Kaelen and Rix landed on the island of black rock in the center of the River of Time. The river flowed silently around them—a stream of liquid sand that glowed with the light of dying stars.
In the center of the island sat Ren. He was bound by chains made of blue code (System Logic) and chains of white iron (Physical Stasis).
Ren looked young, barely older than Kaelen. But his eyes were like deep wells filled with millions of years of boredom.
"You fell a long way," Ren said. His voice didn't echo; it simply appeared in their minds.
Kaelen stood up, helping Rix. "You are the Ancestor."
"I have many names," Ren sighed. "The First Cultivator. The Great Devil. The Battery."
"Battery?" Rix asked, scanning the chains.
"Look closer, girl," Ren pointed at the blue chains. "The System above... the floating cities, the magic, the monsters... it all runs on energy. Where do you think that energy comes from?"
Ren tapped his own chest. "Me. Neo trapped me here. He uses my infinite time-stasis to power his machine. I am the engine of your world."
Kaelen felt a chill. The utopian System was built on the torture of one man.
"We have the Key," Kaelen showed the Void Box. "We can free you."
Ren laughed. It was a dry, cracking sound. "Free me? If I stand up, the System loses power. The floating cities fall. Gravity fails. Everyone you know dies."
Ren looked at Kaelen with intensity. "Neo built a perfect cage. I cannot leave without destroying the world. And I cannot die because I am eternal."