Thiago stared.A photograph appeared on the ring.It showed Marcus.But he wasn't alone.Standing beside him were several unfamiliar people.And behind them was the same enormous shadow.Thiago's blood ran cold.The photograph had been taken decades before the Origin Project.Before the first cycle.Before Continuum.Before Selene.Before him.Written beneath the photograph were the words:THE FIRST CONTACT.Thiago looked at the Custodian."Marcus knew about you.""Yes.""How?""He spoke to us."Thiago's eyes narrowed."When?""Before your birth."Selene stepped forward."What did he ask?"The Custodian looked at her."He asked us to save humanity.""And what did you demand?"The Custodian's answer was chilling."Nothing."Thiago frowned."Then why did you help him?""We didn't."The Custodian looked toward the approaching shadow."We warned him."The sky began to shake.Buildings trembled.Windows shattered.People ran through the streets.The countdown reached zero.The ring went co

Thiago slowly raised his hand."Nobody move."Selene tightened her grip on her weapon."Why?""Because they are watching for movement."The woman nodded."Not movement."Thiago looked at her."What, then?""Memory."The ring suddenly flickered.A single line appeared.MEMORY EXTRACTION ATTEMPT DETECTED.Thiago's expression hardened."How do I stop it?""You can't."The woman walked toward him."But you can decide what they take."Thiago looked at her."What does that mean?""Your memories are no longer stored only inside your mind."She pointed toward the ring."You transferred them into the boundary."Thiago looked at the black ring."So they can access them.""Yes.""Then why create the boundary?""Because the boundary also gives you control."The ring suddenly lit up.A translucent image appeared in the air.Thiago saw himself as a child.Then as a young man.Then as the man who had died in the flood.Then his second life.His third.His fourth.Every memory was displayed at once.

The original version stood before him."You hid the truth from yourself.""What truth?"The original Thiago smiled."Humanity was never the first species to discover time."The sky outside suddenly went completely black. Every remaining eye opened, and then the original Thiago looked upward."They have come for the one thing I stole from them."Thiago looked at him."What?"The original version answered."The beginning."A deafening sound shook the world, and the boundary cracked.Selene screamed."Thiago!"The ring displayed one final message.BOUNDARY FAILURE: 1%.Then: ORIGINAL ENTITY ACCESSING HUMAN HISTORY.The original Thiago turned toward the sky. "They're coming."The older variants raised their weapons and Marcus backed away.Adrian fell silent. And Selene reached for Thiago's hand."Whatever happens," she whispered, "don't let them take your memories."Thiago looked at her. Then at his original self, and at the black sky.For the first time, he understood the real purpose of

Thiago stared."Who are you?"The figure looked at Selene.Then at the original Thiago.Then back at him."I am the first human consciousness."The room became silent.The figure pointed toward Thiago's ring."And you are carrying my memory."Thiago's expression hardened."Then why do I have it?"The figure smiled."Because I gave it to you."Selene stepped closer."Why?"The figure looked at her."Because I knew one day humanity would need someone willing to choose."Thiago stared."Choose what?"The figure's smile disappeared."Whether humanity should remember what it was..."He looked toward the billions of lights surrounding Earth."...or become something new."The ring flashed.FINAL DECISION REQUIRED.Two options appeared.RESTORE ORIGINAL MEMORY.CREATE NEW HUMAN MEMORY.Thiago stared at the choices.Selene whispered,"Whatever you choose, choose it for yourself."Thiago looked at the Earth.Then at humanity.Then at the first consciousness.Finally, he looked at Selene.He rea

Selene immediately looked at Thiago.“You said the boundary was stable.”“It was,” Thiago replied.The ring on his finger pulsed.A notification appeared.BOUNDARY STATUS: STABLE.Then another line appeared.BOUNDARY LOCATION: INTERNAL.Thiago's expression changed.“Internal?”Selene stepped beside him.“What does that mean?”Before he could answer, Marcus spoke.“It means you made the same mistake we made.”Thiago looked at the screen.“What mistake?”“You thought the boundary was outside you.”Marcus leaned toward the camera.“You thought you created a wall around Earth.”His voice dropped.“You didn't.”The floor shook.Selene grabbed the edge of the table.Thiago remained standing.Marcus continued.“The boundary is inside Earth.”Thiago stared at the ring.The blue light inside it was spreading.Across his hand.Up his wrist.The same light appeared briefly beneath Selene's skin.She gasped.“What is happening?”Thiago reached for her.The moment their hands touched, the undergro