The underground capital trembled.
Dust rained from the shattered ceiling.
The battle between the Royal Guardian and the First Executioner had already reached a level where ordinary warriors couldn't even follow their movements.
BOOM.
BOOM.
BOOM.
Every collision distorted reality itself.
Golden energy exploded from the Guardian.
Dark pressure surged from the Executioner.
Neither side was winning.
Neither side was retreating.
Hyung wiped blood from his mouth and stared upward.
"How many monsters did the King leave behind?"
D U laughed.
"At this point?"
Another explosion shook the station.
"Too many."
The First Executioner stood motionless.
Part of his mask was broken now.
One golden-black eye remained visible.
The same eyes.
The same bloodline.
The same ancient origin.
Null couldn't stop staring.
His spiral eye activated automatically.
Again.
And again.
Every time he looked at the Executioner—
his inheritance reacted.
As if recognizing something.
As if remembering something.
Executioner noticed.
"You feel it."
Null narrowed his eyes.
"What are you?"
Executioner was silent.
Then—
For the first time—
he looked directly at Null instead of through him.
"You carry his gaze."
Silence.
Null's heartbeat slowed.
"Whose?"
Executioner's visible eye flickered.
Then he answered.
"The King."
Far away.
Inside the throne dimension.
The Fifth Fragment stopped smiling.
Aizeno noticed.
"What?"
The Fifth Fragment slowly looked upward.
As though hearing something impossible.
"...Interesting."
Aizeno remained silent.
Then the Fifth Fragment laughed.
A quiet laugh.
"The old man refuses to stay dead."
The room became silent.
Even Aizeno's eyes narrowed.
Back in the underground capital—
The Royal Guardian launched another devastating attack.
Thousands of golden symbols formed around its spear.
"ROYAL JUDGMENT."
BOOOOOOM.
The strike crossed the battlefield instantly.
Executioner raised his blade.
The impact split the station in half.
A canyon opened beneath everyone.
Yet during the collision—
Executioner whispered something.
Only Null heard it.
Only him.
"The King lives."
Everything stopped.
For Null.
For one second.
One impossible second.
His eyes widened.
"What?"
Executioner didn't repeat himself.
Instead—
he pushed the Guardian backward and jumped away.
Landing atop a broken tower.
Watching.
Waiting.
Null's heart pounded.
The King lives.
His father.
The Old King.
Alive?
Impossible.
D U had mentioned it before.
Back in Volume II.
But nobody had proof.
Only rumors.
Only hints.
Only fragments.
Now another person was saying it.
Not just anyone.
The First Executioner.
A warrior from the King's era.
Hyung noticed immediately.
"What happened?"
Null remained silent.
Executioner continued watching from above.
The broken mask concealed most of his face.
But Null could feel it.
The man wasn't lying.
Then—
The King's Gate activated.
Again.
Golden symbols appeared across its surface.
Ancient runes began rotating.
Caelum immediately turned.
"No..."
The Guardian froze.
Its head snapped toward the Gate.
"UNAUTHORIZED SIGNAL DETECTED."
Everyone looked.
The Gate was receiving something.
Not opening.
Receiving.
Like a communication.
Like a transmission.
Like a message.
The ancient structure hummed louder.
Then a voice echoed.
Broken.
Distorted.
Weak.
"...Can... anyone..."
Everyone froze.
D U's eyes widened.
Hyung stepped forward.
Null stopped breathing.
The voice returned.
Static filled the station.
"...hear... me..."
The transmission crackled violently.
As if crossing impossible distances.
As if coming from beyond reality itself.
Then—
Three words emerged clearly.
"...Null... my son..."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Null froze.
The world disappeared.
His heart stopped.
His father.
The voice—
It was his father.
Not a memory.
Not inheritance.
Not a vision.
A real voice.
A living voice.
The signal broke apart instantly afterward.
The Gate fell silent.
The symbols vanished.
The transmission ended.
Gone.
Everyone stared at Null.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody knew what to say.
Because they had all heard it.
Every single one of them.
D U slowly looked toward the Gate.
Then toward Null.
Then toward Hyung.
"...Well."
His usual smile never appeared.
For once—
he looked serious.
"Looks like the old king really is alive."
Far away.
Beyond worlds.
Beyond the Door.
Beyond the throne dimension.
A lone figure sat chained inside an endless golden prison.
Ancient seals covered the sky.
Ancient laws bound his body.
His face remained hidden beneath shadows.
But his eyes—
Golden-black.
Identical to Null's.
The chains rattled.
A faint smile appeared.
And for the first time in centuries—
The Old King opened his eyes.
TO BE CONTINUED..