"After the Failure"
Silence.
For the first time in what felt like forever—
there was no battle.
No Watchers.
No Adrax.
No collapsing reality.
No screaming sky.
Only ruins.
The underground capital had become a graveyard of shattered metal and broken stone.
The Old King's Gate remained standing at the center of it all.
Damaged.
Cracked.
But standing.
Null stood motionless before it.
His eyes remained fixed on the place where the First Failure had vanished.
The final words echoed endlessly inside his mind.
"Find me before Aizeno does."
Why?
What was Aizeno trying to bring back?
And why had someone powerful enough to terrify the Watchers warned him?
Questions.
Nothing but questions.
Behind him, D U sat on a broken section of rail.
His breathing had finally stabilized after the war.
For once—
he wasn't joking.
He looked unusually serious.
"That's bad."
Hyung glanced at him.
"That's your analysis?"
D U nodded.
"Very bad."
Eris rolled her eyes.
"Brilliant."
"No," D U said.
"You don't understand."
Everyone looked at him.
D U stared at the sealed fracture where the First Failure disappeared.
"I've heard stories."
The atmosphere changed.
Even Caelum looked surprised.
"You know about him?"
D U nodded slowly.
"A little."
"How?" Eris asked.
D U was silent for several seconds.
Then:
"My master met him."
Everyone froze.
Even Null turned.
D U almost never talked about his past.
Almost never talked about where he learned his abilities.
Or who taught him.
Hyung frowned.
"You have a master?"
D U pointed at himself.
"What did you think happened?"
"You appeared from nowhere."
"Fair."
Nobody laughed.
D U's expression darkened.
"My master encountered the First Failure centuries ago."
Caelum's eyes widened.
"Impossible."
D U shrugged.
"My master wasn't normal."
That answer somehow explained nothing.
And everything.
Null stepped forward.
"What did he say?"
D U looked directly at him.
"He said there are three beings the world should never allow to reunite."
Silence.
"The First Failure."
"The Final Door."
"And..."
D U hesitated.
For the first time since meeting him—
he looked genuinely uncomfortable.
"Aizeno."
Nobody spoke.
Because deep down—
everyone already knew.
Aizeno wasn't trying to destroy the world.
That would be simple.
He was trying to change it.
Far away.
Beyond continents.
Beyond kingdoms.
Beyond known reality.
Aizeno stood before the ancient throne.
The same throne seen within Null's memories.
The same throne hidden behind countless lies.
Darkness stretched endlessly around it.
Luxion stood nearby.
Silent.
Waiting.
Finally he spoke.
"You let him leave."
Aizeno nodded.
"Yes."
"The First Failure."
"Yes."
Luxion frowned.
"He may interfere."
Aizeno smiled slightly.
"He will."
The answer surprised Luxion.
Then Aizeno slowly approached the throne.
Ancient symbols ignited beneath his feet.
For a moment—
the darkness parted.
Revealing countless floating fragments surrounding the throne.
Pieces.
Broken pieces.
Fragments of something once whole.
Luxion's eyes narrowed.
"The Fourth Fragment."
Aizeno nodded.
"Almost found."
"The Fifth?"
"Hidden."
"The Sixth?"
Aizeno smiled.
"The heir already carries it."
Far away—
Null suddenly felt pain shoot through his chest.
The spiral mark pulsed violently.
Then stopped.
Back at the ruins.
Caelum stood before the damaged King's Gate.
Studying it.
Listening.
Waiting.
Then his expression changed.
Hyung noticed immediately.
"What?"
Caelum slowly turned.
"The gate opened something."
Everyone became alert.
"It wasn't the First Failure."
D U stood up immediately.
"What do you mean?"
Caelum pointed toward the darkness beyond the station.
"There."
Everyone looked.
At first—
nothing.
Then—
footsteps.
Slow.
Steady.
Approaching.
Not powerful.
Not overwhelming.
Just strange.
A figure emerged from the darkness.
Young.
Male.
Black coat.
Silver eyes.
Completely unfamiliar.
Nobody recognized him.
Yet the moment Null looked at him—
his spiral eye activated automatically.
The stranger stopped.
Then smiled.
"Found you."
Null's hand immediately moved toward his blade.
"Who are you?"
The young man looked genuinely surprised.
"You don't remember?"
Silence.
Then he pointed toward Null.
Toward the spiral eye.
Toward the inheritance.
Toward the bloodline itself.
And said:
"I used to be part of you."
The entire station froze.
Null's heartbeat stopped for a moment.
The stranger smiled.
And the spiral symbol appeared in both of his eyes.
TO BE CONTINUED...