The valley remained silent after the figure's final words. Nobody seemed eager to continue the discussion. The revelation about Genesis had changed everything. Earlier, they had been discussing the End. Now they were discussing something that might be connected to it.
Ayan stood near the fortress wall while the bridge pulsed beneath his skin. The sensation felt different than before. It wasn't reacting to danger. It was reacting to information. Every new piece of knowledge seemed to awaken something buried deep within it.
The figure watched him carefully.
"You're remembering faster."
Ayan frowned.
"What does that mean?"
"It means the bridge is becoming active."
The answer immediately drew attention.
Lucien looked toward the figure.
The king's expression hardened slightly.
Even the giant seemed interested.
Ayan felt his stomach tighten.
The bridge had always been active.
Hadn't it?
Apparently not.
The figure slowly shook its head.
"What you've experienced so far are fragments. Echoes. The bridge has been damaged for a very long time."
Its gaze settled on Ayan.
"But now it's beginning to reconnect."
The bridge pulsed.
A sudden memory flashed through Ayan's mind.
He saw endless silver pathways stretching between worlds. Millions of lights moved along them like rivers crossing reality. Some traveled toward distant civilizations. Others disappeared into gateways larger than cities.
The vision lasted only a second.
Then it vanished.
Ayan inhaled sharply.
The figure nodded.
"Exactly."
The reaction annoyed him.
"Can you stop answering questions before I ask them?"
For the first time, a faint smile appeared on the figure's face.
"No."
The giant laughed quietly.
Even Aelira looked amused.
The brief moment of normalcy felt strangely refreshing after everything that had happened.
Unfortunately, it didn't last.
Far beyond the crimson doorway, the darkness shifted.
The movement was subtle.
Most people would have missed it.
The ancient beings didn't.
The giant immediately turned around.
The king looked upward.
The figure's smile vanished.
Ayan felt the bridge react.
Not fear.
Recognition.
The sensation sent a chill through him.
Because the bridge knew something was coming.
The figure stared into the crimson depths for several moments.
Then it sighed.
"We don't have much time."
The statement immediately erased any remaining calm.
Lucien folded his arms.
"How much?"
The figure remained silent.
That alone was enough to worry everyone.
Eventually it answered.
"Less than we expected."
The giant cursed.
The king closed his eyes.
Ayan noticed the exchange immediately.
Nobody seemed surprised.
Only frustrated.
As though reality had just confirmed their worst assumptions.
"What changed?" Ayan asked.
The figure looked toward him.
"You."
The answer caught him completely off guard.
"What?"
The figure raised one hand.
The crimson light surrounding the doorway shifted slightly.
"Not intentionally."
That wasn't reassuring.
The figure continued.
"The bridge awakening sends signals."
Ayan felt cold spreading through his chest.
"Signals to who?"
Nobody answered immediately.
The silence became an answer.
The figure eventually looked toward the darkness beyond the fracture.
"To things that remember it."
The bridge pulsed violently.
Another memory surfaced.
This one felt older than anything before.
Ayan saw a battlefield stretching across an endless horizon. Silver towers burned beneath crimson skies while entire armies retreated toward gigantic gateways. The atmosphere felt desperate.
Not because they were losing.
Because they had already lost.
The memory shifted.
Someone stood atop a ruined structure.
Watching.
Waiting.
The figure was impossible to identify.
The image remained blurred.
Yet one detail stood out clearly.
Its eyes.
Crimson.
The vision shattered instantly.
Ayan staggered slightly.
The bridge continued pulsing.
The figure's expression darkened.
"You saw one of them."
The valley became silent.
The giant looked toward Ayan.
Lucien looked toward Ayan.
Even the king seemed interested.
Ayan swallowed.
"One of who?"
The figure didn't answer immediately.
Instead, it stared into the darkness beyond the doorway.
When it finally spoke, its voice sounded unusually serious.
"The first survivors."
The bridge reacted again.
The giant lowered his gaze.
The king remained silent.
Nobody looked happy about the answer.
Ayan immediately noticed.
"What's wrong?"
The figure's expression hardened.
"Most survivors ran from the End."
A cold wind swept through the valley.
The crimson doorway flickered.
The figure continued.
"A few chose another path."
Ayan didn't like where this was going.
"What path?"
The ancient being looked directly at him.
Then it answered.
"They tried to become part of it."
The words settled over the valley like a storm cloud.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody moved.
Even the refugees below seemed strangely quiet.
The bridge pulsed.
Hard.
And somewhere beyond the crimson doorway—
Something laughed.