The ruined underground capital fell silent.
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
The silver-eyed stranger stood beneath the broken ceiling, hands inside his coat pockets, staring directly at Null.
The spiral symbols within his eyes rotated slowly.
Exactly like Null's.
Exactly like the King's.
Exactly like something that shouldn't exist.
Hyung immediately stepped forward.
His sword appeared in his hand.
"Who are you?"
The stranger looked at him.
Then smiled.
"Oh."
"You got the other half."
Hyung's expression darkened.
"What?"
The stranger pointed casually toward Hyung.
"You."
Then toward Null.
"And him."
Then toward himself.
"And me."
Nobody liked where this was going.
D U scratched his head.
"I already hate this conversation."
The stranger laughed.
"You're D U."
D U froze.
"How do you know that?"
The stranger shrugged.
"I know lots of things."
The atmosphere became tense instantly.
Eris moved closer.
Caelum quietly prepared a defensive formation.
Null stared at the newcomer.
"You said you were part of me."
The stranger nodded.
"Correct."
"Explain."
The smile disappeared.
For the first time—
he looked serious.
"A long time ago, before Aizeno split your core..."
The station became silent.
"...there were three fragments."
Null's heart skipped.
Three.
Not two.
Three.
The stranger continued.
"Aizeno separated the original core."
He pointed toward Hyung.
"One piece became him."
Then toward Null.
"One piece became you."
Finally—
he pointed toward himself.
"And one piece was discarded."
Nobody spoke.
Because suddenly everything made sense.
The missing memories.
The incomplete inheritance.
The instability.
The strange feeling Null had carried his entire life.
The stranger smiled again.
"I was the piece nobody wanted."
Far away.
Beyond reality.
Aizeno sat before the ancient throne.
The floating fragments continued orbiting around him.
Then suddenly—
one of them stopped moving.
Aizeno's eyes opened.
"...Interesting."
Luxion immediately noticed.
"What happened?"
Aizeno slowly stood.
"The Third Fragment has awakened."
For the first time in centuries—
Aizeno looked annoyed.
Back at the ruins.
Hyung's blade remained raised.
"You expect us to believe this?"
The stranger shrugged.
"Not really."
Then—
he vanished.
Everyone reacted immediately.
Too slow.
The stranger appeared directly in front of Null.
One finger touched Null's forehead.
A memory exploded.
A laboratory.
Ancient.
Hidden.
A younger Aizeno.
The Old King.
A child floating inside a black crystal.
Then—
another crystal.
Then another.
Three.
Not one.
Not two.
Three.
The vision shattered.
Null stumbled backward.
Breathing heavily.
His spiral eye spun wildly.
"That's..."
The stranger nodded.
"Real."
Hyung immediately caught Null before he fell.
"What did you see?"
Null looked at him.
Then at the stranger.
"There were three."
The stranger smiled.
"Told you."
D U groaned loudly.
"Why is every family in this story insane?"
Nobody answered.
Because he was right.
Suddenly—
the King's Gate trembled.
Everyone turned.
A deep sound echoed from inside it.
Not a warning.
Not an alarm.
A voice.
Ancient.
Unknown.
"KEY DETECTED."
The stranger's smile vanished instantly.
For the first time—
he looked worried.
The gate continued.
"THIRD FRAGMENT CONFIRMED."
Caelum's eyes widened.
"No..."
The station shook.
The gate began opening by itself.
A small crack appeared.
Golden light spilled outward.
Then something emerged.
A hand.
Metallic.
Ancient.
Not human.
Not Entity.
Not Watcher.
Something else.
The stranger stepped backward.
"Damn."
Null looked at him.
"What is it?"
For the first time since arriving—
the stranger seemed genuinely afraid.
Then he answered.
"The King's strongest soldier."
The metallic hand tightened around the edge of the gate.
The massive doors slowly began opening.
And from within the light—
something ancient opened its eyes.
TO BE CONTINUED...