BOOK THREE: THE FALL OF THE FIRST KINGDOM
Chapter 2: The Train That Travels Through Memories
The silver train moved without sound.
There was no engine.
No smoke.
No vibration beneath its wheels.
Outside the windows, there were no mountains, no forests, and no sky. Instead, an endless sea of glowing white mist stretched in every direction, as though the train were traveling through the space between memories.
For several minutes, no one spoke.
The Six Heirs sat in the same compartment, each lost in thought.
The journey felt... wrong.
Not dangerous.
Not peaceful.
Simply impossible.
---
Aarvi was the first to break the silence.
"So... are we going to pretend this is a normal train ride?"
Lucien laughed softly.
"I've learned that nothing about our lives is normal anymore."
Even Riva smiled.
The tension eased, but only for a moment.
Then the lights inside the train flickered.
Every window suddenly turned black.
A deep voice echoed through every compartment.
"Next Stop..."
"...Memory Junction."
---
Eva looked at her compass.
For the first time, the needle wasn't spinning.
Instead...
It pointed toward the ceiling.
"That's impossible," she whispered.
"The compass has never done that before."
At the same moment, Riva's notebook began writing on its own.
Silver ink slowly appeared across the blank page.
'The train remembers every passenger.'
---
Parna felt a cold breeze brush against her face.
But every window was closed.
She placed her hand against the glass.
Instead of her reflection...
She saw a little girl planting a silver flower beneath a giant tree.
The girl looked directly at Parna.
Then disappeared.
---
Orion immediately stood.
"We're not alone."
Everyone became alert.
Footsteps echoed from the next compartment.
Slow...
Steady...
Unhurried.
Lucien drew the Blade of Dawn.
The compartment door slowly opened.
An elderly conductor entered.
He wore a perfectly pressed white uniform with silver buttons and carried an old pocket watch.
His beard was completely white.
His eyes shone with gentle wisdom.
He smiled warmly.
"Good evening."
"Tickets, please."
---
Silence.
Aarvi blinked.
"Tickets?"
The old man nodded.
"This train only carries invited passengers."
Lucien frowned.
"We don't have tickets."
The conductor smiled.
"You do."
"You simply don't know where they are."
---
One by one, strange objects began glowing.
Riva's notebook.
Eva's compass.
Parna's silver leaf.
Aarvi's mysterious box.
Orion's Guardian emblem.
Lucien's pocket watch—the one Future Lucien had given him.
Each object released a small silver card.
The conductor collected them carefully.
He examined each one before bowing respectfully.
"The Six Heirs."
"I've waited a very long time to meet you."
---
Riva stood.
"Who are you?"
The conductor placed a hand over his heart.
"My name is Elias."
"I am the Keeper of the Last Railway."
"I guide travelers between history... and truth."
---
Eva narrowed her eyes.
"You knew we were coming."
Elias nodded.
"Every journey begins long before the traveler takes the first step."
---
The train suddenly lurched.
Not violently.
Almost gently.
Outside the windows...
The white mist cleared.
The Six Heirs stared in amazement.
They weren't seeing another world.
They were seeing the past.
Thousands of people walked through magnificent streets.
Silver banners flew proudly.
Children laughed beneath enormous crystal trees.
A palace stood at the center of a breathtaking kingdom.
Above its gates were carved two words.
AURELIA PRIME
Lucien whispered,
"The First Kingdom..."
---
The train slowed.
Elias looked out the window with sadness.
"This was the greatest civilization ever built."
"It united hundreds of worlds without conquering a single one."
Parna watched people helping strangers.
Musicians filled the streets with songs.
Birds flew freely through the city.
"There isn't any fear."
"No," Elias replied.
"There wasn't."
---
Aarvi noticed something strange.
"There are no soldiers."
Elias smiled.
"Because there were no wars."
---
Suddenly...
The joyful scene froze.
Every person stopped moving.
A child dropped a toy.
A baker stopped kneading bread.
Birds remained frozen in midair.
Time itself had stopped.
Then...
A bell rang.
One...
Two...
Three...
The people slowly turned toward the palace.
Not in panic.
Not in fear.
Almost as if they had been expecting something.
Riva felt a chill run through her body.
"What happened?"
Elias looked away.
"I cannot answer."
"History must reveal itself."
---
Without warning...
A single page tore itself from the ancient book Elias carried.
It floated into the air.
Words appeared across it.
Chapter One
The Day Before the Fall
Before anyone could read further...
The page burst into silver flames.
Only ashes remained.
Eva gasped.
"The book is destroying its own pages."
Elias closed the book carefully.
"It protects the truth."
---
The train's whistle echoed through the mist.
The voice returned.
"Arriving at..."
"...Memory Junction."
The train came to a complete stop.
Outside...
There was no station.
Only an endless field of silver flowers.
At its center stood a lone little boy.
No older than ten.
He wore royal blue robes embroidered with the crest of Aurelia.
His silver hair danced in the wind.
As the train doors opened...
The boy looked directly at the Six Heirs.
Not surprised.
Not afraid.
As though he had been waiting.
He smiled gently.
"I knew you'd come."
Riva stepped onto the platform first.
"Who are you?"
The boy bowed with perfect royal etiquette.
"My name..."
He hesitated.
A shadow crossed his face.
"...I don't remember."
He looked confused, almost frightened.
"I remember everyone else..."
"But not myself."
Eva's compass began spinning violently again.
Riva's notebook wrote another sentence.
"He is the first person history tried to erase."
The little boy looked toward the distant horizon.
His smile vanished.
"They're coming."
A low rumble shook the silver field.
Far away...
Six enormous shadows appeared, slowly walking toward Memory Junction.
Each shadow carried a different ancient crown.
The little boy took a trembling step backward.
"They've found me again..."
End of Chapter 2