In silence, he whispered in his heart,
"How much is my Bitcoin worth now?"
The blank pages of the Tome Omnicent glowed, writing themselves in an ancient language only he could understand:
You possess 1,368,421 coins. Value per coin: five dollars. Total: 68 billion rupiah.
Kaivan slowly closed the book.
His expression remained neutral, yet a quiet sense of relief flowed through his chest.
He looked at the Russian man and formed a smile so faint it was almost invisible.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly, his voice low but unwavering. "I'm not interested."
Silence fell.
Confused gazes spread across the faces of the sponsors. A silver-haired woman froze her fingers above her tablet. An elderly Japanese man at the end of the table adjusted his posture, restless. The tension thickened in the air, as if the room itself were holding its breath, waiting for the next explosion.
An invisible pressure filled the space, as though Kaivan's decision had shifted something far greater than a simple meeting.
Before anyone could respond, Kaivan spoke again—calmer now, his voice like a whisper in the heart of a storm.
"However, if this is truly about humanity," he said, looking at the Russian man, "then I'm willing to become your research subject. After all… I owe you for bringing me here."
His words echoed like the toll of a bell in a silent valley.
The sponsors who had once doubted him now stared in awe, as if unable to believe that this young man had just subdued them with nothing but composure.
Kaivan remained still.
He was not a hero.
He was simply someone who understood that possessing the Tome Omnicent meant freedom. He could move within the system without ever becoming part of it.
A blonde woman wearing a phoenix-shaped pin offered a faint smile.
"You're remarkable, Kaivan. Not many people your age think so clearly."
Kaivan met her gaze without emotion.
"I just don't want anyone to die because I chose to stay silent."
The Russian man nodded slowly and stubbed out his cigarette in a crystal ashtray.
"You've given us something money can't buy—integrity and courage. We will respect your decision."
He turned to Levan.
"Monitor this research. Don't take your eyes off him."
Levan replied with a calm nod. His gaze toward Kaivan had changed—no longer that of a researcher and a subject, but of two souls who understood each other.
The Russian man spoke again, gentle yet heavy with meaning.
"The world needs more people like you."
Kaivan simply nodded.
In his mind, he had already walked far beyond this room.
The Tome Omnicent in his arms pulsed softly, like the heart of a sleeping creature waiting to awaken.
After the meeting ended, the scent of tobacco and metal still lingered in the air. Bluish-white lights reflected off the steel walls, casting long shadows of the sponsors as they slowly departed. Footsteps echoed across the silver-gray granite floor, leaving only Kaivan and Levan standing in the center of the room.
Levan studied him for a long moment, his lab coat fluttering gently as he stepped forward.
"You now have full access to this facility. Meet Fabrizio—he'll provide anything you need."
Kaivan brushed his fingers across the warm, gently pulsing surface of the Tome Omnicent.
"Then," he said softly, his voice slipping through the cold air like an electric current, "tell my friends… that I'm fine. And someday, let me see them again."
Levan fell silent.
Kaivan's words pierced his thoughts like an arrow. His eyes widened slightly—not in fear, but in shock.
Kaivan knew.
He hadn't mentioned Radit, Thivi, Zinnia, Frans, Felicia, Isabel, Livia, Raphael, or Ethan. Yet he knew. He knew where Levan was heading.
Levan held his breath, gripping his clipboard as if anchoring himself to reality.
"So… you really can see everything, can't you?" he murmured.
His gaze drifted to the Tome Omnicent in Kaivan's hands. The book pulsed softly, as if breathing in rhythm with its master.
Kaivan didn't answer.
He only looked back with a piercing calm—the gaze of someone who knew everything, yet chose silence.
The quiet lingered between them.
At last, Levan took a deep breath and bowed sincerely—a gesture he had never offered to anyone in this facility.
"I'll do it," he said firmly. "You have your own soul, Kaivan. And I… am fortunate to stand on the same side."
Kaivan gave a faint smile.
When the automatic steel door opened, Levan walked away without looking back.
Kaivan remained still, allowing the silence to wrap around him—alone, yet surrounded by newly opened possibilities.
Deep within the underground bunker, old neon lights hung from the steel ceiling, casting dim reflections along endless corridors. Kaivan's footsteps echoed—slow yet steady, like the ticking of time in a frozen world. The air was cold and dry, biting into his skin like metal.
Dressed in black that blended into the shadows, Kaivan walked forward without hesitation.
The Tome Omnicent at his waist pulsed softly. Faint light crawled across its surface and seeped into his skin, as though time and space themselves bowed to his will.
"Right… I need to survive here until all the resources are gathered… to face Vella," he murmured, softly, like a whispered spell.