Darkness.
That was all Kael could see.
There were no stars.
No galaxies.
No ground beneath his feet.
Not even his own body.
He couldn't move.
He couldn't breathe.
He couldn't hear Eryx.
"Eryx?"
Nothing.
Kael tried again.
"Eryx!"
Still nothing.
Then a voice answered.
"Subject Kael."
Kael froze.
The same voice from the end of the previous chapter.
Cold.
Emotionless.
Without any hint of humanity.
"Final evaluation has begun."
Kael clenched his fists.
"You've been watching me this entire time."
"Correct."
"Then show yourself."
"There is no need."
Kael's anger grew.
"Cowards."
Silence.
Then the darkness changed.
A single star appeared.
Then another.
Then millions.
Kael suddenly found himself standing in space.
But something was different.
The stars were moving backward.
Galaxies were forming and disappearing.
Time itself was reversing.
Kael looked around.
"What is this?"
"Your history."
Images appeared around him.
Kael as a child.
Kael inside the laboratory.
Kael meeting Eryx.
Kael creating the First Hunger.
Kael dying.
Kael becoming the Star Eater.
Everything.
Every moment.
Every mistake.
Every sacrifice.
Kael stared at the images.
"You want me to watch my life?"
"No."
The voice became louder.
"We want you to choose which part of it should remain."
Kael's expression changed.
"What?"
Three doors appeared in front of him.
The first door was white.
The second was black.
The third was silver.
Creation.
Destruction.
Transformation.
Kael understood immediately.
"What happens if I choose one?"
"The other two will disappear."
Kael stared at the doors.
"And what happens to Eryx?"
Silence.
Kael's expression hardened.
"Answer me."
"That depends on your choice."
Kael stepped forward.
"Then I refuse."
Nothing happened.
The voice returned.
"Refusal is not an option."
Kael smiled.
"Then you don't know me very well."
Suddenly, the space shook.
The three doors began expanding.
The white door opened.
Kael saw a universe filled with life.
Millions of civilizations.
Billions of people.
No wars.
No suffering.
No death.
A peaceful universe.
A perfect universe.
Then the voice spoke.
"Choose Creation."
Kael looked at it.
"What does it cost?"
"Eryx."
Kael's face immediately changed.
The white door closed.
The black door opened.
Inside was absolute destruction.
Kael saw every enemy he had ever fought.
Every monster.
Every Devourer.
Every ancient being.
Every threat.
All disappearing.
No more enemies.
No more suffering.
No more fear.
Then the voice spoke again.
"Choose Destruction."
Kael already knew the price.
"Eryx?"
"Eryx."
The black door closed.
The silver door opened.
Inside was something Kael had never seen before.
A universe constantly changing.
Stars were born.
Stars died.
Life evolved.
Civilizations rose.
Civilizations fell.
Nothing remained the same.
The voice spoke.
"Choose Transformation."
Kael stared.
"And Eryx?"
"Eryx."
Kael slowly lowered his head.
"So that's the test."
The voice remained silent.
"You're not testing my power."
No answer.
"You're testing whether I'll sacrifice Eryx again."
Still nothing.
Kael's fists tightened.
"I already made that choice once."
The images of Eryx's sacrifice appeared around him.
Kael watched his brother enter the Boundary.
Watched the universe collapse.
Watched Eryx disappear.
Then watched himself create the First Hunger because he couldn't accept it.
Kael's eyes became cold.
"I won't do it again."
The voice answered.
"Then choose nothing."
Kael looked up.
"What?"
"If you refuse all three, the experiment will be terminated."
Kael stared.
"And everyone dies?"
"Yes."
Kael laughed quietly.
"You really don't understand."
The voice became silent.
Kael looked at the three doors.
Then he turned around.
"I don't need any of them."
The darkness shook.
"Incorrect."
Kael raised his hand.
Creation appeared.
Black energy surrounded his other hand.
Silver energy formed around his body.
All three powers appeared together.
The voice became louder.
"YOU CANNOT COMBINE THEM."
Kael smiled.
"I already did."
The three forces began merging.
The white energy didn't destroy the black.
The black didn't consume the white.
The silver energy connected both.
Kael looked toward the darkness.
"You created me to choose between three forces."
His eyes began glowing.
"But you forgot something."
Eryx suddenly appeared behind him.
The child-like third piece appeared beside him.
Aetherion's voice echoed through the darkness.
And even the Hunger emerged from Kael's shadow.
Kael smiled.
"I was never alone."
The three versions of Eryx began merging.
The Hunger joined them.
Aetherion's energy surrounded Kael.
The silver-eyed Kael appeared in the distance.
For the first time, he wasn't smiling.
"No…"
Kael looked at him.
"What?"
"You're breaking the evaluation."
Kael looked toward the three doors.
"No."
He raised his hand.
"I'm changing it."
The three doors shattered.
The darkness exploded.
A massive shockwave spread across reality.
The voice screamed.
"SUBJECT KAEL HAS REJECTED THE PARAMETERS."
Kael's body began glowing.
"SUBJECT KAEL HAS ALTERED THE TEST."
The universe began shaking.
"SUBJECT KAEL IS—"
The voice suddenly stopped.
Kael looked around.
"What?"
Silence.
Then another voice spoke.
Not the voice of the evaluation.
Not Aetherion.
Not the Hunger.
A voice Kael had never heard before.
"Interesting."
Kael froze.
The silver-eyed Kael slowly looked upward.
The faceless creature lowered its head.
Even Aetherion became silent.
Something appeared above them.
Not a being.
Not a creature.
Not a god.
An eye.
One enormous eye opened in the darkness.
Kael stared at it.
The eye looked directly at him.
Then it spoke.
"The experiment has produced an outcome we did not predict."
Kael clenched his fists.
"Who are you?"
The eye slowly blinked.
"The one who designed the experiment."
Kael's heart stopped.
The Origin.
The Firstborn.
The creators.
They had all been beneath something else.
The eye stared at him.
"And now, Kael…"
The darkness cracked.
"…we would like to see what you become without us."
The entire evaluation disappeared.
Kael fell through the darkness.
Eryx reached for him.
"Kael!"
Kael grabbed his hand.
And together…
they fell into the unknown.
TO BE CONTINUED...