The figure that stepped from the pillar had no face.
No aura. No emotion.
But it had Frank's voice.
The spear it carried dragged along the ground like it had been waiting years to be lifted again. Each step it took echoed like thunder, but there was no sound from its feet. Only the shivering pull of memory itself being twisted and rewritten around its presence.
The group stood still, frozen, staring as it came closer.
Tom was the first to move. He stepped between Frank and the figure, blade out.
"What are you?" he asked, low and calm.
The figure stopped.
It tilted its head slowly — too slowly. Like someone trying to remember what it meant to be human.
Then it spoke again.
"I am what was left behind."
Frank slowly stood, his breath uneven. "You're me."
The figure nodded once.
"I am the part that stayed. The part that bore the pain. The name you buried to survive."
"Renexar…" Frank whispered.
Peter's eyes widened. "Wait, you mean... that's not Renex?"
"No," Susan said slowly. "It's what Frank left behind to seal Renex."
Lucy stepped forward cautiously. "So it's… good?"
The figure's spear tilted.
"Good and evil are the names you give to stories," it said.
"I am not a story. I am the consequence."
Frank took a shaky breath. "Why now? Why are you here now?"
"Because your remembering has made me real again."
Everyone stepped back as a ripple pulsed outward from the pillar. The ground glowed — and then faded to nothingness beneath them.
For a moment, they were standing on a black void — no floor, no light, just existence barely holding itself together.
Kitty reached out for Lucy and held her hand tightly. "What is this place?"
"Not a place," Susan whispered. "A threshold."
Frank took a step forward. The void didn't react. He stared into the blankness, but his mind was full.
The war.
The broken glyphs.
The dying screams of demon cities.
And the moment… he tore part of his soul in half to lock away a god.
"I was him," Frank whispered. "I was this."
The figure raised its head slightly.
"You still are."
Then it pointed to Tom.
"And he will be."
Everyone turned.
Tom blinked. "What?"
"The blade that ends what cannot die must be wielded by the one who bears sorrow without surrender."
Susan shook her head. "You're speaking in riddles."
But Frank understood.
Tom looked at Frank. "You knew?"
Frank's voice was soft. "I didn't want to."
Kitty stepped forward. "What are you two talking about?"
Frank turned to her, eyes full of both grief and understanding. "Tom is the one who will end this story."
Tom lowered his gaze.
"But not yet," the figure said.
Then it turned to Lucy.
"And you — you will betray them."
Everything fell silent.
Lucy stepped back. "What did you say?"
Susan's jaw tightened. "That's not true."
Frank's eyes widened.
Kitty grabbed Lucy's wrist protectively.
But the figure said nothing else.
It faded — melting like smoke.
And the world around them returned. The field. The pillars. The blue road.
Only the blank pillar remained — now glowing faintly gold, not red.
Frank dropped to one knee, holding his head.
Tom was beside him in an instant. "Hey. You okay?"
Frank nodded, breathing hard. "I think so. Just… too much. I saw everything. I remember."
Peter helped him stand. "Then what do we do now?"
Frank looked at them, his friends. His family. The only ones left who mattered.
"We finish what we started. And this time…"
He looked up at the blank pillar, where his past self had spoken.
"…we finish it together."
Lucy said nothing.
She hadn't spoken since the figure accused her.
Susan noticed. "Hey… you okay?"
Lucy nodded. But her hand… was trembling.
And no one noticed the whisper in her ear —
So faint it barely existed.
"Even Infinity has shadows…"