Nox fell to his knees.
The sight alone was enough to silence the battlefield.
The First Devourer...
The being who had survived the Ancient War...
Was afraid.
Kael turned toward the enormous shadow behind him.
"Who are you?"
The shadow didn't answer.
Its presence alone caused the stars around the First World to bend.
Eryx stepped beside Kael.
"Whatever it is..."
"We can't let it get closer."
Kael nodded.
But Aetherion suddenly grabbed his arm.
"Don't."
Kael looked at him.
"Why?"
Aetherion's eyes remained fixed on the shadow.
"Because you cannot fight it."
"How do you know?"
"Because..."
Aetherion swallowed.
"...I served it."
Kael froze.
Eryx stared at him.
"You served that thing?"
Aetherion slowly nodded.
"Before the Architects."
"Before Nox."
"Before the first Devourer."
"I was one of its creations."
The shadow finally moved.
A single hand emerged from the darkness.
The moment it appeared, every weapon on the battlefield shut down.
The Architects couldn't move.
The Devourers couldn't move.
Even the Harbinger became completely still.
Then a voice echoed through existence.
"Aetherion."
Aetherion lowered his head.
"Creator."
Kael's eyes widened.
"Creator?"
The shadow looked toward Kael.
For the first time, it spoke directly to him.
"You have changed."
Kael raised his head.
"I'm not the person you remember."
A pause.
"No."
"You are something greater."
The new Core inside Kael pulsed.
Silver energy spread across his body.
The being watched carefully.
"You have achieved what I believed impossible."
Kael frowned.
"What?"
"You have united creation, destruction, and transformation."
Eryx stepped forward.
"Why does that matter?"
The shadow answered.
"Because you are no longer bound by the laws of this universe."
Silence.
Kael felt something shift inside himself.
He could suddenly see things he had never noticed before.
The flow of energy between stars.
The structure of space.
The invisible threads connecting every living thing.
Reality itself seemed transparent.
Kael whispered,
"I can see everything."
The shadow responded.
"Not everything."
"Only the beginning."
The darkness behind it expanded.
A vast structure appeared.
Not a planet.
Not a galaxy.
Something impossibly large.
A collection of countless universes connected by glowing threads.
Kael stared.
"There are... that many?"
"There are more than you can imagine."
Eryx looked toward the structure.
"Then what's beyond them?"
The shadow became silent.
For the first time...
It seemed hesitant.
Then it answered.
"The place where I came from."
Kael's expression hardened.
"So even you came from somewhere."
"Everything does."
"Then who created you?"
The shadow looked at him.
And said nothing.
Aetherion suddenly spoke.
"Don't ask."
Kael turned.
"Why?"
"Because if you learn the answer..."
Aetherion looked toward the darkness beyond the universes.
"...you'll understand why the universe was created in the first place."
The shadow raised its hand.
A doorway appeared behind it.
Unlike the Door of Eclipse...
This one wasn't broken.
It was perfect.
Beyond it was endless white light.
The being stepped toward it.
Before disappearing, it looked at Kael.
"You have two choices."
Kael waited.
"Remain here and protect this universe."
"Or come with me..."
The shadow paused.
"...and learn why you were created."
Kael stared at the doorway.
Eryx stood beside him.
Nox slowly rose to his feet.
Even Aetherion looked afraid of what Kael might choose.
Kael took one step forward.
Then stopped.
"Before I decide..."
He looked directly at the shadow.
"I have one question."
The being waited.
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"Why does my existence frighten you?"
For the first time...
The shadow smiled.
"Because you were never supposed to survive."
The doorway closed.
Kael stood frozen.
And deep within the new Core...
Something awakened.
Something that remembered the answer.