2026-07-31 07:37:03The rain slowly came to a stop.
Ethan remained at the edge of the cliff.
His eyes searched the crashing waves below.
There was nothing.
No body.
No sign that Kai had ever been there.
Only the old coin remained in his hand.
He turned it over carefully.
The dragon.
The crown.
The twelve stars.
And just beneath them…
A tiny engraving.
XIII
Thirteen.
Ethan slipped the coin into his pocket.
His system appeared.
New Item Acquired
The Thirteenth Key
Classification: Unknown
Access Level: Restricted
Further analysis unavailable.
The screen vanished.
A few minutes later, Ethan returned to the hill.
Alexander immediately walked toward him.
“Where did he go?”
Ethan shook his head.
“He escaped.”
Alexander sighed.
“I’ve sent teams to search the entire valley.”
“They won’t find him.”
Professor Orion looked at Ethan carefully.
“You spoke with him.”
“Yes.”
“What did he want?”
Ethan hesitated.
He decided not to mention Kai’s claim about being a former Host.
Not yet.
“He said everyone is hiding secrets.”
Professor Orion smiled faintly.
“He isn’t wrong.”
Evelyn stepped closer.
“Did he tell you his name?”
“Kai.”
The moment she heard it…
Her face lost all color.
Alexander noticed immediately.
“Evelyn.”
“You know him?”
She slowly nodded.
“I’ve never met him…”
“But I’ve heard that name before.”
Everyone looked at her.
She took a deep breath.
“Years ago…”
“Nathan kept a locked journal.”
“I only managed to read one page.”
Alexander frowned.
“What did it say?”
Evelyn closed her eyes, trying to remember.
“It mentioned someone named Kai.”
“He wasn’t a scientist.”
“He wasn’t part of our team.”
“But Nathan wrote one sentence about him.”
She looked at Ethan.
‘If Kai ever returns… the Legacy System has failed.’
Silence.
Even Professor Orion’s expression changed.
“So Nathan knew him…”
Evelyn nodded.
“He did.”
Alexander folded his arms.
“This is getting more complicated.”
Professor Orion looked toward the city below.
“No.”
“It’s becoming clearer.”
Ethan frowned.
“What do you mean?”
Professor Orion turned around.
“For years…”
“We believed the Legacy System had only one purpose.”
“But now we know there were previous Hosts.”
“We know there are multiple vaults.”
“And now…”
“We know someone survived long enough to challenge the system itself.”
Before anyone could respond…
A helicopter appeared in the distance.
Its blades thundered across the sky.
It landed a short distance away.
A Crown Guard jumped out and hurried toward Alexander.
“Chairman!”
Alexander turned.
“What happened?”
The guard handed him a secure tablet.
“Our cyber division intercepted a live broadcast.”
Alexander looked at the screen.
His expression darkened.
He handed the tablet to Ethan.
On the screen…
Lucien Draven stood before dozens of reporters.
Behind him was the logo of a newly launched international technology company.
The reporters shouted questions.
“Mr. Draven!”
“Is it true your company is investing one hundred billion dollars into artificial intelligence?”
Lucien smiled confidently.
“Yes.”
Another reporter asked,
“Who is your chief technology officer?”
Lucien looked directly into the camera.
His smile widened.
“I think it’s time to introduce him.”
He stepped aside.
A man walked onto the stage.
The moment Ethan saw his face…
His heart nearly stopped.
The man looked exactly like Nathan Vale.
Same face.
Same smile.
Same silver key around his neck.
The reporters applauded.
Lucien placed a hand on the man’s shoulder.
“Ladies and gentlemen…”
“Meet the greatest scientist of our generation.”
“Dr. Nathan Vale.”
The live broadcast ended.
Nobody spoke.
Alexander whispered,
“That’s impossible.”
Evelyn’s hands trembled.
“I buried Nathan…”
“I saw his body…”
Professor Orion stared silently at the blank screen.
Then he quietly said,
“No…”
“That isn’t Nathan.”
Ethan looked at him.
“Then who is it?”
Professor Orion’s eyes became unusually serious.
“He has Nathan’s face…”
“But those eyes…”
“They belong to someone else.”
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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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