The Origin Tree exploded.
A wave of golden energy swept across the ancient universe, swallowing everything in its path.
Liam felt himself being lifted from the ground.
"AVA!"
"I'M HERE!"
Her hand caught his.
Kafi flew toward them, its mechanical wings struggling against the storm.
"Brace for impact!"
A wall of energy struck them.
Liam closed his eyes.
For several seconds, there was nothing.
No sound.
No light.
No sensation.
Then—
THUD.
Liam landed on something solid.
He opened his eyes.
Ava was beside him.
Kafi had crashed a few meters away.
But the Origin Tree was gone.
In its place floated thousands of golden fragments.
The ancient city had disappeared.
The Void Scholars were nowhere to be seen.
Liam slowly stood.
"Where are we?"
Syra appeared.
Her hologram was unstable.
"I don't know."
Liam looked at her.
"You don't know?"
"No."
That frightened him more than anything else.
Syra always knew.
The First Liam suddenly appeared behind them.
His body was covered in cracks of black energy.
"We're inside the Origin Core."
Liam turned.
"What does that mean?"
The First Liam looked around.
"This is where the first System was created."
Ava stared at the endless darkness.
"And where is everyone else?"
The First Liam's expression changed.
"Trapped."
Suddenly, hundreds of red lights appeared in the darkness.
Kafi raised its weapons.
"Hostile entities approaching."
Liam looked around.
Shapes emerged from the shadows.
They weren't soldiers.
They were creatures.
Massive beasts made from corrupted data.
Some had multiple heads.
Others had wings made of broken code.
One crawled along the walls like a spider.
Liam stepped backward.
"What are those?"
The First Liam answered quietly.
"Knowledge that was forgotten."
One creature screamed.
The sound shook the entire Core.
Liam's interface suddenly flickered.
[SYSTEM FUNCTIONS: 2% RESTORED.]
He stared.
"Syra!"
"I see it."
[Health: UNKNOWN]
[Energy: 0]
[Skills: LOCKED]
[Attributes: DISABLED]
Only one option remained.
[LEARNING MODE: ACTIVE]
Liam smiled.
"So I still have one thing."
Ava looked at him.
"What?"
"Learning."
The creatures charged.
Liam didn't run.
He watched.
One had six legs.
Another had four arms.
A third moved differently.
It wasn't attacking.
It was observing.
Liam suddenly understood.
"They're not trying to kill us."
Ava frowned.
"Then what are they doing?"
"They're testing us."
The creatures stopped.
The largest one opened its mouth.
A voice emerged.
"ANSWER."
A glowing question appeared.
What grows stronger the more it is shared?
Liam smiled.
"Knowledge."
The creature disappeared.
A second question appeared.
What can be broken without being touched?
Ava answered.
"A promise."
Another creature vanished.
Kafi's sensors activated.
"I detect a pattern."
The questions continued.
Each answer caused another creature to disappear.
Then the final question appeared.
What is the most dangerous thing in existence?
Liam stared at it.
Power?
Weapons?
The Void?
He shook his head.
"Knowledge without wisdom."
The entire Core went silent.
Then—
[LEARNING MODE COMPLETE.]
[SYSTEM FUNCTIONS: 12% RESTORED.]
[NEW ABILITY UNLOCKED: MEMORY SIGHT.]
Liam's eyes flashed gold.
Suddenly he could see memories everywhere.
Every creature.
Every broken crystal.
Every fragment of the Origin Core.
And then—
He saw his father.
The man stood in a hidden chamber.
He wasn't fighting.
He was speaking to someone.
Veyron.
"You promised me the Origin Seed."
Veyron shook his head.
"The boy has awakened too early."
His father grabbed him.
"You promised!"
Veyron pushed him away.
"And you promised me control of Nexus."
The two stared at each other.
Liam watched silently.
Then his father said something that made his blood run cold.
"You don't understand, Veyron."
He pointed toward a massive machine.
"The Void isn't our weapon."
Veyron looked at it.
"What is it?"
His father smiled.
"It is the door."
The memory vanished.
Liam's eyes widened.
"The Void isn't the enemy."
The First Liam looked at him.
"No."
"Then what is behind it?"
His brother's expression became serious.
"Something worse."
Before Liam could ask—
A voice echoed throughout the Core.
"LIAM."
Everyone froze.
It wasn't Syra.
It wasn't Veyron.
It wasn't his father.
It was Liam's own voice.
But deeper.
Older.
Angrier.
The golden fragments around them began forming a massive doorway.
Black symbols appeared across it.
The First Liam stepped backward.
"No."
Liam looked at him.
"What?"
The First Liam stared at the door.
"That door should never open."
"Why?"
"Because I sealed it twelve thousand years ago."
The door began opening.
A massive eye appeared behind it.
Liam felt something staring directly into his soul.
Syra screamed:
"LIAM, DON'T LOOK AT IT!"
Too late.
Their eyes met.
Liam saw an endless civilization.
Millions of worlds.
Billions of beings.
All connected by one enormous network.
And at the center stood something impossible.
A giant version of Liam.
Not the first Liam.
Not the second.
Something older.
Something that existed before humanity.
The entity spoke.
"You finally returned."
Liam couldn't move.
"Who are you?"
The entity smiled.
"I am the knowledge humanity forgot."
The door opened wider.
"And you are the key."
Behind Liam, the First Liam whispered:
"The Ancient Mind."
Ava looked at him.
"What is the Ancient Mind?"
The First Liam stared at the enormous entity.
"The intelligence that existed before Nexus."
Kafi's systems began shutting down.
"Warning…"
Its voice became distorted.
"Unknown intelligence attempting system access."
Liam looked toward Syra.
"Can you stop it?"
Syra shook her head.
"No."
"Why?"
She looked at him with something resembling fear.
"Because it created me."
The Ancient Mind reached through the doorway.
Darkness covered the Core.
And Liam's interface displayed one final message:
[ULTIMATE QUEST UNLOCKED.]
THE ORIGIN OF KNOWLEDGE
Objective: Discover why you were created.
Reward: The Truth
Failure: The Learning Realm will cease to exist.
Liam stared at the message.
Then he looked at Ava.
Kafi.
His brother.
And finally, Syra.
He tightened his fists.
"Then let's learn the truth."
The Ancient Mind smiled.
And somewhere beyond the collapsing universe—
Veyron whispered:
"It's begun."