The memory refused to leave Kael's mind.
Even after reality returned, he could still hear the fourth brother's voice echoing through his thoughts. If opening the Door saves them, then I don't care what happens to me. The words lingered with painful clarity, refusing to fade like the memories before them. Standing upon the fractured observation platform, Kael looked across the underground city once more. The prison still glowed beneath silver and golden light. Bells continued their endless song while rivers of crystal flowed through broken streets, illuminating the ancient architecture from below. The city looked wounded, but somehow more alive than it had since his arrival.
No one interrupted his thoughts.
Even Aren remained unusually quiet.
The weight of the memory had settled over everyone.
The First Son stood near the edge of the platform with his back turned to the group. Golden light drifted around him like slow-moving embers while he looked toward the enormous crack suspended above the city. Beyond it, the ancient eye remained perfectly still. It watched the prison without blinking, its endless golden iris reflecting the glow of countless bells. Around the fracture, reality rippled like the surface of disturbed water, bending light into impossible shapes that shifted every few seconds. Looking directly at the crack for too long made Kael's vision blur.
The stranger closed the worn book he had been carrying since his appearance and slipped it beneath one arm. Unlike the First Son, he wasn't looking toward the Door. His attention rested upon the city itself. His eyes wandered over the silver bridges connecting distant districts, the towers rising from glowing rivers, and the countless bells suspended from delicate chains overhead. The expression on his face wasn't grief anymore.
It was longing.
"You've only seen the beginning," he said quietly. "That memory happened three days before the world changed forever."
Kael slowly turned toward him.
"What happened during those three days?"
The stranger didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he looked toward the Sleeper.
The ancient being remained seated upon the silver throne rising above the abyss. Thousands of silver chains drifted slowly around it, moving without wind, while countless bells floated in gentle circles above the throne. Every chain carried ancient carvings that shimmered with faint silver light, and every bell produced a different tone whenever the chains brushed together. The harmony they created was strangely calming, filling the underground city with a melody that seemed older than language itself.
Finally, the Sleeper spoke.
"They argued."
Its quiet voice rolled through the cavern, carried effortlessly by the bells.
"For three days..."
The ancient being lowered its gaze toward the city beneath the throne.
"...they tried to save each other."
Silence followed.
No one had expected that answer.
Aren frowned.
"I thought they were arguing about opening the Door."
"They were."
The Sleeper's reply came immediately.
"But none of them wanted the others to carry the burden."
Kael remained still.
Something about those words felt painfully familiar.
The First Son slowly turned around.
"There were four of us."
His golden eyes settled upon Kael.
"And every one of us believed we should be the one to sacrifice everything."
The underground city trembled beneath a distant rumble, but this time nobody mistook it for another attack. The sound came from somewhere far beneath the prison, echoing through ancient foundations before fading into silence. Dust drifted from damaged towers while glowing crystal water spilled over broken canals, creating shimmering waterfalls that disappeared into the abyss. Even in ruin, the city possessed a breathtaking elegance.
The First Son continued.
"I wanted to destroy the Door before it could fully awaken."
He raised one hand, and a sphere of golden light appeared above his palm. Within the sphere floated countless tiny symbols, each revolving around the others in perfect harmony.
"I believed overwhelming force could end everything."
The sphere vanished.
The stranger stepped forward.
"I wanted to rewrite the laws surrounding it."
Several silver runes appeared around him, forming an intricate circle that constantly changed shape.
"I believed knowledge could solve every problem."
The runes dissolved into particles of light.
The Sleeper closed its eyes.
"I chose imprisonment."
The bells above the throne rang softly.
"I believed eternity was an acceptable price."
The city grew quieter.
Three choices.
Three impossible solutions.
Kael slowly looked around.
"Then what did I choose?"
Nobody answered.
Not immediately.
The First Son and the stranger exchanged a brief glance.
The Sleeper remained silent.
Even the thing beyond the Door did not interrupt.
The hesitation itself became frightening.
Finally, the First Son exhaled.
"You chose all of them."
Kael frowned.
"I don't understand."
"You didn't choose one solution."
The ancient warrior's voice carried no accusation.
Only sadness.
"You tried to make every solution succeed."
The black mark pulsed beneath Kael's skin.
Silver light spread through the symbols covering his arm.
Another memory emerged.
This one unfolded gradually.
He stood inside an enormous circular chamber beneath the city. The ceiling stretched so high that it disappeared into darkness, while the floor was covered with millions of glowing runes arranged in overlapping circles. At the chamber's center stood the Door.
For the first time...
He saw it completely.
It was unimaginably vast.
Its silver surface disappeared into the darkness above, while countless chains wrapped around it like the roots of an ancient tree. Every chain carried thousands of locks. Every lock bore a different symbol. Some glowed gold. Others silver. A few burned with deep black light.
Standing before the Door made mountains seem insignificant.
It wasn't merely large.
It felt fundamental.
Like a piece of reality itself.
The four brothers stood before it.
None of them spoke.
They simply looked at the impossible structure.
Then the ancient version of Kael stepped forward.
He placed one hand against the Door.
Nothing happened.
Then...
The Door answered.
A heartbeat echoed through the chamber.
The memory shattered.
Reality returned so abruptly that Kael instinctively stepped backward.
His breathing had become uneven.
The sensation of touching the Door still lingered in his palm.
It hadn't felt cold.
It hadn't felt warm.
It had felt...
Alive.
The thing beyond the Door laughed softly.
"There."
Its voice echoed across the prison.
"Now you remember the beginning."
Kael slowly raised his eyes toward the crack.
The enormous eye continued watching him without blinking.
"What are you?"
The question escaped almost unconsciously.
For the first time since it had begun speaking, the ancient entity did not answer immediately.
Instead, the eye slowly shifted upward, looking beyond the prison... beyond the cavern... as though staring toward a sky that no longer existed.
When the voice finally returned, it sounded quieter than before.
"I was your first mistake."
The underground city fell silent once more.
Even the bells seemed reluctant to ring.
No one spoke.
No one moved.
Because every answer they uncovered only revealed a deeper mystery.
And somewhere within the depths of his recovering memories, Kael began to understand one terrible truth.
The story of the four brothers had never been about defeating evil.
It had always been about choosing which impossible sacrifice the world could survive.