The Last Core remained open.
Kael stared at the figure standing inside it.
His face.
His hair.
His body.
Everything looked exactly like him.
But something was wrong.
The figure slowly lifted his head.
His eyes opened.
They were completely silver.
Kael took a step back.
"Who are you?"
The figure didn't answer.
Eryx moved in front of Kael.
"Stay behind me."
Kael frowned.
"You really think I need protection from myself?"
"I don't know if that's you."
The child-like third piece of Eryx stood silently beside them.
For the first time since he appeared, fear crossed his face.
"That's not Kael."
Kael looked at him.
"What do you mean?"
The child pointed at the figure.
"That thing doesn't have a soul."
The silver-eyed Kael smiled.
"You're finally beginning to understand."
His voice sounded exactly like Kael's.
But there was something behind it.
Something ancient.
Something empty.
The ancient creature that had been watching them suddenly moved backward.
"No…"
Its voice trembled.
"The vessel wasn't supposed to activate."
Eryx turned toward it.
"You knew about this."
"I knew there was a possibility."
"A possibility of what?"
The creature didn't answer.
The silver-eyed Kael stepped forward.
Reality bent around his foot.
The ground beneath him disappeared.
Not shattered.
Not destroyed.
It simply stopped existing.
Kael's expression changed.
"That wasn't destruction."
Aetherion's voice echoed inside his mind.
"No."
Kael felt cold.
"Then what was it?"
Aetherion was silent for several seconds.
Then he finally answered.
"Removal."
Kael clenched his fist.
The silver-eyed version of himself looked at him.
"You have grown."
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"Who are you?"
"I am what remained."
"What remained from what?"
The figure smiled.
"From you."
Silence filled the space.
Eryx stepped forward.
"That makes no sense."
"It will."
The silver-eyed Kael raised one hand.
A small star appeared above his palm.
Kael immediately recognized it.
It was the first star he had ever consumed.
The same dying star that had changed his life.
His eyes widened.
"You have my memories."
"I have more than your memories."
The star disappeared.
The figure looked directly at Kael.
"I have everything you were before you became what you are now."
Kael felt something twist inside his chest.
The Last Core suddenly pulsed.
Once.
Twice.
Then hundreds of memories flooded into his mind.
A laboratory.
White walls.
Machines.
Thousands of observers.
Three children standing inside separate chambers.
Kael.
Eryx.
And the third piece.
But there was another chamber.
One that Kael had never seen before.
Inside it was another child.
Himself.
The child was lying unconscious.
A machine surrounded his body.
A voice spoke.
"Subject K-0 remains incomplete."
Another voice answered.
"Then create a replacement."
Kael's breathing stopped.
"No…"
The memory continued.
The scientists removed something from the child.
A glowing silver core.
Then they placed it inside another body.
That body opened its eyes.
Silver.
Exactly like the eyes of the figure standing before him.
Kael returned to reality.
He was on one knee.
Eryx grabbed his shoulder.
"Kael!"
Kael looked up.
The silver-eyed figure was still standing there.
"You were the replacement?"
The figure nodded.
"I was created after you failed."
Kael stared at him.
"When did I fail?"
"Before your first universe."
Kael's heart sank.
The figure continued.
"You were not the first Kael."
Eryx froze.
"What?"
"You were not the second either."
The child-like Eryx slowly looked at Kael.
"There were others?"
The silver-eyed Kael nodded.
"Many."
The surrounding darkness began to fill with images.
Hundreds.
Thousands.
Different versions of Kael.
Some were warriors.
Some were monsters.
Some were kings.
Some were children.
Some had wings.
Some had horns.
Some had no bodies at all.
Every single one had failed.
Kael watched in silence.
"What happened to them?"
"They became data."
Kael's expression hardened.
"And you?"
"I became the final attempt."
Eryx stepped forward.
"You're saying you're the version that came after us?"
"No."
The silver-eyed Kael looked at him.
"I came before you."
Eryx's eyes widened.
"I was the first successful attempt to recreate him."
Kael slowly stood.
"Then why do you look like me?"
"Because I was built from the same original."
Kael felt the Last Core pulse again.
This time, it hurt.
Aetherion suddenly spoke.
"Kael."
"What?"
"Don't let him touch you."
Kael looked at the silver-eyed figure.
"Why?"
"Because he isn't another version of you."
Aetherion's voice became darker.
"He is your missing beginning."
The silver-eyed Kael smiled.
"You finally said it."
Kael stared at Aetherion.
"You knew?"
"I suspected."
"You knew!"
The air shook.
Kael's anger exploded outward.
Stars appeared around him.
Creation.
Destruction.
Transformation.
All three forces erupted at once.
The silver-eyed Kael didn't move.
He simply watched.
Then he raised his hand.
Everything stopped.
Kael's power vanished.
His stars disappeared.
Even the energy inside his body became silent.
Kael stared at his hands.
"What did you do?"
The silver-eyed Kael walked closer.
"I didn't do anything."
He pointed at Kael's chest.
"You simply stopped remembering how to use it."
Kael's eyes widened.
Eryx attacked.
His body transformed into pure energy as he launched himself forward.
The silver-eyed Kael turned.
Their fists collided.
BOOM!
The shockwave tore through the surrounding space.
Eryx was thrown backward.
Kael caught him.
"Eryx!"
Eryx wiped blood from his mouth.
"He's strong."
The child-like third piece suddenly grabbed Kael's hand.
"Don't fight him."
Kael looked down.
"Why?"
The child stared at the silver-eyed Kael.
"Because he wants us to."
The silver-eyed Kael smiled.
"Good."
He looked at the three of them.
"You finally understand."
The Last Core began to crack again.
But this time, something wasn't coming out.
Something was going in.
The silver-eyed Kael walked toward it.
Kael's expression changed.
"Wait."
The figure stopped.
"What are you doing?"
"Returning."
"To where?"
The silver-eyed Kael looked over his shoulder.
"To the place where you were born."
The entire space suddenly trembled.
A massive doorway appeared behind him.
Beyond it was darkness.
But inside that darkness were thousands of stars.
Kael recognized the place.
His birthplace.
His first universe.
The universe that should have been destroyed.
Eryx stared at it.
"That place is gone."
The silver-eyed Kael shook his head.
"No."
He smiled.
"You destroyed the copy."
Kael's blood ran cold.
"The original still exists."
The doorway began opening wider.
Something enormous moved behind it.
The same presence from beyond the Boundary.
The same presence that had existed before creation.
Kael felt the Hunger inside him awaken.
For the first time, it wasn't angry.
It was afraid.
Aetherion whispered:
"Kael…"
Kael stared into the doorway.
"What?"
Aetherion answered with a single sentence.
"That thing wasn't trying to enter our universe."
Kael's eyes widened.
"It was trying to escape."
The silver-eyed Kael smiled.
And behind him, the darkness opened its eyes.
TO BE CONTINUED...