—While the Core Remains Silent
It was a quiet, rainy night on Earth. The clouds hung low like a sealed lid over the world, thick and unmoving.
Shawn sat alone in his room at the military guesthouse—personally arranged by Kent. His palms were pressed together, glowing faintly with a soft blue light. It was the Soul Energy, a new power awakened within him, and the only link he had left to the distant planet of Kepra.
As the energy flowed, a faint rift shimmered in the depths of his consciousness.
Then, a familiar voice reached out across the void.
"Shawn, are you ready?"
It was Kyng.
Shawn focused immediately. "I'm ready."
There was a pause on the other side. Then Kyng spoke again, voice low and calm.
"I'm taking you to meet someone. He knows—"
Static suddenly broke the transmission. Behind the distortion came bursts of metallic crashes and energy pulses—like explosions.
"Kyng? Can you hear me? What's happening?"
"Mon...o...lith...ic...Palace—under...siege—"
The last word dragged out like a torn echo.
Then came a deafening blast—and silence.
The connection was severed.
For a long second, Shawn sat frozen, fists clenched so tightly the Soul Energy flickered out between his fingers.
He immediately called Kent.
Emergency protocols were triggered.
By the time Shawn reached the command center, the others had already assembled, tension thick in the air.
Lindsay's fingers flew across the console. She was scanning channels, attempting quantum link-ups, reinitiating signal nodes.
Nothing.
Each display flashed the same bleak message:
"Signal unavailable."
It was as if Kepra had been wiped from the universe.
Kent's jaw tightened as he leaned over Lindsay's shoulder. "This isn't interference. It's not a natural failure."
He looked up, eyes narrowing.
"This was intentional."
As if summoned by those words, a pale glow bloomed in the center of the room.
Instinct kicked in—soldiers shifted, hands moved to weapons.
But Shawn raised a hand.
He recognized the energy signature—familiar.
The glow condensed into the form of a man.
Quinn.
Secretary-General of the Meta Origin Sect.
Cloaked in white and silver, he stood perfectly still, like a statue made of frost. His face might have been carved from ice.
Shawn stepped forward, voice tight.
"Kyng... is he—?"
Quinn remained silent, then extended his hand.
Resting in his palm was a broken insignia—once whole and proud, now cracked down the center.
Grand Hierophant.
Kyng's badge.
Quinn's voice was low, barely above a whisper.
"Kyng has fallen."
But the words landed like a thunderclap.
A stunned silence followed.
Then Lindsay shook her head, breath catching.
"No. That's not possible. His soul energy—it couldn't just be erased."
Quinn's gaze dropped for a moment, heavy with memory.
"He died, protecting the Central Core. An unidentified force launched a coordinated assault on the Monolithic Palace."
He paused, grief flickering behind his eyes—just for a heartbeat, but enough to shift the air in the room.
"Kyng held the line. In his final moments, he gave one command—'Take Shawn to the Meta Hierophant.'"
The words struck the room like a physical blow.
"The Meta Hierophant? You mean the supreme consciousness of the Meta-Universe? That's a myth. You're telling me Kyng wanted him to go there?"
Quinn nodded, expression unwavering.
"He also petitioned for temporary release of the Central Core. He believed Shawn might be able to awaken it."
The room fell still again—only this time, it was more than shock.
Awe coiled thick in the air.
The Central Core wasn't part of the Eight Cores—Heaven, Lake, Fire, Thunder, Wind, Water, Mountain, and Earth.
These Eight Cores formed the elemental pillars of reality, each governing a fundamental force of nature.
Together, they made up the Nine Grid System—a harmonized structure designed to stabilize and balance all existence.
And at the center of that system, overseeing their interplay and maintaining equilibrium, was the Central Core.
It didn't merely belong—it governed.
Only then did Shawn realize: Kyng never intended to simply teach him.
He was paving a path to something far greater.
And it might have cost him his life.
"Why should we trust you?" Ranzi stepped forward, voice sharp with anger. "Kyng's dead, and yet you show up alive—with his 'final words'?"
Quinn met his gaze. No hostility. No defense.
"I don't expect your trust. But Kyng trusted Shawn. That's the only reason I'm here."
Everyone turned to Shawn. He stood still, eyes fixed on Quinn—then slowly nodded.
"We leave now," he said. "But understand this—until I stand before the Meta Hierophant, I reserve the right to walk away at any moment."
Quinn dipped his head slightly.
"The Meta Palace isn't a place you enter casually. But once you cross its threshold, you'll understand. Kyng wasn't giving you a task—he was unlocking your fate."
Behind him, space bent. A gateway shimmered into existence—stable, radiant, alive with dimensional energy. Not a signal. Not a hologram.
A true breach. A crossing.
They were leaving the known universe—heading for the core of something far greater.
The Meta-Universe.
And at its heart... the Central Core might awaken.
Shawn turned for one last glance at the Earth beyond the window.
The city lights below blinked quietly, oblivious to what had just shifted in the balance of existence.
The rain had stopped—but the storm inside him was just beginning.
He whispered, almost to himself:
"Kyng, I'll keep your promise... but I won't walk blindly. "