BOOK TWO: THE KINGDOM BEYOND THE GATE
Chapter 8: The Sixth Heir's Secret
The crimson moon hung silently above the White Valley.
Its blood-red light spread across the mountains, turning the snow into a sea of scarlet.
No one spoke.
Every eye remained fixed on Lucien.
The Sixth Heir.
The words echoed through everyone's mind.
Eva was the first to break the silence.
"The prophecy said there were only five Heirs."
Lucien looked at her calmly.
"The prophecy you know... is incomplete."
Aarvi folded her arms.
"So either you're lying..."
"...or someone rewrote history."
Lucien smiled faintly.
"History has been rewritten many times."
"But the truth..."
"It always finds a way back."
Riva stepped forward.
"If you're really a Heir..."
"Prove it."
Lucien nodded.
Without saying a word, he removed the black glove from his right hand.
The Star Mark on the back of his hand began glowing.
Immediately—
Riva's pendant floated into the air.
Eva's compass spun wildly.
Parna's blue flower bloomed.
Aarvi's mysterious box unlocked another hidden compartment.
Even Orion's sword shone with brilliant silver light.
Six pillars of light rose into the crimson sky.
The Hall of Echoes trembled.
Elian whispered,
"It's true..."
"There was a Sixth."
Suddenly, the silver-haired little girl screamed.
"No!"
She pointed toward the floating map.
Everyone turned.
The image of the Seven Gates was changing.
The Seventh Gate glowed brighter than before.
Then...
A tiny crack appeared beside it.
Another Gate.
Hidden.
Invisible until now.
Only a faint outline could be seen.
Eva stared at the map.
"There are eight..."
Elian slowly nodded.
"My teacher wasn't wrong."
"The Eighth Gate was never destroyed."
"It was hidden."
Lucien looked at the map.
"No."
"It was imprisoned."
The Hall shook violently.
The Memory Core pulsed faster than ever.
Boom...
Boom...
Boom...
Each pulse echoed like a giant heartbeat.
The little girl stepped toward the Memory Core.
Her body began glowing.
Riva noticed she was becoming transparent again.
"What's happening?"
The little girl smiled sadly.
"The Hall is using my memories to stay alive."
"If the Gates continue opening..."
"I'll disappear."
Parna grabbed her hand.
"There has to be another way."
"There is."
The little girl looked toward Lucien.
"He knows."
Every eye turned toward the Sixth Heir.
Lucien closed his eyes.
"I hoped we'd never reach this point."
He walked toward the Memory Core.
The crystal reflected not his face...
But another man's.
A king wearing a black crown.
The same man they had seen inside the shattered memory crystals.
Lucien whispered,
"Father..."
Silence.
Aarvi blinked.
"Did you just say..."
Lucien nodded.
"The man wearing the Black Crown..."
"...was my father."
The room fell silent.
Riva couldn't believe what she had heard.
"The Black King?"
"The one who erased kingdoms?"
Lucien shook his head immediately.
"No."
"That's what history says."
"But history only tells half the truth."
Before anyone could ask more—
A loud explosion echoed from outside.
Cassian rushed to the entrance.
The White Valley had changed again.
The black mist was spreading faster.
The rivers had stopped flowing completely.
The flowers were turning black.
Then...
Hundreds of dark portals opened across the valley.
One after another.
Dozens of figures stepped out.
Unlike the Gate Hunters...
These wore long black robes.
Silver masks covered their faces.
Each carried a lantern burning with blue fire.
Elian's face turned pale.
"The Lantern Keepers..."
Eva frowned.
"Who are they?"
"They don't kill."
Elian replied.
"They collect."
"Collect what?"
"Lost souls."
The Lantern Keepers silently surrounded the Hall of Echoes.
None of them attacked.
None of them spoke.
Then, together...
They raised their lanterns.
Blue flames shot into the sky.
The crimson moon responded.
Its light grew darker.
A deep voice echoed from above.
"Children of the Gates..."
"Return what was stolen."
The Memory Core suddenly cracked.
A thin line spread across its glowing surface.
The little silver-haired girl cried out in pain.
"No..."
"The Hall can't survive another fracture."
Lucien immediately drew his black sword.
"Cassian."
"We don't have much time."
Cassian nodded.
"What do we do?"
Lucien looked toward the floating map.
"We go to the Seventh Gate."
Elian stared at him.
"That's suicide."
Lucien answered calmly.
"If we stay here..."
"The Hall dies."
"If the Hall dies..."
"The world's memories die with it."
Silence.
Orion looked toward the Five Heirs.
"We came this far together."
"We finish it together."
Riva looked at each of her friends.
Eva nodded.
Parna smiled confidently.
Aarvi sighed dramatically.
"I was hoping for one peaceful day."
Everyone laughed softly.
For a brief moment...
The fear disappeared.
Then—
The Hall shook once more.
A second crack appeared in the Memory Core.
The floating map changed again.
This time it showed a path.
A glowing road stretching from the White Valley...
To the Black Mountain.
The route to the Seventh Gate.
The little silver-haired girl looked at Riva.
"You must leave now."
Riva hesitated.
"What about you?"
The little girl smiled.
"I'll protect the Hall."
"Until you return."
Riva gently hugged her.
"I promise."
"We'll come back."
The little girl whispered one final sentence into Riva's ear.
"When you reach the Black Mountain..."
"...don't trust the first person who calls your name."
Before Riva could ask why—
The Hall of Echoes flooded with brilliant silver light.
The path toward the Seventh Gate had opened.
Far away...
At the foot of the Black Mountain...
A pair of crimson eyes slowly opened beneath the earth.
A deep voice whispered through the darkness.
"So..."
"The Six Heirs are finally together."
A massive stone hand burst from the ground.
Then another.
An ancient warrior slowly began climbing out of a forgotten tomb.
Across his chest was a broken emblem.
The emblem of the First Kingdom.
End of Chapter 8