BOOK TWO: THE KINGDOM BEYOND THE GATE
Chapter 10: The Prince Without a Crown
The ancient warrior's voice echoed beneath the black stone archway.
"Prince..."
"...you have finally returned."
Silence fell over the valley.
Every eye turned toward Lucien.
Even the wind seemed to stop.
Lucien's expression remained calm, but his eyes revealed something he had been hiding.
Pain.
Guilt.
Recognition.
Aarvi looked from the warrior to Lucien.
"Prince?"
She laughed nervously.
"Please tell me he's talking about someone else."
Lucien lowered his head.
"I wish he was."
Riva stepped forward.
"You've been hiding the truth."
Lucien closed his eyes for a moment before answering.
"Not because I wanted to."
"Because I was ordered to."
"By whom?" Eva asked.
"The Keeper."
Everyone froze.
"The Keeper knew?" Orion asked.
Lucien nodded.
"He erased my identity from every record."
"If the Devourer discovered the Prince of the First Kingdom was still alive..."
"The hunt would have begun centuries ago."
Parna stared at him.
"So... you're not just the Sixth Heir."
"You're the prince of the First Kingdom."
Lucien looked toward the ancient warrior.
"Once."
"Not anymore."
The warrior slowly removed his cracked helmet.
His face was made of white stone, but beneath the cracks a human face could still be seen.
Old.
Tired.
Faithful.
He knelt before Lucien.
"This Guardian welcomes His Highness home."
Lucien immediately stepped back.
"Please don't call me that."
"My kingdom no longer exists."
The Guardian looked up.
"It exists..."
"...as long as its people are remembered."
Those words struck everyone with unexpected emotion.
Even Elian looked away.
The Guardian stood.
"My name is Argos."
"I was Captain of the First Kingdom's Guardians."
Cassian stepped forward.
"I was Captain of Aurelia's Royal Guard."
Argos smiled.
"Then we are brothers across time."
The two captains clasped forearms in silent respect.
Eva suddenly noticed something strange.
The black stone archway behind Argos had changed.
The ancient carvings were glowing.
Her compass floated into the air.
New symbols appeared.
She translated them aloud.
'The Crown remembers its rightful heir.'
Before anyone could react—
Golden light surrounded Lucien.
The Star Mark on his hand blazed brighter than ever before.
Far beneath the Black Mountain...
Something answered.
A deep rumble shook the earth.
The mountain itself seemed to awaken.
Argos looked toward the distant peak.
"The throne has felt your return."
Lucien whispered,
"I never wanted it."
Suddenly—
The ground beneath the archway cracked open.
Black smoke poured upward.
Dozens of skeletal hands reached from the darkness.
The sky darkened once again.
Argos immediately drew his enormous sword.
"They're here."
Riva frowned.
"The Gate Hunters?"
Argos shook his head.
"Worse."
The skeletal hands pulled themselves free.
Ancient soldiers climbed from beneath the earth.
Their armor was rusted.
Their weapons broken.
Yet their eyes burned with crimson fire.
Each wore the crest of the First Kingdom.
Parna gasped.
"They're wearing your kingdom's emblem."
Argos lowered his head sadly.
"They were my soldiers."
"What happened to them?" Aarvi whispered.
"They died protecting the Last Door."
Lucien looked horrified.
"They should have been allowed to rest."
Argos answered quietly.
"They were never given that mercy."
The undead soldiers slowly raised their weapons.
One by one, they turned toward Lucien.
Not with hatred.
With desperate hope.
The first soldier fell to one knee.
Then another.
Then another.
Soon every undead warrior knelt before him.
Their voices echoed together.
"Our King..."
Lucien's eyes filled with tears.
"I'm not your king."
One soldier looked up.
"You are the last."
Silence.
Then the crimson fire inside the soldiers' eyes suddenly changed.
It became darker.
More violent.
Black chains burst from the ground and wrapped around every undead warrior.
A chilling laugh echoed through the valley.
"So..."
"I finally found you."
Everyone turned toward the mountain.
A tall figure emerged from the shadows.
He wore a long black cloak.
His face was hidden behind a silver mask split down the middle.
In one hand he carried a staff made from black crystal.
Around him floated dozens of broken crowns.
The air itself grew colder with every step he took.
Elian's face turned pale.
"The Crown Collector..."
The masked man stopped walking.
He looked directly at Lucien.
"I've searched for you across centuries."
Lucien slowly drew his black sword.
"I know who you are."
The masked man laughed.
"Do you?"
"You've forgotten far more than Orion."
The Crown Collector raised his staff.
The black chains tightened around the undead soldiers.
They screamed in agony.
Riva clenched her fists.
"Let them go!"
The masked man ignored her.
Instead, he looked at the Six Heirs.
"You've been chasing the wrong mystery."
"The Seventh Gate..."
"The Devourer..."
"The Hall of Echoes..."
He shook his head.
"They're only consequences."
"The real beginning lies behind the Last Door."
Eva gripped her compass.
"What is the Last Door?"
The Crown Collector smiled beneath his mask.
"I'll let you discover that yourselves."
He snapped his fingers.
The chains shattered.
Every undead soldier rose again.
But this time...
Their eyes no longer held hope.
Only endless darkness.
Argos lifted his sword.
"Prepare yourselves!"
"The Fallen Legion has awakened!"
Hundreds of undead warriors charged through the archway.
Cassian led the Royal Guards into battle.
Orion met Argos at the front line.
Lucien stood beside the Five Heirs.
For the first time...
The Prince of the First Kingdom fought openly alongside the Heirs of Aurelia.
Far above them...
The crimson moon glowed brighter.
Hidden within its scarlet light...
A pair of enormous eyes slowly opened.
Watching.
Waiting.
As the battle began, Riva's pendant suddenly flashed.
Another vision struck her.
She saw the Last Door.
It wasn't locked.
It wasn't sealed.
It was already...
Opening.
End of Chapter 10