The voice disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.
Kael remained still.
The battlefield around him was slowly returning to normal, but he barely noticed. The villagers were gathering their wounded. Firstborn soldiers were helping extinguish fires. Broken weapons were being collected from the ground. The enormous waves that had threatened to destroy the settlement had already receded into the ocean.
Yet Kael heard none of it.
Only those two words remained inside his mind.
Welcome, Creator.
His fingers slowly closed around his palm.
The silver mark stopped glowing.
Elara noticed his expression.
"Kael?"
He didn't answer.
She stepped closer.
"Kael."
He finally looked at her.
"Did you hear it?"
Elara's expression became serious.
"Hear what?"
Kael hesitated.
Then he repeated the words.
"Welcome, Creator."
Elara's face immediately changed.
She looked toward the floating branches of the new network.
"That wasn't the Mother."
"I know."
"It wasn't the seed."
"I know."
"Then who said it?"
Kael shook his head.
"I don't know."
Aren approached.
"What happened?"
Kael looked at him.
"Something called me Creator."
Aren frowned.
"Was it another ancient god?"
"I don't know."
"Another enemy?"
"I don't know."
Aren sighed.
"You really need to start answering with something other than 'I don't know.'"
Kael almost laughed.
"Believe me, I'd like to."
Caelum suddenly walked toward them.
His face was pale.
"I heard it too."
Everyone became silent.
Kael looked at him.
"You heard the voice?"
Caelum nodded.
"So did Seraphine."
Seraphine approached from behind him.
"I heard something."
"Did it call me Creator?"
"No."
She shook her head.
"It said something different."
"What?"
Seraphine looked toward the sky.
"Architect."
Kael frowned.
Mira joined them.
"It called you Origin."
Rowan looked confused.
"I heard nothing."
Selene slowly closed her book.
"Neither did I."
Kael looked around.
Some had heard it.
Some hadn't.
That was important.
"Why did only certain people hear it?"
Seraphine thought for a moment.
"Perhaps it wasn't actually a voice."
"What do you mean?"
"It could have been an interpretation."
Kael frowned.
"Explain."
"The new network isn't using language."
"It communicates through concepts."
"Maybe everyone received the same message."
"But each person understood it differently."
Kael looked at Caelum.
"You heard Creator."
Caelum nodded.
Seraphine looked at herself.
"I heard Architect."
Mira raised a hand.
"Origin."
Kael looked toward Elara.
"What did you hear?"
Elara remained silent.
Kael's expression changed.
"Elara?"
She finally answered.
"Nothing."
Kael stared at her.
"You didn't hear anything?"
"No."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
The answer was quiet.
Too quiet.
Kael studied her face.
She looked confused.
But there was something else.
Fear.
He could see it.
"You're hiding something."
Elara looked away.
"Kael..."
"What did you hear?"
She remained silent.
Kael stepped closer.
"Elara."
She finally looked at him.
"I heard my name."
Kael froze.
"Your name?"
She nodded.
"Not Elara."
"What then?"
She whispered,
"Something else."
Before Kael could ask, the ground began trembling.
Everyone immediately became alert.
The new network above them began moving.
Its countless branches stretched across the sky.
Then one branch descended.
It passed through the clouds.
The end of the branch touched the ground several hundred meters away.
The soil opened.
A tiny plant emerged.
The villagers watched in silence.
The plant grew.
Its stem became thicker.
Its leaves unfolded.
Within seconds, it became a small tree.
But unlike the old World Trees, it didn't glow.
It simply existed.
Kael walked toward it.
Elara followed.
The tree's leaves moved despite the absence of wind.
Kael placed his hand against the trunk.
A memory entered his mind.
He saw a field.
Not the First World.
Not the new world.
Somewhere else.
A young Elion stood beneath a tree.
Aster was beside him.
Elara stood opposite them.
But there was another person there.
A woman.
Kael didn't recognize her.
She had long black hair and pale eyes.
She was holding a newborn child.
The child was crying.
Elara reached toward it.
"She will remember."
Aster looked concerned.
"She shouldn't."
The woman shook her head.
"Someone must."
Elion looked confused.
"Remember what?"
The woman looked at him.
"Everything."
The vision ended.
Kael pulled his hand away.
His breathing became heavy.
Elara grabbed his arm.
"What did you see?"
Kael stared at her.
"A child."
Her expression changed.
"Who?"
"I don't know."
"What else?"
"A woman."
"What did she look like?"
"Black hair."
Elara's face became pale.
"Black hair?"
"Yes."
She stepped backward.
Kael immediately noticed.
"You know her."
Elara didn't answer.
"Elara."
She looked toward the horizon.
"I've seen her before."
"When?"
"Before the cycle."
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"Who is she?"
Elara shook her head.
"I don't remember her name."
"But?"
"But I remember what she did."
"What?"
"She created the first memory."
Kael stared.
"What does that mean?"
Elara touched her temple.
"Before the first world existed, there was nothing."
"No life."
"No language."
"No memories."
"Then she appeared."
"She was the first person capable of remembering something that had never happened."
Kael frowned.
"That's impossible."
"That's why she was important."
Elara looked at the tree.
"She could remember possibilities."
Kael's expression changed.
"She could see the future?"
"No."
"Then what?"
"She could remember futures that never happened."
Kael stared.
That ability sounded almost identical to Caelum's.
He looked toward him.
Caelum was listening carefully.
"Is that why you can see futures?"
Caelum shook his head.
"No."
"Then what?"
"I don't know."
Kael sighed.
Another mystery.
Another hidden piece of his past.
But this time, he wasn't angry.
He was curious.
He looked toward the western horizon.
The future was no longer fixed.
That meant the past might not be fixed either.
Perhaps there were things even he didn't remember.
Things that had been hidden from Elion.
Things that had survived the destruction of the old world.
Kael turned toward Lucian.
"Tell me about the western capital."
Lucian frowned.
"Why?"
"What is there?"
"Everything."
"Be specific."
Lucian sighed.
"The western continent is divided into seven territories."
"Each is controlled by a Firstborn lord."
"The capital sits at the center."
"It was built around the ruins of an ancient city."
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"An ancient city from before the cycle?"
Lucian nodded.
"Yes."
"What's beneath it?"
Lucian hesitated.
"The Firstborn never discovered the entire structure."
"Why?"
"Because something lives beneath it."
Aren groaned.
"Of course."
Kael looked at Lucian.
"What?"
"We don't know."
"Then why are you afraid?"
"Because everyone who entered the lower levels disappeared."
Kael nodded.
"That's where we're going."
Lucian looked surprised.
"You heard what I said."
"Yes."
"And you're still going?"
"Yes."
Aren laughed.
"That's Kael."
Lyra shook her head.
"I've stopped trying to convince him."
Kael looked toward the damaged settlement.
"We need a ship."
Nera approached.
"There is one."
Everyone turned.
"Where?"
She pointed south.
"Three days."
Kael frowned.
"Too long."
"There is another."
"Where?"
"Five hours."
"Why didn't you mention it?"
Nera looked at him.
"Because it's dangerous."
Kael smiled.
"Everything is dangerous."
"No."
She shook her head.
"That place is different."
"How?"
"It's a shipyard built inside a canyon."
"Who controls it?"
Nera's expression became serious.
"Pirates."
Aren smiled.
"Finally, something normal."
Lyra stared at him.
"Pirates are normal?"
"Compared to gods and giant sea creatures."
She considered it.
"Fair."
Kael looked at Nera.
"Let's go."
The group began preparing.
The settlement's people were grateful.
Rovan approached Kael before they left.
He carried a small wooden object.
Kael recognized it as a carving.
It depicted the twin suns above the village.
Rovan held it out.
Kael accepted it.
"Thank you."
Rovan smiled.
Kael pointed toward the sea.
Then toward the western continent.
Rovan nodded.
He pointed toward the sky.
Then toward Kael.
Kael didn't understand.
Rovan repeated the gesture.
Then touched the carving.
Kael finally understood.
He wanted Kael to remember them.
Kael smiled.
"I will."
Rovan couldn't understand the words.
But he understood the expression.
The group left the settlement.
They traveled south.
The landscape gradually changed.
The forest became rocky.
Large cliffs appeared on both sides.
Eventually, the path narrowed into a canyon.
The walls rose hundreds of meters above them.
Water flowed along the bottom.
Nera walked ahead.
"Stay close."
Aren looked around.
"Why?"
"Because this is pirate territory."
"How dangerous can they be?"
Nera stopped.
She pointed upward.
Aren looked.
Several people were standing on the cliffs.
Weapons aimed downward.
Aren sighed.
"Very."
A voice echoed through the canyon.
"Drop your weapons."
Kael looked upward.
A woman stood at the edge of the cliff.
She wore a dark coat.
A curved sword rested against her shoulder.
Her hair was tied into a long braid.
Several scars crossed her face.
She smiled.
"You've entered the Black Fang's territory."
Aren whispered,
"Pirates."
Kael nodded.
The woman pointed toward him.
"Especially you."
Kael frowned.
"Me?"
"Yes."
She laughed.
"You're worth a fortune."
Kael looked at Nera.
"How much?"
Nera answered,
"Enough to buy an entire kingdom."
Aren stared.
Kael sighed.
"I don't even own a house."
The pirate captain laughed.
"I like you."
She jumped from the cliff.
She landed several meters away without difficulty.
Her crew followed.
Dozens of pirates surrounded them.
The captain walked closer.
"My name is Veyra."
She pointed toward Kael.
"And you're the man who ended the old cycle."
Kael stared.
"How do you know?"
Veyra smiled.
"Because the Firstborn aren't the only ones who kept records."
She drew her sword.
"We've been waiting for you."
Kael's expression hardened.
"Why?"
Veyra's smile disappeared.
"Because we know what is beneath the western capital."
Everyone became silent.
Kael stepped forward.
"What?"
Veyra looked toward the sky.
"The thing that existed before the Firstborn."
"The thing the Mother was created to contain."
Kael's expression changed.
"You know what it is?"
Veyra nodded.
"We know exactly what it is."
"Then tell me."
She looked directly into his eyes.
"No."
Kael frowned.
"Why?"
"Because information has a price."
Kael sighed.
"Of course."
Veyra raised her sword.
"Beat me."
Kael looked at her.
"Then I'll tell you."
Aren stepped forward.
"I'll fight."
Veyra shook her head.
"Not you."
She pointed at Kael.
"Him."
Kael drew his sword.
"Fine."
The pirates stepped backward.
The canyon became silent.
Veyra lowered her stance.
Kael did the same.
For a moment, neither moved.
Then Veyra disappeared.
Kael barely blocked her first strike.
Their swords collided.
Veyra spun.
Kael ducked.
Her blade passed over his head.
He countered.
She blocked.
Their movements became faster.
Veyra was different from the Firstborn.
She didn't rely on technology.
She didn't rely on overwhelming strength.
She relied on instinct.
Every movement was unpredictable.
Kael smiled.
"You're good."
Veyra laughed.
"So are you."
She attacked again.
Kael blocked.
She changed direction halfway through the strike.
Kael barely avoided it.
Her blade cut his sleeve.
Blood appeared.
Kael looked at the cut.
Veyra smiled.
"You're slower than I expected."
Kael laughed.
"You talk too much."
He stepped forward.
Their swords collided repeatedly.
Veyra moved around him.
Kael adjusted.
She attacked high.
He blocked.
Low.
He jumped.
Side.
He twisted.
She attempted a feint.
He didn't take it.
Her eyes widened.
Kael struck.
His blade stopped against her throat.
Silence.
Veyra slowly lowered her sword.
"Interesting."
Kael lowered his.
"Tell me."
She smiled.
"You really are different."
"What?"
"You don't fight like Elion."
Kael froze.
Veyra continued.
"You're fighting like yourself."
Kael stared.
"Who taught you about Elion?"
Veyra looked toward the western horizon.
"Someone who knew him."
"Who?"
She smiled.
"You'll meet her soon."
Kael's expression changed.
"Her?"
Veyra nodded.
"The woman with black hair."
Elara stepped forward.
"Who is she?"
Veyra looked at her.
For the first time, the pirate captain's confidence disappeared.
She whispered,
"She told us you would come."
Elara's eyes widened.
"When?"
"Three hundred years ago."
Kael's expression hardened.
"That woman is alive."
Veyra nodded.
"Yes."
"Where?"
Veyra pointed toward the sea.
"Under the western capital."
Kael looked at Elara.
The mysteries were beginning to connect.
The woman who remembered impossible futures.
The hidden city.
The western capital.
The seed.
The Mother.
The being beneath the continent.
And now...
someone who had been waiting for them for three hundred years.
Veyra sheathed her sword.
"I'll take you there."
Kael frowned.
"Why?"
"Because the thing beneath the capital is waking."
"How long?"
Veyra looked toward the horizon.
"Three days."
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"What happens then?"
Veyra's expression became grim.
"The western continent will be destroyed."
"And after that?"
She looked directly at him.
"Then it will come here."
The canyon fell silent.
Kael looked toward the western sea.
Three days.
That was all the time they had.
He turned toward his companions.
"Then we sail tonight."
Veyra smiled.
"Good."
She turned toward the pirates.
"Prepare the ship."
The pirates immediately moved.
Kael followed.
But before he left, he looked at his palm.
The silver point was glowing again.
This time, a faint image appeared within it.
A black-haired woman.
She was standing beneath the western capital.
And she was smiling.
Her lips moved.
Kael couldn't hear the words.
But he understood them.
I have been waiting for you.
The image disappeared.
Kael closed his hand.
Whatever waited beneath the western continent...
wasn't simply an enemy.
It knew him.
And somehow...
it had been waiting for him long before he was born.