Alex walked across the still, scorches ss-like substance of the basin floor. Each step of his echoed faintly, as though the ground itself were hollow beneath the surface – though he didn''t know whether it really was or if it was just an illusion.

    For some reason, his spatial perception couldn''t prate the surface of the ground, not even 1 millimetre deep…

    Virtue''s Edge was nearly vibrating out of his hand now, the pulses had blurred into a low, constant hum – resonating with whatever was at the bottom of the basin, attracting it like an incredibly powerful ma.

    When Alex reached the bottom of the Basin, his theories proved themselves to be correct.

    In fact, Virtue''s Edge appeared to stop vibratingpletely when they reached the bottom, but something within Alex told him that wasn''t actually the case.

    …It was just that it was vibrating so hard and so fast that it appeared to be still now, even within Alex''s grasp.

    When he took the final step forwards to reach the true centre of the basin – everything stopped.

    The hum ceased. The slight tremors he felt here and there faded.

    Silence.

    Complete silence.

    Not even the howling of theva plumes in the distance, or the roaring of distant volcanoes reached his ears anymore.

    Then, with a sound like bell being rung across dimensions, a sh of brilliant white light, so bright it even forced Alex to close his eyes to stop himself from going blind, carved through the air in front of him.

    A seam appeared when the light dimmed — a vertical slit, hanging mid air, leading to nothing on the otherside… literally nothing. Not even darkness.

    …The best way it could be described was what a blind man who was born blind would see… nothing.

    It''s like when you closed one eye and kept the other open, and someone asked you what you saw through the closed eye. Naturally, your answer was – nothing. You don''t ''see'' darkness when you close your eyes, you see nothing.

    And this was exactly the feeling Alex got when he looked through that vertical slit that had appeared in the air.

    An impulsive thought at the back of his mind beckoned him to see what happened if he put his arm in the slit, but he managed to reel those intrusive thoughts in before they managed to sway him into actuallymitting such an act.

    Thankfully, his apprehension and fear from this otherworldly phenomenon had kept him from going through with that otherwise stupid act.

    Deep inside, he was terrified of what might happen if he pushed a part of his body through that slit.

    If there was quite literally Nothing on the other side, then… wouldn''t whatever part of his body he pushed through that slit also… be nothing?

    ''Fuck, that''s enough of those thoughts!''

    However, there was one thing that Alex did notice after calming down a bit.

    The slit looked… almost like a perfect match for him to slide Virtue''s Edge into…

    Like it was supposed to be entered into…

    …Like a keyhole.

    Alex stared, thinking.

    The slit was shaped exactly like Virtue''s Edge, no doubt down to the very angle of the atoms, if Alex could have seen that detail. Not just in general form, but in everything. Proportion, angle, even in the way the de''s unblemished edge shaped at the tip.

    "Of course…" Alex breathed.

    This slit was a lock.

    A seal.

    Sealing what exactly?

    Alex knew exactly what.

    The mysterious realm where Mikhail''s forge, and possibly even Mikhail himself, were sealed.

    A lock only the original creator''s greatest, final work could unlock.

    It was alling together, perfectly, like the greatest grand n ever conceptualised in the history of the universe.

    What were the chances that everything would have aligned for Alex to arrive at this spot, at this exact moment, with Virtue''s Edge in hand?

    Almost like Mikhail had been nning for this from the very beginning, meticulously nning… at that.

    Alex almost wanted to just outright im it as impossible, but the evidence was irrefutable, and quite literally right in front of him.

    Now all he had to do was perform the final act – well, of actually finding the forge at least.

    He still had toplete Virtue''s Edge when on the other side, which he had absolutely no clue how to do.

    His rudimentary learnings of forging back at the Forging Association wouldn''t even help one bit with that.

    The level of knowledge and skill needed to craft that, quite frankly, shit dagger he had created back then, and finishing the final, greatest creation of what was likely the greatest smith to have ever lived was vast.

    The gap between the two was so wide that the universe could probably fill it and there would still be room for more.

    ''But, that''s no reason to doubt myself.'' Alex thought with confidence.

    If it were just a few weeks ago, he might not have thought this way, but after arriving here, now, right in front of the seal that potentially opened the realm where everything he had been searching for could be found – he thought differently.

    Surely, if he hade to the conclusion that he, even if given ten thousand years, could never match… no, surpass Mikhail''s skill in forging, then Mikhail coulde to it as well.

    Which meant that it wasn''t a requirement toplete Virtue''s Edge.

    Mikhail must have already nned for that, and all Alex needed to do was actually go through with that n.

    "You''ve been waiting a long time for this, haven''t you." He spoke to the sword, feeling a closer connection to it than ever before.

    He stepped forward.

    The air felt heavier than ever before… not even because of the already heavy atmosphere of the realm itself…

    The suppression and fear radiating from the small slit in what was likely the fabric of existence itself was overwhelming for him, but Alex managed.

    He didn''t hesitate any longer.

    With conviction, he raised Virtue''s Edge and held it before him.

    "Well, here goes nothing."

    He slowly pushed the de forward.

    The moment the tip touched the slit, the keyhole red with light. It opened like a blooming flower, drawing the sword in.

    There was no resistance whatsoever.

    The de slid home with a click, echoing through the entire basin.

    Then—

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