The eyes behind the seal were smiling.
Hundreds of them.
Different sizes.
Different shapes.
Opening slowly throughout the endless darkness beyond the First Seal like living stars awakening inside a dead universe.
And every single one of them—
was staring directly at Leo.
His breathing stopped.
Not metaphorically.
His chest physically froze as something cold spread through his entire body.
The chamber around him suddenly felt impossibly small.
Tiny.
Meaningless.
As though the darkness beyond the door did not belong inside the Hall at all.
As though something much larger was looking through reality itself.
Then the whispers disappeared completely.
Again.
That silence terrified Leo more than their screaming ever had.
Because now—
he could hear his own heartbeat.
Slow.
Heavy.
Weak.
The silver-haired girl noticed his expression immediately.
Her calm composure finally cracked slightly.
"What did you see?"
Leo couldn't answer immediately.
His eyes remained fixed on the opening.
On the smiling eyes staring from the darkness beyond the seal.
"…They're watching me…"
The whisper barely escaped his mouth.
The instructor immediately stepped closer.
"What's behind the door?"
Leo slowly shook his head.
"No…"
His voice trembled faintly.
"They're not behind it."
The chamber became silent.
For the first time since entering the Hall—
fear visibly crossed the silver-haired girl's face.
Another violent tremor shook the underground structure.
Massive cracks spread across the ancient walls.
Blue flames lining the chamber flickered unstable while chunks of stone collapsed from the ceiling.
One of the enforcers shouted immediately.
"The containment pillars are failing!"
The council member turned sharply.
"Stabilize them!"
"We already tried!"
Another chain snapped above.
The sound echoed like thunder through the Hall.
But Leo barely heard any of it.
Because the smiling eyes beyond the seal had not disappeared.
They continued staring at him silently.
Patiently.
Like predators observing something familiar.
Then—
one of the eyes blinked.
A memory exploded inside Leo's mind instantly.
A dark ocean beneath a black sky.
Gigantic shadows moving beneath the water.
Ancient chanting echoing endlessly through ruined stone structures.
And standing at the center of it all—
a child.
A small boy covered in black marks.
Leo.
The child slowly looked upward toward the sky.
And above him—
the same smiling eyes watched from the darkness beyond the stars.
The vision shattered violently.
Leo staggered backward gasping for air.
The instructor grabbed him immediately before he collapsed.
"Leo!"
His breathing had become unstable now.
Cold sweat covered his entire body.
"That wasn't a vision…"
The words escaped him unconsciously.
The silver-haired girl's expression darkened.
"What do you mean?"
Leo slowly looked toward her.
"That was a memory."
The chamber froze.
Even the whispers remained silent.
The council member stepped forward sharply.
"That's impossible."
But Leo barely listened anymore.
Because deep inside himself—
something horrifying had started becoming clear.
The child in the vision had not looked afraid.
Lonely.
Yes.
Isolated.
Yes.
But not afraid.
As though he had already known the eyes were watching him.
The giant eye carved into the First Seal suddenly widened further.
The darkness leaking from the opening spread violently across the floor now.
Ancient symbols shattered apart wherever it touched.
Several enforcers immediately retreated backward.
Then the human voice behind the seal screamed.
"HE'S REMEMBERING!"
The desperation in the voice shook the chamber.
The bloody hand gripping the opening tightened violently.
"You need to leave NOW!"
The silver-haired girl stepped forward instantly.
"Who are you?!"
For several seconds—
silence answered.
Then the voice returned.
Weak.
Broken.
"…I was him…"
Leo's heartbeat nearly stopped.
The instructor's grip tightened around his shoulder.
"What does that mean?"
The voice laughed weakly.
Not insanity.
Pain.
Endless pain.
"I thought I could resist them too…"
The chamber became unbearably quiet.
Even the darkness leaking from the seal seemed to slow.
Listening.
Waiting.
The silver-haired girl stared at the opening intensely.
"You're the First Vessel."
Another weak laugh emerged from beyond the darkness.
"That name stopped mattering a very long time ago."
Leo felt cold fear spreading slowly through his chest.
Because the voice did not sound monstrous.
It sounded tired.
Like someone who had suffered beyond the limits of human endurance.
Then suddenly—
the giant eye shifted upward.
And every smiling eye beyond the seal opened wider simultaneously.
The pressure flooding the chamber instantly multiplied.
Several enforcers collapsed unconscious.
Blood streamed from one man's ears.
Another began screaming while clawing at his own face.
The instructor immediately forced Leo downward.
"DO NOT LOOK AT THEM!"
But it was already too late.
Leo could feel them now.
Not physically.
Mentally.
Ancient consciousness pressing against his awareness from every direction.
Curious.
Interested.
Hungry.
And beneath all of that—
recognition.
The ancient voice echoed softly inside his mind.
"…We remember you."
Leo's entire body froze.
Not:
"We found you."
Not:
"We chose you."
"We remember you."
The meaning behind those words shattered something inside him.
Because suddenly—
all the questions changed.
What if the Watchers were not trying to corrupt him?
What if they were trying to reconnect with him?
"No…"
The whisper escaped Leo's mouth instinctively.
The silver-haired girl immediately looked toward him.
"What is it?"
Leo slowly raised his head.
Fear filled his eyes now.
Real fear.
Not fear of death.
Fear of identity.
"What if I was never human to begin with?"
Silence crashed across the chamber.
The instructor immediately answered.
"You ARE human."
But his voice lacked certainty now.
And Leo noticed.
That hurt more than if the instructor had stayed silent.
The First Vessel suddenly spoke again.
This time sharply.
Urgently.
"Don't listen to them!"
The bloody hand pushed farther through the opening desperately.
For a brief moment—
Leo finally saw part of the figure behind the seal.
A man.
Thin.
Broken.
Covered in spreading black corruption.
His body looked partially fused with the darkness surrounding him.
But his eyes—
his eyes looked exactly like Leo's.
"You still have time," the man said weakly. "Once the remembering fully begins—"
The smiling eyes behind him widened.
The First Vessel suddenly screamed in agony.
Darkness wrapped violently around his body.
The sound that escaped him no longer sounded fully human.
"RUN!"
Then the darkness dragged him backward violently into the seal.
The bloody hand disappeared instantly.
The opening began closing.
But before it fully sealed—
something enormous moved behind the smiling eyes.
For one impossible moment—
Leo saw its shape.
Not a creature.
Not a monster.
Something far worse.
A gigantic humanoid silhouette made entirely from moving darkness and endless eyes.
Its head nearly touched the upper limits of the void beyond the seal.
And despite its massive size—
it slowly knelt.
In front of Leo.
The chamber fell completely silent.
Then the ancient voice whispered softly through his mind.
"…Welcome back."
The First Seal exploded open.