Narrator:

  After Elias’ prolonged battle with the messenger,

  after Aethron finally realized he had made a mistake,

  the course of events shifted—and the world moved toward change.

  For the first time, Aethron turned to his two sons, seeking aid and resolution.

  And so, the story continued.

  Aethron summoned them not as a ruler, but as one aware—perhaps for the first time—of an irreversible consequence.

  Aethron’s voice echoed through the mind-realm.

  Aethron:

  “I have ordered all messengers to stay away from the anomaly.

  I can no longer conceal it.

  Every further contact weakens me.”

  A brief pause.

  “I cannot allow it to gain more fragments.

  It can already sense me.”

  His tone sharpened.

  “Where are my sons?

  Vaerkhal. Kaeroth.

  I summon you.”

  They arrived instantly.

  Kaeroth:

  “Father. What is this urgency?

  You pulled me away from training.”

  Vaerkhal:

  “What happened?

  Knowing you, this must be serious—your control over the creatures below is usually flawless.”

  Aethron hesitated.

  Aethron:

  “A mistake was made.

  An anomaly. Something that should not exist.”

  His voice carried tension—not panic, but disruption.

  Kaeroth turned his gaze toward his brother.

  Kaeroth:

  “Vaerkhal, judging by Father’s state, this requires thought—not force.

  You are not needed.”

  Vaerkhal:

  “…Fine.

  Call me when something needs to be killed.”

  He vanished.

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  Kaeroth:

  “Now speak. What exactly happened?”

  Aethron:

  “You understand my ability to create messengers.

  You know how it works.”

  Kaeroth:

  “Of course.

  They are formed from your energy.

  Fewer messengers mean greater strength.

  Their loyalty is absolute.

  They do not grow.

  You may shape their power at will.”

  A brief pause.

  “But without them, you are nothing.

  You are a manipulator—your dominion exists only through them.”

  Aethron:

  “Precisely.

  And yet—years ago—I created one from a human.

  Nothing unusual.

  He lost his will. Became a tool.”

  His voice darkened.

  “I failed to notice something.

  The loyalty was… incomplete.”

  Silence.

  “I was blinded by my own power.

  Years passed before I realized it.”

  Kaeroth’s eyes narrowed.

  Kaeroth:

  “Impossible.”

  Aethron:

  “Do not interrupt me.”

  He continued.

  “He freed himself.

  On his own.”

  Aethron gestured toward a projection of the world.

  “Look.”

  “The aura all my messengers carry—his has spiraled beyond control.

  There is now a dead zone.

  The creatures below named it themselves.”

  His voice hardened.

  “And he stands at its center.”

  Kaeroth:

  “So where is the issue?

  You made the mistake—fix it.”

  A cold glance.

  “This is your world, not mine.

  We are not threatened.”

  Then, more quietly:

  “And how do you even know all this?

  Gathering information has never been your strength.

  You spread disease.

  You cull populations to prevent overgrowth.”

  Aethron’s composure cracked.

  Aethron:

  “He hunts my messengers.”

  A pause.

  “Each one he destroys—my energy does not return.”

  Kaeroth stiffened.

  Aethron:

  “He absorbs it.

  Which means—he absorbs me.”

  His voice dropped.

  “I reduced their number.

  I created elites.

  Stronger vessels.”

  A bitter exhale.

  “I underestimated him.”

  “He destroyed one as if it were nothing.

  Tore away a massive fragment of my power.”

  For the first time—

  “I felt pain.”

  “And fear.”

  Aethron looked directly at his son.

  “He appeared within my own mind.”

  Silence followed.

  “He took its memories.

  He knows I exist.

  And he is coming.”

  Aethron’s voice was bare now.

  “Without my messengers—I am nothing.”

  Kaeroth:

  “…I see.”

  He thought.

  “By your account, the anomaly is still young.

  Less than a century.”

  His eyes sharpened.

  “You sent only one enhanced messenger.

  And the battle lasted hours.”

  A pause.

  “That means he can be overwhelmed.”

  Kaeroth raised his gaze.

  “Do not create one powerful servant.

  Create several.”

  “Concentrate their strength.

  Send them together.

  Force him to react from all directions.”

  A final conclusion.

  “Overwhelm him.

  Tear his core apart.”

  Aethron lowered his head.

  Aethron:

  “I will trust you.

  Our existence rests in your hands.”

  Narrator:

  And so Aethron obeyed.

  He forged ultimate messengers and sent them forth—

  to eliminate the anomaly.

  To eliminate Elias.

  Meanwhile, Elias trained.

  He searched for the entrance to Aethron’s reality—

  knowing one final fragment was still missing.

  Kaeroth underestimated him.

  And that miscalculation

  would become the moment

  everything began to break.

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