Kai stared at his reflection.
It was smiling.
He wasn't.
For several seconds, neither he nor the reflection moved.
Then the reflection slowly raised one finger.
Kai didn't.
It pointed toward the darkness behind him.
Kai spun around.
Nothing.
Only the damaged streets.
The refugees.
Tony.
Superman.
Thor.
The little girl.
And the stranger.
Kai turned back.
His reflection was normal again.
"Did anyone else see that?"
Tony's helmet turned toward him.
"See what?"
Kai stared at the screen.
Nothing.
The golden system had vanished.
"Never mind."
The stranger stepped toward him.
"Kai."
Kai immediately raised a hand.
"Don't."
The stranger stopped.
Kai looked directly at him.
"You knew."
The stranger's jaw tightened.
"You knew what I was."
"I knew what you could become."
"That's not what I asked."
The stranger remained silent.
Kai's expression hardened.
"You knew the Fourth Anchor was me."
"No."
Kai narrowed his eyes.
"Then what did you know?"
The stranger looked toward the tower.
"I knew there was something beneath it."
"Something?"
"A part of you."
Kai's stomach tightened.
"What does that mean?"
"I don't know."
"You're lying."
"I'm not."
The stranger's voice became frustrated.
"I don't know what you were before your memories were sealed. I only know that your brother was terrified of what you might become."
Kai looked at the little girl.
"And she knows."
The girl nodded.
"Some of it."
"Then tell me."
She shook her head.
"Not yet."
Kai stared.
"Why does everyone keep saying that?"
"Because if you remember everything at once, you might not survive it."
Kai's eyes narrowed.
"Survive my own memories?"
The little girl nodded.
"Your memories aren't normal."
Before Kai could respond—
BOOM!
The street shook.
A building collapsed several blocks away.
People screamed.
Tony immediately looked toward the sound.
"They're here."
Kai turned.
The army had reached the city.
Hundreds of figures moved through the smoke.
Some flew.
Some walked.
Others simply appeared between buildings.
Superman rose into the air.
Thor's hammer began glowing.
Tony's armor locked onto multiple targets.
Kai stared.
"There are too many."
Tony glanced at him.
"Finally, something we agree on."
Superman descended.
"We need to move the civilians now."
Kai nodded.
"Stark Tower."
Tony looked at him.
"That's still standing."
"Then that's where we go."
Thor looked toward the tower.
"And the child?"
Kai glanced at the little girl.
"She comes with me."
The stranger immediately stepped forward.
"No."
Kai looked at him.
"Why?"
"Because she's the reason they're here."
The little girl shook her head.
"No."
The stranger looked at her.
She continued:
"I'm not the reason."
She pointed at Kai.
"They are."
Kai looked toward the army.
The stranger's face hardened.
"Then we separate them."
Kai shook his head.
"No."
"Kai."
"You've been trying to separate me from everyone since you appeared."
The stranger went silent.
Kai stepped closer.
"Maybe that's exactly what they want."
Tony looked at him.
"That's actually a good point."
The stranger glared at him.
Tony shrugged.
"I'm just saying."
Kai looked at Superman.
"Can you get everyone into the tower?"
Superman nodded.
"Yes."
"Thor?"
Thor raised Mjolnir.
"I shall hold the line."
Tony looked at Kai.
"And you?"
Kai looked at the little girl.
Then at the tower.
"I'm going underground."
The stranger's eyes widened.
"No."
Kai smiled faintly.
"That's becoming your favorite word."
"You don't understand what's beneath that building."
"Then I'll learn."
"You can't."
Kai stepped closer.
"Why?"
The stranger stared at him.
Because he couldn't answer.
Kai nodded.
"Exactly."
He turned away.
The stranger grabbed his arm.
Kai immediately stopped.
"Let go."
"If you go down there, you may never come back."
Kai looked at his hand.
Then at him.
"Maybe that's where I'm supposed to be."
The stranger released him.
Kai walked toward Stark Tower.
The little girl followed.
Tony flew overhead.
"Kid!"
Kai looked up.
Tony tossed something.
Kai caught it.
A small circular device.
"What is this?"
"Tracker."
Kai frowned.
"Why?"
"So we can find you."
Kai looked at Tony.
"You think you'll lose me?"
Tony's helmet opened.
"In this city? Absolutely."
Kai smiled.
"Fair."
Tony flew away.
Kai looked at the device.
Then the little girl.
"What's your name?"
She stared at him.
"You really want to know?"
"Yes."
She smiled.
"Then remember it."
Kai sighed.
"I don't have time for riddles."
"You gave me my name."
"Apparently everyone knows more about my past than I do."
The girl stopped.
She looked at him.
Then quietly said:
"Lumi."
Kai frowned.
"Lumi?"
She nodded.
"You named me Lumi."
Kai repeated it.
"Lumi."
Something inside his mind shifted.
A memory.
A garden.
Snow.
A small girl running through it.
Kai chasing her.
She was laughing.
Then a voice—
"Lumi, wait!"
Kai stumbled.
Lumi grabbed his hand.
"Kai!"
He blinked.
The memory disappeared.
Kai stared at her.
"You really were there."
Lumi smiled.
"Yes."
"How old was I?"
"Very young."
"How old were you?"
She thought.
"Not born yet."
Kai stopped.
"...What?"
Lumi continued walking.
Kai hurried after her.
"Wait."
She ignored him.
"You said you weren't born yet."
"I wasn't."
"Then how did I name you?"
She looked back.
"Because you made me."
Kai stopped.
His expression went blank.
"What?"
Lumi smiled.
"Welcome to the Nexus."
Then she walked into Stark Tower.
Kai followed.
The doors opened automatically.
Inside, the building was strangely quiet.
Too quiet.
Tony's usual technology hummed around them.
But underneath that—
Kai heard something else.
A pulse.
Thump.
He stopped.
Thump.
Again.
A heartbeat.
Lumi looked at him.
"Do you hear it?"
Kai nodded.
"That's beneath us."
They entered an elevator.
Lumi pressed no button.
The doors closed.
Kai waited.
Nothing happened.
Then the elevator began descending.
Kai's eyes widened.
"We didn't select a floor."
Lumi smiled.
"It knows you."
The elevator descended faster.
The numbers on the display began changing.
Then the numbers disappeared.
Kai stared.
"How deep is this place?"
Lumi answered:
"Deep enough to hide a universe."
Kai looked at her.
"You're joking."
"No."
The elevator suddenly stopped.
The doors opened.
Kai stepped out.
His breath caught.
The chamber beyond was enormous.
It wasn't a basement.
It wasn't even a facility.
It was a world.
A massive circular chamber stretched into darkness.
Thousands of glowing structures floated in the air.
Each one contained images.
Different Earths.
Different cities.
Different versions of people.
Different histories.
Kai walked forward.
"These are..."
"Universes."
Kai stared.
"How?"
Lumi walked beside him.
"You built this."
Kai stopped.
"I did what?"
Lumi pointed toward the center.
A massive structure stood there.
A circular platform.
At its center was a chair.
Kai recognized it immediately.
The chair from his vision.
His breathing became shallow.
"No."
Lumi looked at him.
"Yes."
Kai slowly walked toward it.
The closer he got, the louder the heartbeat became.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
He reached the platform.
The chair activated.
Blue light flooded the chamber.
A hologram appeared.
Kai.
Not the Kai standing there.
Another Kai.
The version from his memory.
Older.
Calm.
His eyes carried the same strange certainty.
Holographic Kai looked directly at him.
"If you're seeing this, then the seal failed."
Kai stared.
His holographic self continued.
"I don't know which version of you found this recording."
Kai frowned.
"Version?"
The hologram continued.
"But if you're the Kai I remember..."
It paused.
"...then I'm sorry."
Kai's heart tightened.
"For what?"
The recording obviously couldn't answer him.
Holographic Kai looked toward something outside the recording.
Then back.
"The Nexus isn't a weapon."
Kai frowned.
"It's a bridge."
Images appeared.
Worlds connecting.
Universes merging.
Characters crossing between realities.
"The multiverse is naturally isolated. Every universe has its own rules, its own history, its own fate."
The hologram changed.
A single line connected dozens of universes.
"But there are things outside those rules."
Kai stared.
"Things that can cross between realities."
The hologram became darker.
"Those things were never supposed to enter."
Kai whispered:
"Who?"
Holographic Kai looked directly at him.
"The Gods."
Kai's eyes widened.
Thor?
Superman?
The entity?
No.
The hologram continued.
"Not the gods you know."
A black shape appeared.
Kai's blood ran cold.
"Older ones."
The image disappeared.
Then another appeared.
A man.
Kai's brother.
The protagonist stared.
Holographic Kai spoke.
"My brother discovered them first."
Kai's fists clenched.
"He thought they could be controlled."
The image showed his brother surrounded by strange symbols.
"He was wrong."
The chamber shook.
Kai looked around.
"What was he trying to do?"
Holographic Kai answered:
"He wanted to find me."
Kai froze.
"Me?"
"He believed the multiverse had separated us."
The image showed countless versions of Kai.
"He searched every reality."
One version.
Another.
Another.
Thousands.
Millions.
"But he didn't understand."
The images began disappearing.
"He wasn't searching for me."
Kai's heart pounded.
"He was searching for the original."
The chamber went silent.
Kai stared.
"The original what?"
Holographic Kai looked directly into his eyes.
"Me."
Kai's breath stopped.
The hologram continued.
"There are countless versions of us."
One image remained.
Kai.
The same Kai.
"Heroes."
Another.
"Villains."
Another.
"Scientists."
Another.
"Kings."
Another.
"Monsters."
The images vanished.
"But there is only one Original."
Kai stared.
"And that's you."
Silence.
Kai whispered:
"Why?"
The hologram answered:
"Because you weren't born naturally."
Kai's face went blank.
Lumi looked down.
Kai turned toward her.
"What does that mean?"
She didn't answer.
The hologram continued.
"You were created using a fragment of the Nexus itself."
Kai stared.
"That's impossible."
"Your body is human."
The hologram paused.
"But your soul isn't."
Kai's breathing stopped.
"You're the first artificial Anchor."
The chamber began shaking.
"Someone created you to stabilize the multiverse."
Kai looked at Lumi.
"And my brother?"
"Was assigned to protect you."
Kai's eyes widened.
"Then why did he destroy our world?"
The hologram flickered.
For the first time, it looked afraid.
"Because he discovered the truth."
Kai stepped forward.
"What truth?"
The hologram's voice became distorted.
"That the Nexus doesn't need an Anchor."
Kai stared.
"Then what does it need?"
The hologram looked directly at him.
"An owner."
The entire chamber went dark.
Kai couldn't move.
Then—
[SYSTEM CONNECTION ESTABLISHED.]
A golden interface appeared.
[IDENTITY CONFIRMATION REQUIRED.]
[Original Anchor detected.]
[Designation: KAI.]
[Status: Artificial Human — Nexus-Origin.]
Kai's eyes widened.
The system continued.
[Memory Seal: 97%]
[Abilities: LOCKED]
[Authority: LOCKED]
[Nexus Ownership: LOCKED]
Then another line appeared.
[Potential: UNMEASURABLE.]
Kai stared.
Lumi smiled.
"Now you know."
Kai looked at her.
"You knew all of this."
"Some."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because you weren't ready."
Kai laughed.
"That's what everyone says."
Lumi's expression became serious.
"You aren't listening."
Kai frowned.
"What?"
"You think remembering will make you stronger."
Kai remained silent.
"It won't."
She pointed at the chair.
"It will make you complete."
Kai looked toward the chair.
A low hum filled the chamber.
"What's the difference?"
Lumi whispered:
"Strength can be controlled."
The chamber began shaking harder.
"Completion changes what you are."
Kai stepped backward.
Suddenly—
BOOM!
The ceiling cracked.
Something had reached the tower.
Lumi looked upward.
"They're here."
Kai's eyes widened.
"Already?"
A voice echoed through the chamber.
Not his brother.
Not the system.
Something else.
"Original Anchor located."
Kai froze.
Lumi's face went pale.
The voice continued.
"Nexus access confirmed."
Red symbols appeared everywhere.
[INTRUSION.]
[INTRUSION.]
[INTRUSION.]
Kai looked toward the elevator.
"How did they get in?"
Lumi whispered:
"They didn't."
Kai turned.
"What?"
She pointed toward the chair.
The chair was glowing.
A figure was sitting in it.
Kai's own face.
But this version was different.
His eyes were completely black.
He slowly looked up.
And smiled.
Kai stepped backward.
"No."
The figure stood.
Lumi grabbed Kai's hand.
"Don't let him touch you."
Kai stared.
"Who is that?"
Lumi's voice trembled.
"Your original consciousness."
Kai froze.
The figure smiled wider.
Then spoke in Kai's own voice.
"Finally."
The chamber shook.
"I've been waiting for my body to come back."
Kai's system exploded with notifications.
[EMERGENCY.]
[ORIGINAL CONSCIOUSNESS DETECTED.]
[HOST CONFLICT IMMINENT.]
[WARNING.]
[TWO IDENTICAL SOUL SIGNATURES DETECTED.]
Kai stared at the other him.
The figure raised its hand.
Kai felt something inside his chest pull toward it.
Lumi screamed:
"KAI, RUN!"
Kai turned.
The figure laughed.
"Run?"
Black energy spread across the chamber.
"He spent seventeen years running."
Kai froze.
The figure's eyes locked onto him.
"Now it's my turn to live."
Kai's system displayed one final message.
[NEW MAIN QUEST: RECLAIM YOURSELF.]
Objective: Defeat the Original Consciousness.
Failure Condition: Soul Replacement.
Kai stared at the impossible version of himself.
Then slowly clenched his fists.
"You're not taking my life."
The other Kai smiled.
"Our life."
And above them, somewhere far beyond Stark Tower—
the sky cracked open.
A familiar voice echoed through the Nexus.
"Kai."
His brother had arrived