2026-07-31 07:35:17Ethan kept his face calm.
Inside…
His mind was racing.
The silver screen had disappeared, but the message remained burned into his memory.
Do not trust Professor Orion.
He slowly looked at the old man.
Professor Orion smiled warmly.
“So…”
“What would you like to know first?”
Ethan decided not to reveal what the system had told him.
Instead, he asked calmly,
“Why did Nathan trust you?”
Professor Orion rested both hands on his cane.
“Because I was his teacher.”
“I taught him physics.”
“I taught him artificial intelligence.”
“And eventually…”
“I helped him understand the Legacy Core.”
Alexander nodded.
“That’s true.”
“I met Nathan through Professor Orion.”
Ethan glanced at Alexander.
“You trust him?”
Alexander answered without hesitation.
“With my life.”
The words only made Ethan more cautious.
If Professor Orion truly couldn’t be trusted…
Then he had fooled everyone.
The old man suddenly chuckled.
“You’re suspicious.”
Ethan smiled politely.
“I’ve learned that trust is earned.”
Professor Orion laughed.
“Good.”
“It should be.”
He stood up from the bench.
“Walk with me.”
Without waiting for an answer…
He slowly walked toward the edge of the hill.
Ethan followed.
The others stayed behind.
For several minutes…
Neither of them spoke.
The wind blew gently through the trees.
Finally…
Professor Orion broke the silence.
“The system warned you about me.”
Ethan stopped walking.
His heart skipped a beat.
“What?”
Professor Orion turned around.
His eyes were calm.
“It told you not to trust me.”
Ethan stared at him.
“How do you know that?”
Professor Orion smiled.
“Because…”
“It told Nathan the exact same thing.”
Silence.
Ethan couldn’t speak.
Professor Orion sighed.
“The Legacy System doesn’t trust anyone.”
“Not even me.”
“Not even Alexander.”
“It constantly tests its Host.”
Ethan narrowed his eyes.
“Then why warn me?”
Professor Orion shook his head.
“I don’t know.”
“But Nathan once said…”
“‘The system never gives answers.’”
“‘It only creates questions.’”
Ethan remained silent.
For the first time…
The old man looked tired.
“You’re wondering if I’m lying.”
“Yes.”
“I would be disappointed if you weren’t.”
Professor Orion reached into his coat pocket.
He pulled out an old leather notebook.
Its pages were yellow with age.
He handed it to Ethan.
“Read the first page.”
Ethan carefully opened it.
The handwriting was neat.
At the top of the page was a date.
July 18, 1986
Below it…
A short paragraph.
Professor Orion,
If you’re reading this, then the system has probably warned the new Host about you.
Don’t blame it.
It’s protecting them the only way it knows how.
If the Host still chooses to trust you after that… then they are worthy of inheriting everything.
— Nathan Vale.
Ethan slowly lowered the notebook.
The handwriting matched the one in Nathan’s recorded message.
Professor Orion smiled sadly.
“Now you understand.”
“The warning wasn’t about me.”
“It was about you.”
Ethan frowned.
“What do you mean?”
Professor Orion looked him in the eyes.
“The system wanted to see whether you would blindly obey it…”
“…or think for yourself.”
Before Ethan could answer…
A sharp whistle echoed through the forest.
Whoosh!
A bullet flew between Ethan and Professor Orion.
It struck the tree behind them.
Bang!
Alexander immediately stood.
“Sniper!”
The Crown Guards drew their weapons.
“Protect the Professor!”
“Protect Ethan!”
Another shot rang out.
Bang!
One guard fell to the ground, clutching his shoulder.
Evelyn screamed.
“Everyone, take cover!”
The peaceful hill instantly turned into chaos.
Ethan scanned the tree line.
His upgraded system immediately activated.
Threat Analysis Complete.
Enemy Snipers Detected.
Total Targets: Five.
Distance: 640 Meters.
Wind Speed: 9 km/h.
Probability of Ambush Survival: 97%.
Red markers appeared in Ethan’s vision.
Every sniper’s location was highlighted.
Alexander shouted,
“We can’t see them!”
Ethan pointed toward the forest.
“Three on the eastern ridge.”
“One behind the old watchtower.”
“And another…”
He suddenly stopped.
The fifth sniper wasn’t aiming at him.
He wasn’t aiming at Alexander.
His rifle was pointed directly at…
Professor Orion.
Ethan’s eyes widened.
“Professor!”
He lunged forward.
At that exact moment…
The fifth sniper pulled the trigger.
Bang!
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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