BOOK FOUR: THE KINGDOM BEYOND THE LAST GATE
Chapter 10: The Kingdom Beneath
The entire palace trembled.
Riva stood in the center of the Hall of Mirrors as the enormous golden eye beneath the floor remained open.
Every person in Elaris had stopped moving.
Outside...
Thousands of people were kneeling.
Not toward the palace.
Not toward the Queen.
Toward Riva.
She could feel their fear.
Their hope.
Their memories.
All of them seemed connected to her.
Riva whispered:
"Why are they doing this?"
The First Guardian answered quietly:
"Because they remember."
"Remember what?"
"Who you were."
---
A crack spread across the floor.
Golden light poured through it.
Caelan moved beside Riva.
"Stay behind me."
Riva looked at him.
"No."
He frowned.
"You don't know what's down there."
"Neither do you."
"I can still protect you."
Riva's expression softened.
"You've been protecting me from the truth."
Caelan looked away.
"Not anymore."
---
Aren stepped forward.
"We should leave the palace."
The First Guardian shook his head.
"Too late."
The floor exploded.
Everyone was thrown backward.
A massive staircase appeared beneath them.
It descended into darkness.
But unlike the rest of Elaris...
The stairs were ancient.
Older than the palace.
Older than the First Gate.
Symbols covered every step.
Eva picked up her notebook.
"The writing is different."
"What does it say?" Riva asked.
Eva stared.
"I can't translate it."
The Last Unwriter stepped closer.
"I can."
Everyone looked at him.
He read the first symbol.
BEFORE THE FIRST KINGDOM...
Then the second.
...THERE WAS ONLY ONE KINGDOM.
---
Riva looked down the staircase.
"What's at the bottom?"
The Last Unwriter's expression became serious.
"The place where the world began."
---
They descended.
Riva.
Caelan.
Aren.
Eva.
Aarvi.
Lucien.
The First Guardian.
The Queen.
And the others.
No one spoke.
The deeper they went...
The colder the air became.
Then...
Riva heard whispers.
Thousands of them.
Some sounded like children.
Others sounded ancient.
One voice repeated her name.
Aurelia.
Another:
Riva.
Another:
Queen.
Another:
Key.
Another:
Gate.
She covered her ears.
"Make them stop."
Caelan grabbed her hand.
"You don't have to listen."
"But they're inside my head."
The First Guardian looked at her.
"They aren't inside your head."
"Then where?"
He pointed downward.
"They're inside the kingdom."
---
At the bottom of the staircase...
They found a door.
It was enormous.
Golden.
No handle.
No lock.
Only one symbol.
A crown surrounded by seven flames.
Riva approached it.
The door opened immediately.
Everyone froze.
Aarvi whispered:
"It knows you."
Riva stepped inside.
---
The room beyond was impossible.
It looked like a palace...
But the walls were made of stars.
A river of light flowed through the center.
And suspended above the river...
Were thousands of glowing spheres.
Memories.
Entire lives.
Entire civilizations.
Riva stared.
"What is this?"
The Queen whispered:
"The Archive."
Eva stepped closer.
"The original Archive."
The First Guardian nodded.
"The place where every memory in existence was stored."
---
Riva walked toward the river.
One of the glowing spheres floated toward her.
She touched it.
A vision appeared.
A woman.
A man.
A child.
They stood beneath a tree.
Then the world ended.
Riva pulled her hand away.
"Who were they?"
The Last Unwriter answered:
"The first family."
"Of Elaris?"
"No."
"The first family."
Riva looked at him.
"The first humans?"
He shook his head.
"The first beings."
---
Another sphere floated toward Riva.
This one showed a young woman.
Riva recognized her immediately.
The First Queen.
Aurelia.
But she wasn't alone.
Beside her stood seven figures.
The original Keepers.
Riva watched as Aurelia placed a hand over the center of her chest.
A golden flame appeared.
Then she divided it.
One flame became seven.
The Seven Flames.
---
Riva whispered:
"That was me."
The First Guardian nodded.
"You were the first Keeper."
"The first Queen."
"The first Gate."
Riva stared at the vision.
"Then why did everyone erase me?"
The Queen answered:
"Because you sacrificed yourself."
Riva turned.
"For what?"
The Queen looked toward the river.
"To stop the First King."
---
A voice suddenly echoed through the Archive.
"She didn't sacrifice herself."
Everyone turned.
Aeron stood at the entrance.
But something was different.
The blackness around him was gone.
His eyes were normal.
He looked exhausted.
The Queen stared at him.
"Aeron?"
He nodded.
"I remember."
---
Caelan raised his weapon.
"Stay away from Riva."
Aeron ignored him.
He looked at Riva.
"You were never created to open the Last Gate."
Riva stared.
"Then why?"
Aeron walked closer.
"Because you were created to close it."
Silence.
The Queen's face changed.
"You remembered."
Aeron nodded.
"The First King didn't want the Gate opened."
"He wanted it destroyed."
---
Riva frowned.
"Then why did he use me?"
Aeron looked toward the glowing spheres.
"Because he couldn't destroy the Gate himself."
"Why?"
"Because the Gate was made from him."
Everyone froze.
Aeron continued.
"The First King wasn't a ruler."
"He was the first Gatekeeper."
"He created the Last Gate."
"But when he tried to destroy it..."
"It became part of him."
---
Riva looked at the black crown mark on her wrist.
"So what's inside me?"
Aeron answered:
"His other half."
Riva's eyes widened.
"The part of him that still wants to live."
---
Suddenly...
One of the glowing spheres shattered.
Then another.
Then hundreds.
The Archive began collapsing.
The Last Unwriter shouted:
"Something has entered!"
Aren looked toward the ceiling.
"What?"
The stars above them began turning black.
A single voice echoed throughout the chamber.
"You should never have remembered."
Riva looked up.
The First King appeared in the sky above the Archive.
But this time...
He wasn't alone.
Behind him stood thousands of shadow figures.
Every forgotten Keeper.
Every erased King.
Every lost soul.
The First King smiled.
"Welcome to the place where I was born."
The Archive began burning.
Riva stepped forward.
"Why did you bring us here?"
The First King answered:
"Because now you finally have enough memories..."
"...to understand why I need you."
The seven symbols on the golden door began glowing.
Then the entire Archive spoke at once:
"THE LAST WAR HAS BEGUN."
End of Chapter 10