2026-07-31 07:34:35The old man stood quietly at the entrance.
Sunlight streamed in behind him, outlining his figure in gold.
He leaned lightly on a wooden cane.
His silver hair danced in the breeze.
Despite his age, his blue eyes were sharp and full of life.
No one spoke.
Ethan looked at him carefully.
“You’ve been waiting for me?”
The old man smiled.
“For a very long time.”
Alexander stared at him in disbelief.
“It can’t be…”
Evelyn’s breathing became uneven.
Tears slowly filled her eyes.
“Professor…”
The old man nodded gently.
“It’s good to see you again, Evelyn.”
She rushed toward him and hugged him tightly.
“I thought you were dead.”
He chuckled.
“Many people did.”
Alexander slowly walked over.
For a moment, the Chairman of the Crown Society looked like a young student again.
“You disappeared forty years ago.”
Professor Orion smiled.
“I disappeared because I had to.”
He looked at Ethan.
“And because I was waiting for him.”
Ethan frowned.
“Me?”
“Yes.”
Professor Orion pointed toward the chamber behind them.
“The Legacy Core has accepted you.”
“That means my work is finally complete.”
Before Ethan could ask another question, the ground shook again.
The laboratory ceiling cracked.
Large rocks crashed onto the floor.
Professor Orion calmly looked upward.
“We should continue this conversation outside.”
He tapped his cane once.
A hidden elevator rose silently from the floor.
Alexander looked surprised.
“I never knew this existed.”
Professor Orion smiled.
“That’s because it only appears for the Successor.”
The elevator doors opened.
Everyone stepped inside.
Within seconds, it carried them upward.
A minute later…
The doors opened onto a quiet hill overlooking the city.
Fresh air filled their lungs.
Behind them, the abandoned institute continued to collapse.
With one final roar…
The entire underground laboratory disappeared beneath the earth.
Dust rose into the sky.
Nathan Vale’s secret facility was gone forever.
Evelyn lowered her head.
“Forty years of research…”
Professor Orion placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.
“It served its purpose.”
Ethan turned toward him.
“I have questions.”
“I know.”
“A lot of questions.”
Professor Orion laughed softly.
“And I’ll answer them.”
He walked toward an old wooden bench beneath a large oak tree.
Everyone followed.
Once they were seated…
Professor Orion looked directly at Ethan.
“Tell me.”
“When you first received the Legacy System…”
“What was your greatest wish?”
Ethan answered honestly.
“I wanted enough money to survive.”
Professor Orion nodded.
“And after you became wealthy?”
“I wanted to protect the people who believed in me.”
Professor Orion smiled.
“Good.”
“You’ve passed the first requirement.”
Ethan looked confused.
“What requirement?”
“The Legacy System never chooses people who seek power.”
“It chooses people who seek purpose.”
Alexander frowned.
“Professor…”
“Did you create the selection process?”
Professor Orion shook his head.
“No.”
“I merely studied it.”
Ethan leaned forward.
“Then who created the Legacy System?”
The old man became unusually quiet.
His cheerful expression disappeared.
After a long silence…
He finally spoke.
“I met its creator once.”
Everyone froze.
“You… actually met them?”
Professor Orion nodded slowly.
“Sixty years ago.”
“Who were they?”
The professor smiled bitterly.
“I don’t know.”
“They never told me their name.”
“Were they a scientist?”
“I don’t think so.”
“A businessman?”
“No.”
“A soldier?”
“No.”
Ethan frowned.
“Then who were they?”
Professor Orion looked toward the blue sky.
“They looked…”
“…like an ordinary young man.”
Silence followed.
“He appeared one rainy evening.”
“He handed me a small metal box.”
“And he said only one sentence.”
Professor Orion slowly repeated the words.
“Protect this until someone worthy arrives.”
“I asked him what was inside.”
“He simply smiled.”
“Then…”
“He vanished.”
Alexander looked confused.
“Vanished?”
Professor Orion nodded.
“He walked into the rain.”
“I looked away for only a second.”
“And he was gone.”
“No footprints.”
“No vehicle.”
“Nothing.”
Ethan felt a strange chill run through his body.
Professor Orion looked back at him.
“The box contained the Legacy Core.”
“And from that day…”
“My life changed forever.”
Before anyone could speak again…
Ethan’s silver system suddenly appeared without warning.
Unlike before…
No one else could see it.
Private Notification
Creator Signal Detected.
Distance: 14.2 Kilometers.
Connection Strength: Stable.
A message has been received.
The screen opened automatically.
A single line appeared.
“Do not trust Professor Orion.”
Ethan’s breathing stopped.
He slowly lifted his eyes.
Professor Orion was still smiling gently.
Completely unaware of the message.
Or perhaps…
Pretending not to be.
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
Chapter 109: Legacy Reawakened
The blue screen flickered.It was unstable.Unlike the flawless interface Ethan had relied on throughout his journey, this one was fractured.Tiny cracks spread across its edges as though the system itself had suffered tremendous damage.The familiar mechanical voice spoke again.It was weaker than Ethan remembered.Yet…He smiled.After everything that had happened…It still sounded like home.Legacy System…Emergency Restoration… 7% Complete…Warning… Core functions unavailable…Reason… Legacy sacrificed during the Final Convergence…Ethan’s heart pounded.“So…”“You survived.”The screen remained silent for a moment.Then…A new sentence appeared.Correction…This unit did not survive.This unit… was remembered.The words struck him harder than any attack ever could.Remembered.Not rebuilt.Not repaired.Remembered.The blue screen slowly continued.Human belief…Shared memories…Legacy fragments carried within countless lives…Emergency reconstruction successful.Ethan finally un
Chapter 108: The Sky Breaker
The crack spread across the blue sky.It didn’t happen all at once.Thin fractures crawled outward like veins across glass, stretching from one horizon to the other.Each new crack released a faint silver light.The peaceful meadow beneath Ethan’s feet trembled.Birds that had been singing moments before suddenly took flight.The gentle breeze vanished.An unnatural silence swallowed the world.Ren’s small hand instinctively reached for Ethan’s.His fingers were trembling.“They found us.”Ethan looked down.“Who?”Ren swallowed.“The ones who don’t want us remembered.”Another deafening roar echoed overhead.This time…It was closer.The sky shattered a little more.Chunks of blue light drifted downward before dissolving into countless glowing particles.Ethan had seen worlds collapse before.He had watched stars disappear.Yet…There was something uniquely terrifying about watching the sky itself come apart.Not because it looked destructive.Because it looked…Wrong.Like reality w
Chapter 107: The First Face
Every step echoed inside Ethan’s helmet.Crunch.Crunch.Crunch.The lunar dust compressed beneath his boots as he followed the countless footprints stretching toward the enormous black doorway.Mission Control remained connected through his communicator.“Ethan, your oxygen levels are stable.”“Heart rate elevated, but within acceptable limits.”Dr. Brooks’ calm voice filled the silence.Professor Orion spoke next.“Distance to the structure: four hundred meters.”“Proceed carefully.”“I will.”Ethan answered.He never took his eyes off the doorway.The closer he came…The larger it became.From orbit it had looked massive.Standing beneath it…It was overwhelming.It rose into the endless darkness above him like a mountain carved from midnight.Its surface reflected nothing.Not sunlight.Not stars.Not even Ethan himself.It was as though the doorway refused to acknowledge reality.Back on Earth…Sophia stood inside Mission Control.Her hands remained folded tightly together.She h
Chapter 106: The Man Who Walked Through Silence
By sunrise…Ethan had made his decision.He would go.Not because he trusted the beings beyond the black doorway.Not because he believed they meant no harm.But because he had seen something in the message that no one else seemed willing to acknowledge.They had asked.Twice.First…May we speak?Then…One may come.An enemy didn’t ask permission.An enemy simply invaded.Whatever waited beyond that door…It wanted to be heard.Whether that was a blessing or a trap…Only one way existed to find out.The launch facility came alive before dawn.Floodlights illuminated the enormous launch pad while engineers hurried around the silver shuttle.Unlike the bulky spacecraft used during the early years of space exploration…This one had been built after the Seven Days.Human technology had advanced dramatically with knowledge recovered from the Architects.Its engines were cleaner.Its shields stronger.Its navigation system could cross the distance between Earth and the Moon in less than th
Chapter 105: The Invitation
No one celebrated.Although the footprints had stopped appearing…Although the black doorway had remained closed…Not a single person inside Mission Control believed the danger had passed.If anything…The silence felt heavier.It was the silence of two strangers looking at one another across a great distance.Waiting.Wondering who would speak next.Dr. Elena Brooks stood beside the communications console, replaying Ethan’s transmission.“My name is Ethan.”“You asked if you could speak.”“You can.”She listened to it three more times before finally muting the speakers.“I’ve worked in aerospace for seventeen years.”She slowly shook her head.“I spent my entire career preparing for first contact.”She smiled weakly.“I never imagined it would begin with… permission.”Professor Orion nodded.“Neither did I.”Hours passed.The black doorway did not move.The Moon remained quiet.Scientists continued monitoring every satellite, every telescope, and every sensor aimed toward the far sid
Chapter 104: Beyond the Black Door
The three knocks echoed through Mission Control.Slow.Steady.Deliberate.Every person in the room froze.No one spoke.No one breathed.The sound wasn’t coming from the speakers anymore.It seemed to resonate through the walls themselves.Three knocks…Yet it felt as though something enormous had struck the fabric of reality.Then…Silence.Emergency lights flickered back to life.Rows of monitors rebooted one after another.Technicians hurried to their stations.“Power is returning!”“I’m reconnecting to the lunar station!”“Signal stabilizing!”Dr. Elena Brooks leaned over one of the consoles.“Get me visual confirmation.”The largest monitor flashed.Static filled the screen.Then the image cleared.Everyone stared.The giant black doorway still stood on the Moon’s far side.Exactly where it had been before.Silent.Motionless.Almost…Innocent.Kai slowly let out the breath he had been holding.“I hate doors.”Lyra looked at him.“You hate everything.”“I especially hate mysteri
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