Some truths do not destroy worlds immediately. They change how those worlds breathe. The palace was still endless. But after the words "we are also part of imagination" were spoken, nothing inside it felt stable anymore.
The beings seated upon the thrones remained where they were, yet many felt misplaced for the first time. Some lowered their gazes and clenched their forms.
And some perhaps for the first time in eternity felt disgust toward their own existence. The shogi board lay between God and Ayoto. The pieces were scattered.
A watcher-creature finally broke the silence.
"So what you're saying," it asked slowly, "is that none of us are real?"
God did not answer immediately. He looked at the board. Then at the vast, unreachable distance of the palace. Then back at the thrones.
"Imagination does not mean false," God said at last.
It means unfinished. Ayoto continued.
"You all believed you were awake," he said,
"But the truth is you have been dreaming this entire time."
A cold shudder passed through the hall. One of the creatures rose slightly from its throne.
"If we are dreaming," it demanded, "then who wakes up?"
Ayoto answered without hesitation.
"The one you call creation."
"Kumar," Ayoto said.
The name no longer felt distant. It felt inevitable. God picked up a shogi piece and placed it back onto the board.
"The game hasn't ended," God said,"It's simply entering its final phase."
Another watcher asked,"When Kumar wakes… what happens to us?"
Ayoto looked directly at the thrones.
"When he wakes," Ayoto said, "everyone wakes."
"And then?" someone whispered.
Ayoto's voice was steady, "Then this Eternal Mega-Omniverse collapses."
Fear finally surfaced openly. God turned toward Ayoto.
"How long have you known this?" he asked.
Ayoto's eyes dropped to the board.
"Since the first time the game ended."
God narrowed his gaze, "The first time?" he repeated.
Ayoto nodded. "This is not the first cycle," he said, "It is simply the closest one to completion."
A creature trembled. "So where are we now?" he asked.
Ayoto moved a pawn into position. "Transition."
The palace seemed to tighten, as if reality itself had drawn a slow breath.
God spoke again.
"The Tier God Gate," he said, "When does it open?"
"When Kumar understands," Ayoto replied,
"that he is not a creator."
God's hand froze.
"Then what is he?" God asked.
Ayoto finally looked up,"A key."
The thrones collectively leaned forward.
"Beyond the gate," Ayoto continued, "Kumar will enter directly into me."
A sharp gasp echoed from the hall.
"Into you?" a creature cried.
Ayoto remained calm. "I am the point from which imagination flows," he said, "When Kumar enters me, imagination collapses into awareness."
God exhaled slowly, "And after that?"
Ayoto's answer was absolute,"Everything begins."
"Again?" God asked.
"Yes," Ayoto said,"But this time no one remembers."
A creature's voice broke,"Then we will disappear."
Ayoto shook his head. "You will not be meaningless," he said,"Without imagination, reality cannot exist."
The palace fell into an unnatural calm. Acceptance began to replace panic. One final question rose from the thrones.
"If all of us are imagination," it asked, "then what are you two?"
God smiled faintly,"We are imagination too."
Ayoto added,"Just more aware of it."
The game resumed. But to end correctly.
Far beyond the palace beyond worlds, beyond layers, beyond dreams something stirred.
A consciousness shifting against its limits. A name no longer spoken as prophecy, but as consequence.
And when he wakes there will be no palace.
Only the beginning that was never meant to be remembered.