The smile lingering on Kael's face slowly faded as the memory dissolved, but the warmth it had left behind refused to disappear. For the first time since entering the underground city, his recovered memories hadn't ended with death, war, or despair. Instead, they had shown ordinary moments—brothers arguing over gardens, architects debating designs, craftsmen laughing while raising towers toward a sky that no longer existed. Standing upon the observation platform, he looked across the ancient metropolis once again, and the city no longer resembled a prison alone. Beneath the scars of countless battles, he could finally imagine the life that had once filled every street. Wide avenues paved with polished silver stone wound between graceful towers whose curved balconies overlooked glowing canals. Circular plazas surrounded fountains of crystal water, while delicate bridges arched over rivers that shimmered like flowing starlight. Even after thousands of years, beauty still clung stubbornly to every corner of the city.
The First Son noticed where Kael was looking.
"You see it now."
Kael nodded slowly.
"I've been looking at ruins this whole time."
A faint smile appeared on the ancient warrior's face.
"No."
He raised one hand toward the city.
"You've been looking at what's left."
Silence settled between them.
The difference mattered.
Ruins were abandoned.
This place...
Still endured.
The smiling figure beyond the Door quietly watched the exchange without interrupting. Darkness continued flowing around its body in slow waves, concealing everything except its calm expression. Behind it, the endless void beyond the crack remained strangely still. There were no stars. No sky. No land. Only an immeasurable darkness that swallowed even the faint glow escaping from the underground city. Looking at it for too long filled Kael with an uncomfortable sensation, as though the emptiness beyond reality wasn't empty at all. It felt occupied. Waiting.
A soft chime echoed through the city.
Then another.
Then dozens more.
Far below, a long avenue stretching across the heart of the metropolis slowly began glowing beneath layers of ancient dust. Silver patterns spread across the stone road one after another, illuminating intricate carvings hidden beneath centuries of neglect. Dust lifted gently into the air before dissolving into shimmering particles, revealing an avenue lined with flowering trees unlike anything Kael had ever seen. Their trunks appeared to be carved from pale crystal while countless silver leaves reflected the light of nearby bells. Small blossoms drifted continuously from their branches, disappearing before they touched the ground.
Kael stared.
"There were trees..."
The stranger followed his gaze.
"There were forests."
His quiet voice carried unmistakable nostalgia.
"Gardens stretched across half the upper districts. Waterways crossed every neighborhood. The city was designed so no child would grow up without seeing flowers."
Aren blinked several times.
"Underground?"
The First Son laughed softly.
"We weren't always underground."
The answer stunned everyone.
General Caelan slowly turned toward him.
"This city..."
The ancient warrior nodded.
"It once stood beneath an open sky."
The revelation spread across the observation platform like a shockwave.
Kael instinctively looked upward.
The cavern ceiling stretched endlessly above them, covered with chains, bells, and ancient runes. It was impossible to imagine sunlight reaching this place.
The smiling figure noticed his confusion.
"It wasn't built here."
Kael looked toward it.
The calm smile remained unchanged.
"The prison came later."
Those four words changed everything.
The city wasn't originally designed as a prison.
It had been transformed into one.
Another memory surfaced before Kael could ask another question.
This time he found himself standing within an enormous garden surrounded by white stone walls covered in flowering vines. A gentle breeze carried the fragrance of blooming flowers through the air while crystal streams wound between countless trees whose silver leaves shimmered beneath warm sunlight. Birds with brilliant blue feathers darted between branches, their songs blending harmoniously with the distant ringing of bells drifting across the city.
The garden stretched farther than the eye could see.
Stone pathways curved naturally between ponds filled with luminous lilies. Marble benches rested beneath flowering trees, while elegant pavilions overlooked streams where children laughed as they chased floating petals through the water.
The city truly had been alive.
Kael's ancient self walked slowly along one of the paths.
The First Son followed several steps behind, carrying a basket overflowing with fruit despite looking mildly annoyed about it.
"I still don't understand why we're here."
The fourth brother looked over his shoulder with an amused grin.
"Because today isn't about work."
"It should be."
"It isn't."
The stranger emerged from another path holding three books beneath one arm.
"I specifically scheduled today as a holiday."
The First Son stared at him.
"You scheduled a holiday?"
"I schedule everything."
The fourth brother burst into laughter.
"I told you he'd actually do it."
Kael's ancient self accepted an apple from the basket before sitting beneath a flowering tree whose branches stretched across the crystal stream. Sunlight filtered through thousands of silver leaves, scattering dancing patterns of light across the grass while petals drifted lazily through the warm afternoon air.
For several long moments...
Nobody spoke.
The four brothers simply sat together beneath the tree, listening to birds singing somewhere deeper within the garden.
The peace of that silence felt almost sacred.
Then the fourth brother quietly broke it.
"I hope this never ends."
The words were simple.
Yet every smile slowly disappeared.
Nobody answered.
Not because they didn't want to.
Because none of them believed it.
The memory dissolved.
Reality returned.
Kael found himself standing upon the observation platform once again, but his chest felt strangely heavy.
He finally understood why every recovered memory hurt so much.
It wasn't because he remembered the destruction.
It was because he remembered what had existed before it.
The Sleeper watched him carefully.
"You've begun remembering the world."
Kael slowly nodded.
"But not myself."
The ancient being's golden eyes remained calm.
"You cannot separate the two."
A deep rumble suddenly echoed through the underground city.
This time it wasn't the prison.
It wasn't the Door.
It came from somewhere far beyond the crack.
The smiling figure's expression changed for the first time since its appearance.
Its calm smile disappeared.
The warmth left its eyes.
It slowly turned toward the endless darkness behind it.
Something enormous moved within the void.
Nothing could be seen clearly.
Only an immense silhouette passing behind the smiling figure, large enough to blot out what little light escaped from the underground city. The darkness itself seemed to bend around its outline while the crack in reality trembled violently beneath its presence.
For the first time...
The smiling figure looked afraid.
Then it whispered, almost to itself,
"It found us."
The First Son immediately stepped forward.
Golden light exploded around him.
The Sleeper raised one hand.
Silver chains erupted from every corner of the underground city.
Even the stranger closed his eyes as countless ancient runes ignited around his body.
No one asked what "it" was.
Because judging from the expressions of the ancient beings—
Everyone already knew.