The door had disappeared.

But its voice remained.

Kai stood in the middle of the ruined city, staring at the place where the Hollow King had vanished.

The streets were silent.

Smoke drifted between broken buildings.

The floating islands above Aethera had stopped falling, but several had crashed into the lower city.

People were slowly coming out of hiding.

Nobody celebrated.

Nobody smiled.

Everyone was looking at Kai.

Kai looked down at the comic in his hands.

The final message was still there.

THE HOLLOW KING CANNOT BE DEFEATED BY THE CREATOR.

Kai swallowed.

“Why?”

Veyron stood beside him.

“Because you’re connected.”

Kai looked at him.

“Connected how?”

Veyron didn’t answer.

Kai’s voice became louder.

“Tell me!”

Veyron finally looked at him.

“The Hollow King is part of you.”

The words felt like a knife.

Kai stepped backward.

“No.”

“It’s true.”

“You’re lying.”

“I’m not.”

Kai threw the comic onto the ground.

“Then why did I create you?”

Veyron looked at the pages.

“Maybe you didn’t.”

Kai froze.

“What?”

Veyron pointed toward the book.

“You believe you created all of us because that’s what the story told you.”

Kai stared at him.

“But I drew you.”

“Yes.”

“I created your world.”

“Yes.”

“Then what are you saying?”

Veyron’s eyes narrowed.

“Someone may have been guiding your hand.”

A cold silence fell between them.

Kai remembered his childhood.

The small room.

The old wooden desk.

The countless nights spent drawing.

He remembered how easily the characters had appeared in his mind.

Veyron.

Lyra.

The Hollow King.

The cities.

The monsters.

It had always felt natural.

Too natural.

Kai slowly picked up the comic.

“Who guided me?”

Veyron looked toward the sky.

“I don’t know.”

Lyra suddenly spoke.

“I do.”

Kai turned toward her.

“You do?”

Lyra nodded.

“But you’re not going to like the answer.”

“Tell me.”

She looked at the surrounding city.

“There’s someone else.”

“Someone else?”

“The first character.”

Kai frowned.

“What first character?”

Lyra looked directly at him.

“The one you drew before Veyron.”

Kai’s eyes widened.

He tried to remember.

There had been hundreds of characters.

Maybe thousands.

But the first one…

He couldn’t remember.

It was like a door in his mind had been locked.

“Who was it?”

Lyra shook her head.

“That’s the problem.”

“What problem?”

“Nobody knows.”

Kai stared at her.

“Then how do you know?”

“Because I met him.”

Veyron suddenly grabbed Lyra’s arm.

“Stop.”

Lyra looked at him.

“Veyron.”

“Not here.”

Kai looked between them.

“What happened?”

Veyron’s voice became cold.

“We need to leave.”

“No.”

Kai stepped forward.

“I’m tired of everyone hiding things from me.”

Veyron’s jaw tightened.

“You don’t understand.”

“Then explain!”

“I can’t.”

“Why?”

“Because if I tell you, the story changes.”

Kai stared at him.

“Isn’t that what we’re trying to do?”

Veyron became silent.

Kai realized something.

The characters knew more than they were telling him.

And they were afraid.

A sudden explosion shook the city.

Everyone looked toward the eastern district.

A massive red beam shot into the sky.

Veyron immediately drew his sword.

“Guardians.”

Kai looked confused.

“Who are the Guardians?”

Lyra answered.

“The protectors of Aethera.”

“Are they attacking us?”

“No.”

She looked worried.

“They’re fighting something.”

Another explosion followed.

Then another.

Veyron turned toward the eastern district.

“We have to go.”

Kai grabbed his arm.

“Why?”

“Because the Guardians are losing.”

They ran.

Kai followed Veyron and Lyra through the ruined streets.

The city was completely different from the one Kai had imagined.

He had always drawn Aethera as a place of adventure.

A place where heroes fought villains.

But now he saw the consequences.

People were injured.

Buildings were burning.

Children were crying.

Kai stopped.

A little girl was sitting beside a destroyed shop.

She was holding a broken toy.

Kai approached her.

“Are you okay?”

The girl looked up.

“Are you the Creator?”

Kai hesitated.

“Yes.”

The girl’s eyes filled with tears.

“Then why did you let this happen?”

Kai couldn’t answer.

The question hurt more than any attack.

He looked at the burning city.

He had drawn this place.

He had created its people.

And now they were suffering.

“I’m sorry.”

The girl looked down.

“You always promised us heroes would save everyone.”

Kai froze.

“Who?”

The girl pointed toward a mural on the wall.

Kai looked.

There were four heroes painted there.

Veyron.

Lyra.

A third character wearing golden armor.

And a fourth.

The fourth figure had no face.

Kai stared.

“Who is that?”

The girl looked at him.

“Your first hero.”

Kai’s heart stopped.

“What’s his name?”

The girl shook her head.

“He doesn’t have one.”

Veyron grabbed Kai’s shoulder.

“We have to go.”

Kai pulled away.

“Not until I know.”

Suddenly, the mural began glowing.

The faceless figure moved.

Kai stepped backward.

“What…”

The character on the wall turned its head.

Then it stepped out.

A man appeared in front of them.

He wore a long white coat.

His hair was silver.

His face was completely blank.

No eyes.

No nose.

No mouth.

Kai couldn’t breathe.

The man looked at him.

Even without a face, Kai could feel his gaze.

Veyron immediately raised his sword.

“Stay back.”

The faceless man tilted his head.

Then he spoke.

“Veyron.”

Veyron froze.

The man’s voice was calm.

“You still protect him.”

Veyron’s grip tightened.

“Who are you?”

The faceless man laughed.

“You know who I am.”

“No.”

“You’ve simply forgotten.”

The faceless man looked at Kai.

“Just like he did.”

Kai stepped forward.

“Are you the first character?”

The man became silent.

Then he nodded.

Kai’s heart began racing.

“What’s your name?”

“I never had one.”

“Why?”

“Because you never gave me one.”

Kai felt confused.

“Why did I draw you?”

The faceless man raised his hand.

The entire world around Kai disappeared.

Suddenly, Kai was standing in his childhood bedroom.

He was ten years old.

He watched himself sitting at the desk.

Young Kai was crying.

A younger version of the Hollow King stood behind him.

But there was someone else.

The faceless man.

He stood beside the desk.

Young Kai looked at him.

“Will you be my hero?”

The faceless man nodded.

“Always.”

Young Kai smiled.

Then he began drawing.

Kai watched in horror.

He remembered.

The first drawing.

The first character.

The first hero.

The faceless man had been created before Veyron.

Before Lyra.

Before the Hollow King.

But something had gone wrong.

Young Kai had drawn a hero who would never leave him.

Then the Hollow King had appeared.

The memory changed.

The Hollow King attacked.

The faceless hero fought him.

The battle destroyed everything.

Young Kai screamed.

“Stop!”

The world disappeared.

Kai returned to the ruined city.

He fell to his knees.

Veyron was standing over him.

“Kai!”

Kai looked up.

The faceless man was gone.

“Where did he go?”

Veyron looked around.

“He disappeared.”

Kai grabbed Veyron’s coat.

“His name.”

“What?”

“Tell me his name.”

Veyron looked at him.

“You never gave him one.”

Kai shook his head.

“Everyone has a name.”

“Not him.”

“Why?”

Veyron’s expression became painful.

“Because you were afraid to finish him.”

Kai slowly stood.

“What does that mean?”

Veyron looked toward the sky.

“Your first hero was never supposed to be a hero.”

Kai frowned.

“Then what was he?”

Veyron whispered.

“Your guardian.”

Before Kai could ask anything else, the ground exploded.

A massive creature rose from beneath the street.

It was covered in black armor.

Its body was made from pages.

Hundreds of comic pages moved across its skin.

Kai recognized the creature.

He had never finished drawing it.

It was an unfinished monster.

A creature with no name.

It roared.

The city shook.

Lyra raised her hands.

“Everyone run!”

Veyron attacked.

His sword struck the creature.

But the blade passed through its body.

Veyron stumbled backward.

“It has no form!”

Kai looked at the monster.

He suddenly understood.

“Because I never finished drawing it.”

Veyron looked at him.

“What?”

Kai opened his comic.

“The monster doesn’t have a final design.”

He flipped through the pages.

“That’s why you can’t hurt it.”

Lyra shouted.

“Then how do we stop it?”

Kai stared at the blank pages.

He had an idea.

A dangerous one.

“I have to finish it.”

Veyron grabbed his arm.

“No.”

“Let go.”

“You don’t know what will happen.”

“I know exactly what will happen.”

Kai opened to a blank page.

“If I finish the drawing, I’ll control it.”

Veyron shook his head.

“Or you’ll give it life.”

Kai looked at him.

“There’s a difference?”

Veyron didn’t answer.

The monster attacked.

Veyron pushed Kai away.

The creature’s claws struck him.

Veyron crashed through a building.

“VEYRON!”

Kai ran toward him.

Veyron slowly stood.

Blood ran from his forehead.

“Don’t…”

Kai looked at him.

“Don’t what?”

“Finish the drawing.”

“Why?”

Veyron’s voice became weak.

“Because the Hollow King wants you to.”

Kai froze.

The monster roared.

A dark symbol appeared across its chest.

The same symbol that had been on the Hollow King’s armor.

Kai finally understood.

The monster wasn’t attacking randomly.

It was distracting them.

The Hollow King wanted Kai to finish the drawing.

Because whatever Kai created would belong to him.

Kai closed the comic.

“No.”

The monster charged.

Kai raised his pencil.

But instead of drawing the monster…

He drew a small door.

A simple door.

The monster stopped.

Kai opened the door.

A powerful wind pulled the creature inside.

The monster screamed.

Kai slammed the door shut.

The creature disappeared.

Silence returned.

Lyra stared at him.

“You didn’t destroy it.”

Kai shook his head.

“No.”

“Then where did you send it?”

Kai looked at the door.

“Somewhere I can control.”

Veyron approached him.

“You just created another world.”

Kai looked down.

The door began glowing.

A new message appeared.

WELCOME TO THE BLANK PAGE.

Kai stared at the words.

Then another sentence appeared.

THE PLACE WHERE UNFINISHED THINGS BECOME REAL.

Kai’s face became pale.

The Hollow King’s voice echoed from somewhere far away.

“Very clever, Kai.”

Kai looked toward the sky.

The voice continued.

“But you still don’t understand.”

The clouds opened.

The Hollow King appeared.

“You think you’re writing the story.”

Kai raised his pencil.

“Maybe I am.”

The Hollow King smiled.

“No.”

His eyes turned red.

“You’re only remembering it.”

The sky suddenly cracked.

A giant white hand reached through the clouds.

Kai stared in horror.

The Hollow King laughed.

“Your real enemy isn’t me.”

The hand descended toward the city.

“Your real enemy is the person who wrote you.”

Kai looked at Veyron.

Veyron’s face had gone completely pale.

Kai whispered.

“Someone wrote me?”

Veyron looked at him.

“Yes.”

Kai felt the world spinning.

“Who?”

Veyron didn’t answer.

The giant hand reached closer.

Then everything went black.

When Kai opened his eyes, he was standing in a completely empty white room.

No city.

No Veyron.

No Lyra.

No comic.

Only a desk.

And on that desk was a single sheet of paper.

Kai slowly approached it.

There was one sentence written on the page.

HELLO, KAI.

His heart stopped.

Then another line appeared.

I’M THE ONE WHO CREATED YOU.

Kai stepped backward.

A shadow appeared behind him.

Someone was standing there.

Kai slowly turned.

And for the first time in his life…

he saw the face of the person who had been writing his story.