The underground city trembled beneath an endless storm of golden light and darkness. Ancient towers continued collapsing throughout the prison while rivers of crystal energy surged through shattered streets and vanished into the abyss below. The city was dying faster now. Every passing second brought another collapse. Another rupture. Another wound carved into a prison that had already endured thousands of years.
Yet nobody was looking at the city anymore.
The First Son was staring at Kael.
The stranger who wore Kael's face was staring at Kael.
Even the enormous golden eye beyond reality seemed focused on him.
The attention felt suffocating.
As though the entire world had suddenly narrowed to a single point.
The black mark covering his arm pulsed violently beneath his skin. Ancient symbols spread farther across his body with every heartbeat while fragments of memory continued surfacing from depths he had never known existed. They no longer felt like visions.
They felt like something waking up.
Something that had been asleep for a very long time.
The stranger noticed it first.
His calm expression slowly vanished.
For the first time since emerging from the abyss, genuine surprise appeared on his face.
Then concern followed.
The change immediately unsettled everyone.
Because this was a being who had spoken casually while reality collapsed around him.
Seeing him worried felt wrong.
Deeply wrong.
The First Son noticed as well.
"What is it?"
The question echoed across the cavern.
The stranger remained silent for several moments while watching the spreading symbols.
Then he answered.
"He's remembering too quickly."
The city shook violently.
A distant district collapsed into the abyss.
Nobody paid attention.
Every eye remained fixed on Kael.
Aren looked between the two ancient beings several times before finally throwing both hands into the air.
"Could somebody please explain literally anything?"
The frustration in his voice felt entirely justified.
Unfortunately, nobody seemed interested in helping him.
The stranger continued staring at Kael.
The First Son's expression gradually darkened.
"How much?"
The question sounded simple.
The answer did not.
"Enough."
Silence followed.
The First Son cursed.
The reaction stunned everyone.
Not because of the word.
Because of the emotion behind it.
Fear.
The ancient being looked afraid.
The realization sent a chill through the observation platform.
The black mark pulsed again.
The world shattered.
Kael found himself standing beneath a sky filled with cracks.
The sight immediately felt familiar.
The same broken heavens.
The same dying stars.
The same impossible silence.
Yet this memory was clearer than the others.
Much clearer.
An enormous battlefield stretched toward the horizon. Mountains had been reduced to rubble. Oceans of golden fire burned across the world. Countless bodies covered the ground.
Giants.
Humans.
Creatures that should never have existed.
Gods.
All of them dead.
At the center of the battlefield stood three figures.
The First Son.
The stranger.
And himself.
The realization froze him.
He wasn't watching from afar this time.
He wasn't observing someone else's life.
He was standing there.
Living the memory.
The First Son looked younger.
The stranger looked wounded.
And Kael—
No.
Not Kael.
Someone older.
Someone ancient.
Someone whose face he could not quite remember.
The three figures stood before an enormous gate.
The Door.
It stretched beyond the horizon itself.
Countless chains wrapped around its surface.
Millions of locks covered its frame.
Yet even then—
It was opening.
The memory trembled.
The stranger looked toward him.
Not toward the ancient version.
Toward him.
Toward the observer.
Toward Kael.
The impossible moment froze reality.
Then the stranger spoke.
"Remember."
The memory exploded.
Reality returned.
Kael staggered backward.
The underground city reappeared around him.
The prison.
The abyss.
The eye.
Everything returned.
Yet one word continued echoing inside his mind.
Remember.
The black mark erupted with dark light.
Ancient symbols spread across his shoulder.
Then his neck.
Then farther.
The transformation accelerated.
Lyra immediately moved toward him.
Concern was written clearly across her face.
"Kael."
Her voice sounded distant.
Almost muffled.
As though he were hearing it through water.
The mark pulsed again.
Another memory surfaced.
This time he stood inside a city.
Not a ruined city.
Not a battlefield.
A living city.
Children ran through streets filled with silver lanterns. Merchants filled countless marketplaces. Bells echoed from distant towers. Laughter drifted through the air.
Peace.
The memory carried peace.
A feeling almost forgotten.
Then a child appeared.
Dark hair.
Golden eyes.
The First Son.
Young.
Happy.
The child ran toward someone.
Toward him.
The memory blurred.
The face remained hidden.
The First Son laughed.
Then shouted a single word.
A name.
His name.
The sound echoed across the memory.
Yet before Kael could hear it—
The vision shattered.
Reality returned.
The city trembled.
The prison screamed.
And Kael nearly fell to his knees.
The missing name lingered just beyond reach.
So close.
Painfully close.
The stranger immediately stepped forward.
The First Son moved at the same time.
Both ancient beings appeared beside him almost instantly.
The speed of their movement shattered nearby stone.
Neither seemed to notice.
The stranger looked genuinely alarmed now.
"We don't have time."
The First Son nodded.
"I know."
The underground city shook violently.
A massive crack spread through reality itself.
The eye beyond the Door moved closer.
Much closer.
For the first time, everyone could see part of its face.
The sight defied description.
The mind struggled to process it.
Ancient.
Endless.
Impossible.
Looking at it felt like staring into something that existed before existence itself.
Several scholars collapsed instantly.
Others screamed.
The prison responded.
Every remaining rune illuminated simultaneously.
Every bell rang.
Every chain tightened.
The entire underground city entered its final state.
The last defense.
The final seal.
The First Son looked upward.
Then toward Kael.
His golden eyes carried an emotion that felt strangely familiar.
Regret.
"Listen carefully."
The ancient being's voice cut through the chaos surrounding them.
"The moment you remember your name, everything changes."
The stranger nodded.
"And the moment it changes, it will find you."
The city shook again.
Reality cracked.
The eye blinked.
The abyss widened.
Kael stared at both of them.
Questions filled his mind.
Thousands of questions.
Yet only one escaped.
"Who am I?"
Silence followed.
The First Son closed his eyes.
The stranger looked away.
Neither answered.
Because neither needed to.
Far beyond the Door—
Something spoke.
Its voice echoed through reality itself.
And this time every living soul heard it.
The words carried no anger.
No hatred.
No excitement.
Only certainty.
"I remember your name."
The underground city fell silent.
Because whatever was beyond the Door knew who Kael was.
Even before he did.