The sky above Themyscira shimmered unnaturally, as though the world itself held its breath. Koki stood at the highest cliff on the island, the Oracle's final words echoing in his mind like thunder rolling through ancient mountains.
"Seek the Forge Beyond Time…"
Below him, waves crashed against the rocks in a rhythmic roar. Behind him, Diana approached, her white and gold armor glinting in the dawn light. Her expression was unreadable—part mentor, part soldier, part something softer she never allowed to rise too far to the surface.
Koki didn't turn. "What is the Forge, really?"
Diana stepped beside him. "It is not a place the gods speak of openly. Even I know very little. The Forge Beyond Time predates Olympus. Predates Chaos. It is said to be the birthplace of the first divine weapons, the first immortals… the first wars."
"So why would the Oracle send us there?"
"Because the Forge remembers what the gods have forgotten—or tried to bury." She looked at him carefully. "And because if Infinity is a prison, the Forge may hold the key to understanding how to control—or destroy—it."
Koki's jaw clenched. The power inside him pulsed like a second heartbeat. "Then let's go."
Diana raised her hand, and the air split.
Scene: The Dimensional Rift
A portal carved itself open—a spiraling rift of blue, gold, and obsidian energy. The air around it buzzed with raw force, ancient and wild. On the other side, Koki saw glimpses of alien stars and time fractured like glass.
"Don't speak inside," Diana warned. "The Forge is alive. It listens. And it remembers lies."
Koki stepped through.
The feeling was unlike anything he'd experienced—like being torn into a thousand threads and reassembled across reality. His body, mind, and soul twisted through dimensions until—
He landed hard, knees hitting black metal.
He looked up and saw it.
Scene: The Forge Beyond Time
They stood in a colossal chamber, the size of cities. Black metallic platforms floated midair, connected by bridges of burning light. Every surface pulsed with runes so ancient they seemed to burn directly into the mind. In the far distance, Koki saw a forge larger than a mountain, with hammers swinging themselves in rhythmic strikes that sent tremors through space itself.
Above it all hung a sun—not made of fire, but of memory. Faces shimmered within it. Gods. Titans. Beasts long gone.
"Welcome to the beginning," Diana whispered.
Koki felt something stir in his chest. Not just Infinity—but recognition.
"I've been here before," he murmured.
Diana blinked. "What?"
"I don't know how. But I know this place. The platforms. The light. Even the sound."
"Then the Forge remembers you too."
Suddenly, a voice rang out—not spoken, but thundered through the bones.
"KOKI SARIVE. SCION OF THE LOCKED FLAME. WHY HAVE YOU RETURNED?"
A figure descended from the air—twelve feet tall, golden-skinned, clad in shifting armor made of constellations. His eyes were burning orbs of silver.
Koki stepped forward, fists clenched. "Who are you?"
"I AM VORIAN. SMITH OF THE FIRST FIRE. LAST OF THE FORGEBORN."
Diana's eyes widened. "I thought the Forged Ones were extinct."
Vorian's gaze turned to her. "They were. Except one. I endure because my duty endures."
He landed with a seismic thud and looked at Koki.
"You carry the Echo of Infinity. The prison made flesh. The Forge knows your burden."
Koki's voice was low. "Then help me understand it."
Vorian's expression was unreadable. "Understanding comes with a price."
Koki nodded. "Then tell me what it is."
Vorian extended a hand—and suddenly the floor beneath them shifted. The Forge trembled. A platform extended outward like a tongue of metal, carrying them through the chamber toward the heart of the massive mountain-sized forge.
Scene: The Heart of the Forge
They stood before a gigantic mural, etched in glowing red veins across the wall. It moved like molten lava, telling a story in symbols and shifting forms.
Vorian spoke.
"Before the gods, there was Infinity—a raw power born from the first breath of creation. It was not meant to be held. Not meant to be shaped. But the Old Gods, greedy and fearful, tried to bend it."
He gestured, and the mural showed gods clutching a swirling star, only to be torn apart by its energy.
"So they forged a prison—not a place, but a soul. A living seal. One that could hold the Infinity within itself… for eternity."
Koki's stomach turned. "That prison is me."
"You are the latest vessel. The others did not survive. But you are different. You were chosen before birth."
Koki felt lightheaded. "Chosen… by who?"
Vorian turned slowly, stepping aside to reveal a second figure stepping from the shadows.
A woman.
Eyes of gold. Hair like strands of the night sky. A face that shimmered between familiar and alien.
She spoke one word.
"Son."
Koki froze. "What?"
Diana's hand moved toward her weapon, but Vorian raised a hand to stop her.
The woman stepped forward. "My name is Nyxara. Once, I was goddess of hidden stars. Once, I was your mother."
Koki's world shattered in silence.
Scene: Revelation
Koki's breathing quickened. "No. My mom… she's gone. She raised me on Earth. She wasn't a goddess."
"She was your guardian," Nyxara said gently. "The woman you knew as your mother was chosen to raise you on Earth—because your real lineage would've drawn the attention of powers who would've tried to kill you as an infant."
Koki stared at her. "And what about you? Why didn't you raise me?"
"I was banished from the divine realms for conceiving you. Because your father… was the Forge itself."
Diana narrowed her eyes. "He's half-divine, half-eternal construct?"
"Yes," Vorian said. "That is why Infinity can survive inside him."
Koki shook his head, overwhelmed. "Why now? Why tell me this now?"
Nyxara stepped closer. "Because the seal is breaking. And the gods have decided you are too dangerous to exist. They will come for you—and for Diana. Unless you awaken your full form… and take control of what you are."
Vorian's eyes locked with Koki's. "But be warned. Full awakening of Infinity may grant you dominion over existence… or erase your soul completely."
Koki's fists clenched. "I'm not afraid."
Diana placed a hand on his shoulder. "You should be. But that doesn't mean we stop."
Koki looked into the fire of the Forge, his heart pounding.
"I don't want to be a prison," he whispered. "I want to be free."
Nyxara nodded. "Then we begin your true training. Not as a warrior. But as a god."
Scene Break – Elsewhere
In the dark temple of a dying star, a council of cloaked immortals gathered. At the center of their table floated a single golden eye—watching, turning.
"Vorian has made contact," one whispered. "The boy knows what he is."
A taller figure, robed in midnight feathers, replied: "Then we accelerate the timeline. Let the first Herald rise."
The golden eye blinked once—and shattered into starlight.