BOOK THREE: The Fall of the First Kingdom
Chapter 15: The Lost Prince
The chamber was silent.
No one moved.
The young boy looked from one face to another, completely confused.
"Why is everyone staring at me?"
The First Guardian's hands trembled.
"Because..."
"...you shouldn't exist."
The boy blinked.
"I don't understand."
---
The old gardener slowly walked toward him.
She gently placed a hand on his cheek.
Warm tears rolled down her face.
"You've grown..."
The boy tilted his head.
"Have we met before?"
She smiled sadly.
"When you were very little."
"You used to steal apples from my garden."
The boy scratched the back of his head.
"That... actually sounds like something I'd do."
For the first time in centuries...
The old gardener laughed.
---
Riva stepped closer.
"You don't remember anything?"
The boy closed his eyes, trying to think.
"I remember..."
"A palace."
"A huge white tree."
"A man who always smiled."
He looked at the First Guardian.
"And..."
"I remember someone calling me little brother."
The First Guardian closed his eyes.
"He remembers fragments."
---
Eva immediately opened her notebook.
"Prince Caelan."
"Who exactly was he?"
The First Guardian took a deep breath.
"He was my son."
Silence.
Lucien looked shocked.
"Your son?"
The Guardian nodded.
"And..."
"He was the last prince of Aurelia."
---
Aarvi looked at Caelan.
"So... you're technically the heir to the First Kingdom?"
The Guardian smiled faintly.
"By blood."
"But not by destiny."
He looked at the Six Heirs.
"The Covenant was never inherited through family."
"It was inherited through choice."
---
Suddenly...
Caelan grabbed his head.
His breathing became uneven.
"I..."
"I hear voices."
The chamber darkened.
The White Tree's roots began glowing red instead of silver.
Eva's compass spun wildly.
"Something's wrong!"
---
The boy stumbled backward.
Images flashed before his eyes.
The palace.
The White Tree.
Citizens smiling.
Then...
A pair of unknown hands lifting him into the air.
A woman's voice whispered,
"Don't look back."
Another voice shouted,
"Protect the Prince!"
Then...
Everything disappeared into blinding white light.
---
Caelan collapsed to his knees.
"I can't remember..."
"I can't remember!"
Riva immediately knelt beside him.
"You don't have to force it."
He looked at her with frightened eyes.
"What if I remember something terrible?"
Riva smiled gently.
"Then you won't face it alone."
The others silently stepped closer.
Caelan looked around.
For the first time...
He smiled.
---
The moment he smiled...
The White Tree returned to silver.
The violent shaking stopped.
The sanctuary became peaceful again.
The First Guardian watched quietly.
"The Promise has accepted him."
---
Without warning...
The crystal river began glowing.
A new memory emerged from its surface.
This time...
The vision was clearer than any before.
The Six Heirs watched as the First Guardian carried a sleeping child through the palace.
The child was Caelan.
Outside...
Thousands of citizens stood silently.
No one cried.
No one screamed.
They simply watched.
The Guardian handed the child to the old gardener.
"Take him."
She hesitated.
"And you?"
He smiled.
"I have one last promise to keep."
The old gardener hugged the child tightly.
"I'll protect him."
The Guardian nodded.
"I know."
The memory faded.
---
Parna wiped away a tear.
"They separated..."
"...to save him."
The Guardian quietly answered,
"Yes."
"He was the only child we sent away."
---
Lucien frowned.
"But if he escaped..."
"Why doesn't history remember him?"
The Guardian's expression grew serious.
"Because someone erased every record of his existence."
---
At that exact moment...
A loud crack echoed through the chamber.
The ancient silver crown resting on the pedestal split further apart.
A shard broke free and floated into the air.
Dark mist poured from the fracture.
It gathered into the shape of a tall figure wearing a tattered black cloak.
Its face remained hidden.
Its voice echoed like distant thunder.
"So..."
"The Lost Prince lives."
Every light in the sanctuary dimmed.
Arcturus immediately stepped in front of Caelan.
"Stay back!"
The cloaked figure laughed softly.
"I didn't come to fight."
"I came to congratulate you."
Lucien raised the Blade of Dawn.
"Who are you?"
The figure ignored him.
Instead...
It looked directly at Caelan.
"You've slept long enough."
Caelan frowned.
"I don't know you."
The figure chuckled.
"No."
"But you will."
---
Before anyone could attack...
The figure raised one hand.
A black crystal appeared above its palm.
Inside the crystal...
A tiny silver flame flickered.
The First Guardian's face turned pale.
"No..."
"You found it."
The cloaked figure smiled.
"The final fragment."
He closed his hand.
The crystal disappeared.
"So the race begins."
With that, the figure dissolved into black mist.
Silence returned.
---
Eva looked at the Guardian.
"What was that crystal?"
The Guardian stared toward the place where the stranger had vanished.
His voice was barely a whisper.
"It wasn't a weapon."
"It was the final piece of the First Promise."
Riva frowned.
"If they have it..."
"What happens?"
The Guardian looked at each of the Six Heirs.
Then at Caelan.
"The future of every Gate..."
"...depends on who reaches it first."
Far beneath the sanctuary...
A hidden mechanism unlocked with a deafening roar.
For the first time in thousands of years...
A bridge of silver light began extending into an unknown land beyond Aurelia.
The journey to the heart of the First Kingdom had truly begun.
End of Chapter 15