The underground city fell silent after the stranger spoke.
No towers collapsed.
No bells rang.
No ancient mechanisms awakened.
For a brief moment, even the prison seemed to forget it was dying.
The figure standing above the abyss continued watching Kael with calm, patient eyes while darkness flowed around him like a living cloak. The resemblance was impossible to ignore. The same face. The same eyes. The same features. Looking at him felt like staring into a mirror that reflected a different version of reality.
A version that had existed for far longer than history itself.
The words lingered heavily in the air.
I've been waiting for you.
Kael felt the black mark pulse violently beneath his skin.
A sharp pain shot through his arm.
The first real pain.
The symbol flared with dark light, causing ancient words to briefly appear across his skin before fading once more. Fragments of memory surged through his mind like a flood threatening to overwhelm a dam.
Cities.
Wars.
Stars.
Doors.
Endless bells ringing beneath a broken sky.
The memories vanished before he could fully grasp them.
Yet one thing remained.
A name.
A name buried so deeply inside his soul that hearing it felt both unfamiliar and impossible to forget.
The sensation nearly made him stagger.
The stranger smiled faintly.
"You heard it, didn't you?"
Nobody on the observation platform understood the question.
Kael did.
And that terrified him.
The city trembled beneath another violent shockwave as distant districts continued collapsing into the abyss below. Ancient towers disappeared into darkness while rivers of crystal light flooded ruined streets. The prison was still dying. The crisis hadn't stopped.
Yet somehow it no longer felt like the most important thing happening.
The First Son slowly descended from the sky.
Golden light surrounded him while ancient symbols drifted through the air like fragments of forgotten stars. His gaze remained fixed on the stranger standing above the abyss.
Neither looked hostile.
Neither looked friendly.
The atmosphere between them felt far older than either emotion.
For several moments, neither spoke.
Then the First Son sighed.
"You always did enjoy dramatic entrances."
The stranger laughed softly.
The sound carried genuine amusement.
"And you always complained."
Aren stared at both ancient beings.
Then rubbed his face.
Then stared again.
"I don't understand anything anymore."
Nobody responded.
At this point, the statement had become a universal truth.
The stranger finally looked away from Kael and toward the First Son.
His calm expression remained unchanged.
"How long?"
The question sounded simple.
The First Son answered immediately.
"Three thousand, seven hundred and twenty-two years."
The stranger became silent.
The city shook.
The prison groaned.
Far below, darkness churned within the abyss.
Yet for a moment, none of it mattered.
The stranger slowly lowered his eyes.
"That long."
For the first time, genuine emotion appeared on his face.
Sadness.
Not overwhelming sadness.
Not dramatic sadness.
The quiet sadness of someone realizing just how much time had passed.
The First Son remained silent.
There was nothing to say.
The realization settled heavily over the observation platform.
Three thousand years.
The prison.
The war.
The Sleeper.
The Door.
Everything had lasted longer than entire civilizations.
The stranger eventually looked toward the city.
His eyes traveled across the shattered districts, the collapsing towers, the terrified citizens, and the kneeling Dreamers. The underground metropolis reflected in his gaze like the ruins of a memory.
"They built all this."
The statement wasn't a question.
The First Son nodded.
"They tried."
The stranger laughed quietly.
Then shook his head.
"They always tried."
The city trembled again.
This time, the reaction came from deeper below.
The abyss expanded.
Darkness spilled outward.
The prison screamed.
Immediately, both ancient beings became serious.
The brief moment of nostalgia vanished.
Reality returned.
The danger returned.
The stranger looked downward.
His expression hardened.
"So it's awake."
The First Son folded his arms.
"It never truly slept."
A cold silence followed.
Even Kael could feel the shift in atmosphere.
Whatever lay beyond the Door—
Whatever the Sleeper had guarded—
The conversation kept returning to it.
Everything kept returning to it.
The stranger suddenly turned toward Kael again.
His gaze felt heavier this time.
More focused.
Almost analytical.
The sensation made Kael uncomfortable.
Not because the stranger seemed threatening.
Because he seemed familiar.
The feeling was far worse.
"You've awakened too early."
The statement immediately drew everyone's attention.
Kael frowned.
"What does that mean?"
The stranger studied him for a moment.
Then sighed.
"It means the cycle is breaking."
Nobody liked the sound of that.
Theron especially.
The old caretaker had grown increasingly pale throughout the conversation. His eyes remained fixed on the stranger as though he were witnessing a nightmare made real.
"The cycle cannot break."
The stranger glanced toward him.
Then smiled sadly.
"It already has."
The words echoed through the cavern.
The city trembled.
The prison groaned.
Far below, something laughed.
The sound emerged from beyond the abyss.
Beyond the Sleeper.
Beyond the Door.
The reaction was immediate.
Every Dreamer screamed.
Every bell in the underground city began ringing simultaneously.
Ancient towers illuminated with golden light.
The Warden roared.
The prison activated every remaining defense at once.
The entire underground metropolis erupted with power.
The stranger's expression darkened.
The First Son's golden eyes narrowed.
Both looked toward the abyss.
For the first time since appearing, they looked united.
The realization unsettled Kael.
If those two stood on the same side—
Then the thing below was far worse than he had imagined.
The darkness within the abyss suddenly split apart.
A massive crack appeared in empty space itself.
Not stone.
Not earth.
Space.
Reality.
The prison shook violently.
Countless runes shattered.
Ancient walls collapsed.
And from within the crack, something began emerging.
At first, Kael could only see an eye.
One enormous eye.
Golden.
Ancient.
Endless.
The sight froze the entire city.
The eye stared upward through the crack in reality.
Then it blinked.
The underground city screamed.
And for the first time since awakening—
The black mark on Kael's arm spoke.
Not aloud.
Not with words.
Directly inside his mind.
The voice sounded ancient.
Familiar.
Terrifying.
And it carried a single message.
Run.