BOOK TWO: THE KINGDOM BEYOND THE GATE
Chapter 12: The One Who Walked Through the Gate
The valley became deathly silent.
A single armored foot had stepped through the Seventh Gate.
Nothing else emerged.
Yet the pressure spreading across the battlefield was greater than that of the entire Fallen Legion.
The snow beneath everyone's feet turned black.
The wind stopped blowing.
Even the crimson moon seemed to dim.
Cassian slowly tightened his grip on his sword.
"Everyone..."
"Stay together."
No one argued.
Every instinct warned them that whatever was beyond the Gate was unlike any enemy they had faced before.
---
The enormous doors of the Seventh Gate creaked open another few inches.
A second foot appeared.
Then a hand.
The hand rested against the ancient stone as though testing whether the world beyond the Gate was real.
Finally...
A man stepped out.
He looked no older than thirty.
He wore simple silver armor covered by a long white cloak.
Unlike the Gate Hunters...
Unlike the Crown Collector...
Unlike the Fallen Legion...
There was nothing terrifying about his appearance.
He looked... ordinary.
Too ordinary.
His calm silver eyes slowly scanned the battlefield.
They rested on Lucien.
Then Orion.
Then the Five Heirs.
Finally...
He smiled.
"So..."
"You survived."
Silence.
No one knew him.
Yet every person felt an impossible familiarity.
---
The Crown Collector immediately bowed.
Not out of fear.
Out of respect.
"My Lord."
The stranger nodded slightly.
"You've done well."
Riva frowned.
The Crown Collector...
The man who controlled armies...
Was serving someone else.
---
Lucien stared at the stranger.
His breathing became uneven.
"I know you..."
The man smiled.
"You should."
"I taught you how to use a sword."
Fragments flashed through Lucien's mind.
A palace garden.
A wooden sword.
A man laughing as a young prince kept falling during training.
Lucien staggered backward.
"No..."
"It can't be."
---
Argos dropped to one knee.
His ancient voice trembled.
"Commander Caelum..."
"The First Guardian..."
The battlefield froze.
The First Guardian.
The same name Elian had spoken long ago.
The mysterious figure who had awakened beyond the Gate.
Caelum.
---
The Guardian looked toward Argos.
"You've protected your oath well."
Argos lowered his head.
"I failed the Kingdom."
Caelum answered quietly.
"No."
"The Kingdom failed you."
---
Riva stepped forward.
"If you're the First Guardian..."
"Are you our enemy?"
Caelum looked at her for a long moment.
Then smiled sadly.
"No."
"But I cannot allow you to continue."
Eva frowned.
"Why?"
"Because if you reach the Last Door before you understand the truth..."
"...you will destroy every world connected to the Gates."
---
Aarvi crossed her arms.
"Great."
"Another person speaking in riddles."
Caelum actually laughed.
For the first time...
He looked completely human.
"You remind me of someone."
Aarvi blinked.
"Who?"
"My little sister."
Before Aarvi could ask another question—
The mysterious box suddenly flew from her hands.
It floated toward Caelum.
The hidden silver crown inside the box also floated into the air.
The crown stopped before him.
Caelum looked at it silently.
"I wondered where this had gone."
He gently touched the crown.
Instead of wearing it...
He placed it back into Aarvi's hands.
"It never belonged to me."
"It belongs to the true heir."
Everyone looked toward Lucien.
But Caelum shook his head.
"No."
"Not him."
The entire battlefield fell silent.
---
Lucien stared at him.
"What do you mean?"
Caelum turned slowly toward Riva.
Her pendant began glowing brighter than ever before.
The Star Mark on her wrist burned with silver light.
Caelum looked directly into her eyes.
"You've been asking the wrong question."
"You wanted to know who the Prince is."
He paused.
"The better question is..."
"...who the Princess was."
Riva's heart skipped a beat.
She had never once imagined herself connected to royalty.
Before she could speak—
The Keeper's voice echoed inside her mind.
Do not believe everything you hear.
Truth can be used as a weapon.
---
Riva immediately stepped back.
She looked at Caelum carefully.
"You're hiding something."
The Guardian smiled.
"Good."
"You've learned."
---
Suddenly...
The Crown Collector raised his staff.
"My Lord."
"The Last Door is awakening."
Caelum looked toward the Seventh Gate.
His calm expression disappeared.
For the first time...
He looked genuinely worried.
"So soon..."
---
The Seventh Gate began shaking violently.
Massive cracks spread across its ancient surface.
Dark light poured from the opening.
A roar echoed from beyond.
It wasn't the roar of an animal.
It sounded like thousands of voices crying out together.
The ground split apart.
Large black crystals erupted from beneath the mountain.
The crimson moon flickered.
Then...
A second moon appeared beside it.
Blue.
Everyone looked skyward.
Elian whispered,
"The worlds..."
"They're overlapping faster than I feared."
---
Eva's compass suddenly stopped glowing.
The needle snapped in half.
A loud metallic crack echoed through the valley.
Eva caught it before it hit the ground.
"No..."
"My compass..."
Ancient silver dust drifted into the air.
Then, from within the broken compass, a tiny crystal sphere rolled into Eva's palm.
Inside the sphere...
A miniature map slowly appeared.
It wasn't a map of kingdoms.
It was a map of the Gates.
And one location flashed brighter than all the others.
A place called—
The Silent Observatory.
Caelum looked at the crystal sphere.
His eyes widened.
"So the compass chose you."
Eva frowned.
"What is the Silent Observatory?"
Caelum answered without hesitation.
"The only place where the Gates can be closed..."
"...or opened forever."
Silence swallowed the battlefield.
Lucien looked at the map.
"So that's where we're going next."
Caelum slowly nodded.
"If you wish to save every world..."
"You must reach the Observatory before the Devourer does."
Far beyond the Black Mountain...
Hidden within an endless sea of stars...
An ancient tower slowly awakened.
Its giant clock began moving for the first time in thousands of years.
One...
Single...
Tick.
The race for the Silent Observatory had begun.
End of Chapter 12