.
No features.
Yet Kael could feel it staring at him.
The being raised one hand.
The darkness disappeared.
Suddenly, Kael was standing somewhere else.
A massive laboratory surrounded him.
The walls stretched farther than the universe.
Thousands of enormous machines floated in the air.
Inside them—
Universes.
Entire universes were contained inside glass-like spheres.
Kael stared in disbelief.
"They're experiments."
The third Eryx whispered.
Kael looked around.
"This place..."
He recognized it.
"The Firstborn."
The light-being shook its head.
"No."
Kael froze.
The being spoke again.
"The Firstborn were merely assistants."
Kael's expression hardened.
"Assistants to who?"
The being pointed upward.
Kael looked.
A massive symbol appeared above the laboratory.
Three circles connected together.
One white.
One black.
One silver.
Kael's eyes widened.
Those were his three powers.
Creation.
Destruction.
Transformation.
The being spoke.
"Your kind calls it the Origin."
Kael stared.
"What?"
"The Origin was not the beginning."
The laboratory shook.
"It was the first successful experiment."
Kael's blood ran cold.
Eryx stepped forward.
"You're saying the Origin was created?"
"Yes."
"By who?"
The being looked toward the three brothers.
"By the ones who existed before it."
Kael looked at the third Eryx.
"That's impossible."
The child shook his head.
"No."
Kael turned.
"What?"
The child looked at the symbol.
"It makes sense."
Kael stared at him.
"How?"
The child pointed toward the three circles.
"Creation."
He pointed to the second.
"Destruction."
Then the third.
"Transformation."
He looked at Kael.
"They were trying to create something that could control all three."
Kael's expression changed.
"Us."
The child nodded.
"Us."
The light-being suddenly raised its hand.
The laboratory changed.
Kael saw three children inside separate chambers.
One was himself.
One was Eryx.
One was the child.
But they weren't being created.
They were being tested.
Energy was injected into their bodies.
Their memories were erased.
Their consciousness was divided.
Their lives were restarted.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Kael watched himself die.
Then return.
Die again.
Return again.
He watched Eryx suffer the same fate.
And the child—
He was repeatedly placed inside Kael.
Over and over.
Kael's fists trembled.
"You did this."
The light-being didn't deny it.
"Yes."
Kael's power erupted.
"You killed us!"
The laboratory shook.
"You erased our lives!"
The being remained still.
"We reset the experiment."
Kael's eyes burned.
"We're not experiments!"
His white energy exploded.
Black energy followed.
Silver transformed around him.
The three forces combined.
The laboratory cracked.
For the first time, the light-being stepped backward.
Kael pointed at it.
"You wanted to create the next Origin."
The being nodded.
"Yes."
"Why?"
The being's answer was simple.
"Because the Origin failed."
Kael froze.
The being continued.
"It could create."
The white circle appeared.
"It could destroy."
The black circle appeared.
"But it could not change."
The silver circle appeared.
"You were created to solve that flaw."
Kael stared.
"So that's why I have transformation."
"Yes."
"And the Hunger?"
The being paused.
"An unforeseen result."
Kael's expression hardened.
"The Hunger wasn't part of the experiment."
"No."
"Then why was it so powerful?"
The being answered:
"Because it was created by you."
Kael froze.
The First Hunger had been born from his desperation.
His fear.
His refusal to accept death.
His desire to save everyone.
It had become something the experimenters couldn't control.
The being continued.
"You created something outside our design."
Kael whispered:
"The Hunger."
"Yes."
"The thing you feared."
"Yes."
Kael looked toward the darkness.
"And that's why you called us mistakes."
The being nodded.
"You stopped being our experiment."
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"What did we become?"
The being looked at him.
"A variable."
Silence.
Then—
The laboratory began collapsing.
Machines shattered.
Universes escaped from their chambers.
Countless stars exploded into existence.
The thousands of observers began disappearing.
Kael looked around.
"What's happening?"
The being turned toward the darkness.
"The final stage has begun."
Kael raised his guard.
"What final stage?"
The being looked back.
"We stop watching."
The entire laboratory went silent.
Then every observer disappeared.
One by one.
Until only the ancient creature remained.
The being turned toward it.
For the first time, the creature spoke with fear.
"No."
The light-being raised its hand.
A massive white symbol appeared.
The creature screamed.
The darkness around it shattered.
Kael stared.
"What are you doing?"
The being answered:
"Removing the containment system."
Kael's eyes widened.
"The creature was containment?"
"Yes."
Eryx stepped forward.
"Then what was it containing?"
The being looked toward Kael.
"You."
Kael froze.
The third Eryx grabbed his hand.
"Kael."
Kael looked at him.
"What?"
The child was trembling.
"They're going to let us become complete."
Kael stared.
"What happens if we become complete?"
The child looked toward the collapsing laboratory.
His voice became barely audible.
"We become what they were afraid of."
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"And what is that?"
The child answered:
"Something that can rewrite the rules of existence."
The Last Core suddenly reappeared.
But it wasn't inside Kael.
It floated between the three brothers.
White.
Black.
Silver.
All three energies began moving toward it.
Kael reached out.
"Wait."
The Core pulsed.
THUMP.
Reality shook.
THUMP.
The laboratory disappeared.
THUMP.
Every universe went dark.
And then—
Kael heard a voice.
Not the observers.
Not the ancient creature.
Not Aetherion.
His own voice.
From somewhere beyond time.
"This time, don't make the same choice."
Kael froze.
"Which choice?"
Silence.
Then—
A final image appeared.
Kael saw himself standing at the end of existence.
Beside him stood Eryx.
Beside Eryx stood the third brother.
And in front of them—
Was the Origin.
But the Origin wasn't fighting them.
It was kneeling.
As if surrendering.
Kael's eyes widened.
Then the image disappeared.
The Last Core opened.
And something stepped out.
Something wearing Kael's face.
TO BE CONTINUED...