The underground capital was quiet.
Too quiet.
Aizeno's message had changed everything.
Six months.
That was all the time they had.
Six months before the prison failed.
Six months before the Old King died.
Six months before whatever slept beneath the Final Door awakened completely.
Nobody spoke for several minutes.
Finally—
D U broke the silence.
"Well."
Everyone looked at him.
He pointed toward Null.
"What's the plan, boss?"
Null stared at the King's Gate.
Its golden symbols had become dormant again.
But he could still feel it.
Calling him.
Guiding him.
Almost like a compass.
"The Prison Beyond Reality."
Hyung nodded.
"We go there."
Caelum folded his arms.
"Easier said than done."
Everyone looked toward him.
Caelum pointed toward the Gate.
"That place doesn't exist inside normal reality."
"The prison is beyond dimensions."
"Beyond worlds."
"Beyond the Door itself."
D U blinked.
"So basically very far."
"Extremely far."
"Great."
One suddenly stepped forward.
"There is a path."
Everyone turned toward him.
Zero immediately frowned.
"No."
One ignored him.
"The King's Road."
Silence.
The name alone sounded ancient.
Dangerous.
Important.
Null narrowed his eyes.
"The King's Road?"
One nodded.
"A route created by the Old King himself."
"It exists between realities."
"It connects worlds that shouldn't be connected."
Hyung frowned.
"And where is it?"
One slowly pointed upward.
Toward the King's Gate.
"The Gate is the first key."
Caelum immediately understood.
His face changed.
"No..."
One nodded.
"Yes."
"The Gate wasn't built to lock things away."
Everyone froze.
"It was built to travel."
Far away.
Inside the throne dimension.
Aizeno stood alone.
The newly acquired Fourth Fragment floated around him.
Its power continued merging with his body.
Reality cracked around the throne.
Luxion watched silently.
Then—
A shadow appeared.
The Fifth Fragment.
He sat lazily atop the arm of the throne.
Smiling.
"He's moving."
Aizeno nodded.
"As expected."
The Fifth Fragment laughed.
"Should I stop him?"
Aizeno looked at him.
"No."
The smile widened.
"You want him to reach the prison."
"Yes."
"Why?"
Aizeno closed his eyes.
For several seconds—
he said nothing.
Then:
"Because the truth cannot remain buried forever."
Even the Fifth Fragment looked surprised.
Back at the underground capital—
The King's Gate suddenly activated.
Golden light flooded the station.
Ancient runes illuminated every wall.
The Guardian immediately knelt.
"ROYAL PATH DETECTED."
The massive doors began opening.
Slowly.
Unlike before—
nothing emerged.
Instead—
a road appeared.
A golden road.
Floating in darkness.
Endless.
Stretching beyond sight.
Beyond reality.
Beyond existence.
The King's Road.
Everyone stared.
Even D U became serious.
"...That's insane."
Hyung nodded.
"Yeah."
The road felt alive.
Ancient.
Like it remembered every step the King had ever taken.
Null stepped closer.
The spiral in his eye rotated.
The road responded.
Golden energy spread outward.
The inheritance recognized its master.
Then—
Pain.
Suddenly.
A sharp pain exploded inside Null's chest.
He dropped to one knee.
Everyone reacted instantly.
"NULL!"
Hyung caught him.
The spiral eye began spinning wildly.
Faster.
And faster.
And faster.
Something was happening.
Something awakening.
Inside his soul.
Inside his inheritance.
Inside the fragments.
Then—
A voice echoed.
Not outside.
Inside him.
Ancient.
Familiar.
"FOUND."
Null's eyes widened.
Another voice answered.
"HEIR DETECTED."
Then another.
And another.
And another.
Thousands.
Millions.
Whispering together.
The spiral symbol expanded.
Dark energy erupted around him.
The station shook violently.
The Guardian stepped back.
One's face turned pale.
Zero immediately recognized it.
"No..."
D U looked toward him.
"What?"
Zero stared at Null.
"The Sixth Fragment."
Silence.
Null rose slowly.
His eyes had changed.
The spiral now covered both eyes.
Golden-black energy surrounded him.
Ancient symbols floated around his body.
Power unlike anything before began leaking into reality.
The King's Road reacted instantly.
Its light intensified.
The Gate shook.
Reality itself bent.
Then—
A figure appeared behind Null.
Transparent.
Ghost-like.
Ancient.
Massive.
Wearing a royal cloak.
Golden-black eyes.
The image lasted only a second.
But everyone saw it.
Everyone.
Hyung froze.
D U froze.
Caelum froze.
Even One stopped breathing.
Because they all recognized the face.
The Old King.
The phantom vanished immediately.
But the message remained.
The Sixth Fragment had awakened.
And somehow—
it carried a piece of the King himself.
Far away—
inside the Prison Beyond Reality—
the Old King slowly smiled.
And whispered:
"You're finally ready."
Meanwhile—
in the deepest darkness beneath the Final Door—
something enormous opened one eye.
And for the first time—
it noticed Null.
TO BE CONTINUED...