BOOK FOUR: THE KINGDOM BEYOND THE LAST GATE
Chapter 29: The First Creator
The words echoed through the palace.
First Creator.
Riva stared at Kael.
"No."
He smiled.
"Yes."
"I'm not."
"You were."
Riva shook her head.
"I was born in the village."
"You were born again."
"That's different."
Kael stepped closer.
"The woman you call Riva is only one life."
He pointed toward the white Crown.
"But the one standing beneath it..."
"...is the first."
---
Elara stood beside Riva.
Her eyes were still completely white.
"He's telling the truth."
Riva turned toward her.
"How do you know?"
"Because I remember."
"What?"
"Everything."
Elara touched Riva's hand.
"I remember you."
"As my creator."
Riva's breath caught.
"Creator?"
Elara nodded.
"Before I was your daughter..."
"I was your first creation."
---
Riva stepped backward.
"No."
Kael looked almost sympathetic.
"You don't remember because your memories were divided."
"By Aurelia?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because you created something she feared."
Riva stared.
"What?"
Kael answered:
"Choice."
---
The First Aurelia finally spoke.
"Enough."
Riva turned.
"Tell me the truth."
Aurelia looked at her.
"You created the first world."
"You created the Crowns."
"You created the Keepers."
"You created the first Gate."
"And then..."
She paused.
"You created me."
Riva's heart stopped.
"You?"
Aurelia nodded.
"I was your first attempt to create a guardian."
Riva stared.
"And Kael?"
Aurelia looked at him.
"He was your second."
Kael's expression darkened.
"And she hated what I became."
---
Riva looked between them.
"What did you become?"
Kael answered:
"Independent."
"You created me to protect your world."
"But I discovered something."
"What?"
"Your world wasn't free."
Riva frowned.
"You controlled everything."
"Every birth."
"Every death."
"Every memory."
"Every choice."
Riva whispered:
"I controlled choice?"
Kael nodded.
"You wanted perfection."
"And perfection required control."
---
Elara suddenly spoke.
"But Mother changed."
Everyone looked at her.
Elara continued:
"She realized perfection wasn't life."
"That's why she created me."
Riva stared.
"You?"
Elara nodded.
"I was the first being she created without giving herself control over it."
"She wanted to see what would happen if someone could choose freely."
Riva's eyes filled with tears.
"And it worked."
Elara smiled.
"Yes."
---
Aurelia stepped forward.
"That's when everything broke."
Riva looked at her.
"Because of me?"
"Because of your experiment."
"Choice spread."
"Worlds began changing."
"People began refusing the paths you created."
"And eventually..."
"Your own creations rebelled."
Kael laughed bitterly.
"I wasn't the first."
Riva looked at him.
"Who was?"
Kael pointed at Aurelia.
"Her."
---
Aurelia's face hardened.
"I rebelled because you were destroying everything."
Riva shook her head.
"I don't understand."
"You created worlds without limits."
"Some became beautiful."
"Others became nightmares."
"Some created life."
"Others created monsters."
"The balance collapsed."
Aurelia's voice cracked.
"So I created the Gates."
---
Riva stared.
"The Gates weren't prisons."
Aurelia shook her head.
"They were boundaries."
"To keep worlds from destroying one another."
Riva looked toward the broken palace.
"And the Devourers?"
"Created to remove worlds that became too dangerous."
Riva's expression hardened.
"You called them monsters."
Aurelia looked away.
"Because eventually they stopped obeying me."
---
Kael stepped forward.
"And that's when she made the greatest mistake."
Riva looked at him.
"What?"
"She erased you."
Aurelia closed her eyes.
Riva stared at her.
"You erased me?"
"You were becoming too powerful."
"You were going to remove the Gates."
"You were going to free every world."
"And I was afraid."
Riva whispered:
"So you killed me."
Aurelia shook her head.
"No."
"I divided you."
---
The room went silent.
"You divided my soul?"
"Into eight pieces."
Riva suddenly understood.
"The Crowns."
Aurelia nodded.
"Each Crown carried one part of you."
"Memory."
"War."
"Shadow."
"Creation."
"Death."
"Birth."
"Choice."
"And the final part..."
Riva looked at her.
"Where is it?"
Aurelia stared at Elara.
"Inside her."
---
Elara stepped backward.
"Me?"
"You were created from the final piece."
Riva's eyes filled with tears.
"That's why she could use the Crowns."
"That's why the Gates couldn't control her."
"That's why she was never supposed to exist."
Aurelia nodded.
"She carries the part of you that I could never remove."
---
Kael smiled.
"And now she's reunited you."
Riva looked at the white Crown.
"What happens if I take it?"
"You become complete."
"And then?"
Kael answered:
"You decide what happens to every world."
Riva's heart sank.
"Again."
"Yes."
---
Elara stepped toward her.
"Mother."
Riva looked at her.
"If I become the Creator..."
"What happens to you?"
Elara smiled sadly.
"I don't know."
Riva shook her head.
"No."
"You won't disappear."
Elara looked at her.
"How do you know?"
"Because I created you."
Riva took her hand.
"And I choose you."
---
The white Crown began floating toward Riva.
The First Aurelia stepped forward.
"Don't."
Riva looked at her.
"Why?"
"Because once you wear it..."
"You will remember everything."
Riva smiled.
"That's what I've been trying to do."
The Crown touched her forehead.
Light exploded.
---
Riva saw everything.
The first star.
The first world.
The first ocean.
The first mountain.
The first creature.
She remembered creating life.
She remembered creating Elara.
She remembered creating Kael.
She remembered creating Aurelia.
She remembered loving them.
She remembered the rebellion.
The first war.
The first death.
The first Gate.
The first Crown.
She remembered dividing herself.
She remembered one final decision.
A decision she had forgotten.
A decision she had made willingly.
---
Riva opened her eyes.
Kael stared at her.
"Do you remember?"
Riva nodded.
"Yes."
"What did you choose?"
Riva looked at Aurelia.
Then Kael.
Then Elara.
"I chose to forget."
Kael's smile disappeared.
"Why?"
"Because I knew one day..."
She looked at the white Crown.
"...I would need to become human."
---
Aurelia whispered:
"You remember."
Riva nodded.
"I remember everything."
"Then you know what happens next."
Riva looked toward the sky.
The eight Crowns began descending.
One by one.
Memory.
War.
Shadow.
Birth.
Death.
Choice.
Creation.
And the final Crown...
Still missing.
Riva frowned.
"Where is the ninth?"
Kael smiled.
"There is no ninth."
Riva looked at him.
"Then why can I feel it?"
Kael's expression changed.
A deep sound echoed through the palace.
Something was approaching.
Something older than the Crowns.
Older than the Keepers.
Older than the First Kingdom.
Riva whispered:
"That's not a Crown."
Elara looked toward the darkness.
"No."
"What is it?"
Elara answered:
"The part of you that you never created."
The palace doors exploded inward.
A figure stepped through.
It looked exactly like Riva.
But its eyes were completely black.
It smiled.
"I've been waiting for you."
Riva stared at her own face.
"Who are you?"
The figure answered:
"Your first mistake."
End of Chapter 29