Thirty-six hours had passed inside the windowless room.
Leo was fast asleep on one of the beds, exhausted. The Creator in the yellow suit remained frozen by the door like an unyielding statue. Lana had fallen back into a deep, supernatural slumber, and Null stood quietly by her bedside.
Null reached up and unraveled the last of the gauze bandages from his head, exposing his healed, scarred face. He turned to the Creator, his tone sharpening.
"Why isn't my sister waking up?" Null demanded.
The Creator didn't even turn his head. "Because I do not wish to deal with another pile of endless questions. One of you asking is more than enough."
"When will she wake up?" Null pressed.
"She will wake up when we arrive at our destination."
Null narrowed his eyes. "And how much longer is that going to take? We've already spent over thirty-six hours locked in this room."
"Listen to me," the Creator replied, a rare edge of irritation slipping into his voice. "You are not the only one annoyed by this tedious journey. I have no idea how much time—"
Before he could finish his sentence, the Creator suddenly froze. His eyes widened slightly as he sensed a shift in the surrounding space.
"Wake the others," the Creator ordered flatly. "We have arrived. And stay inside until I return."
Before Null could ask where he was going, the Creator stepped backward, his entire body phasing straight through the solid wooden door like a ghost, vanishing into thin air.
Meanwhile, in a vast, ethereal dimension...
Endless, blinding whiteness stretched out in every direction. There were no walls, no floors, no shadows—only a pure, infinite white void.
The Creator in the yellow suit materialized into the blank space. He adjusted his collar, speaking toward the empty air.
"So... why did you call me here?"
A figure turned around to face him.
The man looked identical to the Creator in every physical way—the exact same height, facial structure, and eyes. But unlike the man in yellow, this man wore a sharp, pitch-black suit. His demeanor radiated an energetic, cheerful aura that contrasted sharply with his counterpart's cold detachment.
He was the Leader of the Creators.
"Oh?" The Leader smiled warmly. "Didn't you already know why I called you here?"
"I knew," the man in yellow replied coldly. "And you are going to regret this."
The Leader let out a soft, melancholic laugh. "I am already regretting it... You know, I always viewed all of you as my brothers. But none of you would listen to me. I was left with no other choice."
For the first time since his appearance, the Creator in yellow lost his calm composure. Rage and deep frustration contorted his face as he shouted across the void.
"YOU LIAR!" he yelled, his voice echoing through the endless white. "If you truly wanted to, you could have saved every single one of us! But you sacrificed us all for your stupid, selfish ambition regarding humanity!"
The Leader's cheerful smile faded, replaced by a look of quiet pity. "It is precisely that mindset that led to your end. You never understood humanity. They were always meant to evolve... and now, we stand at the precipice of a golden opportunity toward a bright new future."
CRACKLE...
The yellow suit began to disintegrate. Slowly, the Creator's body started turning into fine, shimmering dust, drifting away into the blank void.
Knowing his time was up, the man in yellow glared at the Leader with pure malice. "I will stop you... I will take revenge for every single one of us!"
With those final words, his body completely crumbled into dust, vanishing into nothingness.
The Leader stood alone in the white expanse, letting out a quiet sigh. "Even your last words were filled with hatred for me... But at least I got to see all of you one last time."
Back inside the elevator room, Null had quickly brought Leo and Lana up to speed on everything that was happening.
BOOM...
The grinding noise beneath the floor finally ceased. The elevator had stopped.
The three of them stood side-by-side in front of the exit, weapons and abilities primed, ready to face whatever lay ahead.
Slowly, the wooden door began to creak open, revealing the blinding white void outside.
Leo squinted, shielding his eyes as he looked out into the light. "What is that...? Why is something shining so brightly out there?"
Null looked out into the void, his expression grave. "Nothing is shining there, Leo... that is our destination."
Null took a deep breath and stepped out of the doorway. The moment his boot touched the space, he didn't fall—the white void held his weight as if it were solid ground.
Leo and Lana exchanged a glance and stepped out behind him.
The three of them began walking forward through the infinite, quiet expanse. The silence was deafening, the lack of landmarks making it feel as though they were walking in place.
Lana looked up at her brother, her voice small. "Brother... are you completely sure we're going to find him here?"
"Yes," Null answered without hesitation. "I am one hundred percent sure."
Leo looked around nervously, scratching the back of his neck. "I don't know, man... are we even walking in the right direction? It's impossible to tell where we're going in a place like this."
Out of nowhere, a cheerful, smooth voice echoed directly beside their ears.
"Do not worry... you are on the right path."
Null, Leo, and Lana immediately halted, snapping their heads forward.
There, stepping out of the white mist just a few paces ahead of them, stood the Leader of the Creators—dressed in his sharp black suit, a calm, welcoming smile spread across his face.