Zheng Rong walked to the corridor at the back of the auditorium, pulled out a cigarette, but couldn't find a lighter.

With a click, a lighter ignited in front of him. Zheng leaned forward to light his cigarette and exhaled.

Xiang Yu's pupils reflected the dancing flame as he pocketed the lighter, quietly watching Zheng Rong.

"Have you seen Xifeng?" Xiang Yu asked, leaning against the wall, lost in thought.

Zheng smiled, "A good name. He's healthy."

Zheng glanced up, and Xiang Yu subtly avoided his gaze. Both men had things they were hiding from each other, a tacit understanding hanging between them.

"My brother admired you all his life," Zheng Rong said. "He knew you better than you know yourself. So when the particle generator started working, you were its first target."

Xiang Yu, intrigued, asked, "What did he know about me?"

Zheng replied, "Almost everything. He idolized you—thought of you as a hero."

Xiang Yu was silent for a long time before speaking. "Zheng Rong, in your opinion, what makes a person a hero?"

This question even stumped Zheng Rong.

Xiang Yu sneered, "Aren't you a scholar of history and the occult?"

Zheng responded, "The more you know, the harder it is to come to a conclusion."

Xiang Yu was a myth of invincibility. He led an army of 30,000 and crushed the 560,000-strong forces of Han Wang at the Battle of Pengcheng. He had once dismantled the mighty Qin Empire with his unparalleled bravery and noble bloodline, commanding armies so vast that the entire Yellow and Yangtze River basins submitted to him. Yet despite his military prowess, he met his defeat at the Battle of Gaixia, declaring that he could no longer face his people and choosing death over crossing the river to safety.

The history books recounted these events in great detail, knowledge that Zheng Rong had long since internalized. Lin Siyin, his fellow student, had a low opinion of Xiang Yu. But Xiang Yu wasn’t seeking historical praise. What answer did he want from Zheng?

"Brother," Zheng Rong said, "you are a..."

Before he could finish, Xiang Yu interrupted, "I am not your brother."

Zheng smiled, but Xiang Yu raised his hand, gently brushing Zheng’s face with the back of his fingers. "You've always treated me kindly, as if I were Zheng Feng. If he were still alive, I’d just be a stranger to you, wouldn’t I? Like Lance?"

"I don’t know," Zheng said softly. "I’ve always been this way, not fond of smiling or talking to others."

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"And yet, you smile at me because you find me reassuring."

"Do you know," Zheng continued, "my brother and I think differently. He admired you for your military genius, your daring gamble on the battlefield at Julu, pitting tens of thousands of lives against the 400,000-strong Qin army—a reckless, all-or-nothing wager. But I admire you for your character."

"Character?" Xiang Yu echoed.

Zheng took a drag from his cigarette, smiling, "I think you’re a romantic hero, deep down."

"I’ve read historical records that say, when you broke ties with Liu Bang, you proposed a duel, a one-on-one fight to decide the fate of the empire. You were tired of the long years of war and wanted a final showdown."

Xiang Yu recited, "After years of strife across the land, the people are weary. Let us settle this with sword and spear in a single duel for the fate of the empire."

Zheng smiled knowingly, "That’s it. Many historians call it childish, but I think… it’s romantic."

Xiang Yu sighed. Zheng added, "Who would have thought that the greatest military genius in history would suggest such a duel—fighting in place of the people to decide the empire’s fate."

Xiang Yu asked, "Is that how you see me?"

Zheng said, "Your wars were a form of art, filled with beauty, even your death… You are a romantic hero."

Xiang Yu chuckled, "Thank you."

Zheng said, "Shall we head back? What do you think they’ll decide after hearing the report?"

Xiang Yu hesitated before answering, "It depends. Maybe in a few days, they’ll have a plan."

Zheng waved dismissively, "No, they’ve already made their decision. The report today, Wei Rong and the military leaders already knew everything."

Xiang Yu’s eyebrow twitched. "Why?"

Zheng replied, "They just wanted to hear me confirm it. The entire research process, my mentor’s theories—everything was under their watch. I represent my mentor’s legacy, and they fear I might still have…"

Xiang Yu finished the thought, "…something left unsaid."

Zheng stubbed out his cigarette, hands in his coat pockets, and walked away without answering. His figure, though slender, carried a will and resolve beyond that of most human scholars. He had decided to bury this secret deep within himself, even if it led to humanity’s extinction.

“I am no martyr, and neither is Xiang Yu,” a voice inside Zheng’s mind whispered. "I’ve given enough for humanity—my brother, my lover. Let me keep something for myself, to protect those few I cannot lose."

When Zheng stepped onto the stage, the lights in the hall dimmed, and Xiang Yu quietly took a seat in the back.

Zheng’s silhouette was shrouded in shadow, his expression unreadable.

"Let’s continue," Zheng said. "We left off at the fourth tablet. What comes next, I assure you, is a story none of you have ever heard."

He pressed play, and a brilliant white light filled the screen. The light flickered as Zheng said, "Keep your eyes open—the hyperspace journey is about to end."

Suddenly, all the stars gently faded away in space, revealing a vast nebula before them. The ship passed through it, and no stars appeared in view.

A massive black sphere slowly rotated in the void. Its core was pitch black, surrounded by a faint halo of white light, like the sun during an eclipse.

"This is the center of the Milky Way—the ‘core’ of the galaxy," Zheng explained.

The room erupted in gasps. Zheng continued, "What we’re seeing is the black hole at the center of the Milky Way. The ship is observing it from a great distance. According to my mentor’s calculations, this black hole has a diameter of 14,000 light-years. It formed from the matter expelled during the Big Bang and drives the slow rotation of the entire galaxy—its four spiral arms and everything we know as the Milky Way. The solar system takes about 140 million years to complete one orbit around it."

He pointed to the screen, "The light around the black hole is called the ‘event horizon.’ The further from it you are, the weaker its gravitational pull, allowing some light to escape."

"This black hole likely formed around 14 billion years ago, making it the ancestor of our galaxy. Initially, the galaxy was a chaotic, formless mass of material, and this black hole was the only thing holding it together. Over billions of years, it ejected particles, possibly causing another Big Bang, flinging out stars, planets, and nebulae. Eventually, the black hole collapsed in on itself, creating the dense singularity we see now."

Zheng continued his explanation, mapping out the scientific principles of gravitational forces and the effects of black holes, detailing how their immense pull can warp time and space. As the video slowed to a crawl, the spaceship on the screen unleashed a beam of energy at the black hole. The audience gasped in fear as they witnessed this unfathomable act, with Wei Rong remaining impassive.

Zheng explained, "The Mayans used their particle generator and attractor to fire a shot at the black hole. What happened next caused the collapse of known physical laws. The energy accelerated light particles beyond their natural speed, triggering chaos in the surrounding matter."

In the wake of the blast, the black hole began to disintegrate, its material spreading into a cosmic storm of dust and energy, creating a cataclysmic chain reaction across the galaxy. Stars began to explode, and planets were torn apart as the entire Milky Way started to unravel.

"It’s over," Zheng finally declared. "The Milky Way is dying."

The audience was left in stunned silence as Zheng laid out the grim reality: the core of the galaxy had been destroyed, setting off a wave of destruction that would eventually reach Earth. Though it would take 50,000 years for the effects to reach the solar system, the fate of the galaxy was sealed.

The screen showed the last, desperate moments of the Mayan entity, a decaying figure whose final words echoed in the dark: "The world is ending. I have destroyed the core. You will face a new era, a new age—life or death."