BOOK FOUR: THE KINGDOM BEYOND THE LAST GATE
Chapter 30: The First Mistake
Riva stared at the woman standing in the doorway.
Her face.
Her body.
Her voice.
Everything was familiar.
And yet...
Riva had never seen her before.
The woman smiled.
"You're looking at me as if you've never met yourself."
Riva tightened her grip around the white Crown.
"Who are you?"
The woman tilted her head.
"You already know."
"No."
"Then remember."
---
The woman stepped into the palace.
Every Crown began trembling.
The Crown of Memory.
The Crown of War.
The Crown of Shadow.
The Crown of Birth.
The Crown of Death.
The Crown of Choice.
The Crown of Creation.
All of them reacted to her presence.
Even Kael stepped backward.
Riva noticed.
"You know her."
Kael didn't answer.
Riva looked at him.
"Kael."
He finally whispered:
"Yes."
"Who is she?"
Kael looked terrified.
"Something I prayed would never return."
---
The woman laughed.
"Still afraid of me?"
Kael raised his weapon.
"You should have stayed dead."
She smiled.
"I was never alive."
Riva frowned.
"What does that mean?"
The woman looked at her.
"I was created before you."
Riva froze.
"That's impossible."
"You created the first world."
"Yes."
"But you didn't create yourself."
The woman touched Riva's chest.
"You came from somewhere."
Riva stepped backward.
"From where?"
The woman answered:
"Nothing."
---
Silence filled the room.
The First Aurelia whispered:
"The Void."
Riva looked at her.
"You knew?"
Aurelia nodded.
"I knew she existed."
"Then why didn't you tell me?"
"Because you had forgotten."
The woman smiled.
"She was afraid that remembering me would bring me back."
Riva's eyes narrowed.
"What are you?"
The woman answered:
"I am what existed before creation."
---
Elara stepped forward.
"Then why do you look like Mother?"
The woman looked at her.
"Because she created everything using herself."
"Every world."
"Every creature."
"Every Crown."
"Every life."
"She used pieces of her own existence."
Elara frowned.
"Then you are..."
"The part she couldn't remove."
---
Riva suddenly remembered.
A room.
White.
Empty.
Before the first world.
She was standing there.
Alone.
Then she felt something beside her.
A shadow.
She had tried to create light.
But the shadow appeared first.
She had tried to create life.
But the shadow watched.
She had tried to create love.
But the shadow learned.
Riva remembered screaming:
"Go away!"
The shadow had answered:
"I was here first."
---
Riva opened her eyes.
"I remember."
The woman smiled.
"Good."
"You were the first thing I created."
"No."
"You were the first thing I discovered."
The woman's smile widened.
"Exactly."
---
Kael stepped forward.
"You called her your mistake."
Riva looked at him.
"What did you know?"
"I knew she existed."
"How?"
"Because she found me."
"When?"
"Before Aurelia."
Kael looked toward the woman.
"She taught me."
"How to destroy."
"How to survive."
"How to exist outside your rules."
Riva stared.
"So you were working together."
Kael nodded.
"Until she wanted something I wouldn't give her."
"What?"
Kael looked at Riva.
"You."
---
The woman laughed.
"I wanted my creator."
Riva shook her head.
"I'm not yours."
"You made me."
"That doesn't make you my owner."
The woman's expression darkened.
"You always say that."
"Because it's true."
"You created me."
"Then I have a responsibility."
The woman stepped closer.
"Yes."
"To destroy me."
---
Riva raised the white Crown.
The woman smiled.
"You can't."
"Why?"
"Because I'm not part of the Crowns."
"Then what are you?"
"The source."
Riva froze.
The woman continued:
"Your Crowns are pieces of you."
"But I am the thing that existed before you divided yourself."
"If you destroy me..."
"You destroy yourself."
---
Elara stepped between them.
"Then I'll destroy her."
Riva immediately grabbed her.
"No."
The woman looked at Elara.
"You."
Elara froze.
"You are the reason she can exist without me."
"What does that mean?"
"You were created from the part of Riva that could reject me."
Elara's expression changed.
"So I'm your opposite."
The woman smiled.
"No."
"You're my replacement."
---
The white Crown began glowing.
The woman reached toward Elara.
Riva attacked.
Their powers collided.
The palace exploded with light.
Caelan grabbed Elara and pulled her away.
"Move!"
Seris shouted:
"Riva!"
Riva couldn't hear them.
She was fighting herself.
Every attack she made...
The woman copied.
Every power...
Reflected.
Every memory...
Returned.
Riva screamed:
"Why can't I hurt you?"
The woman smiled.
"Because you know me."
---
Riva stopped.
She lowered her hand.
The woman stared.
"What are you doing?"
Riva answered:
"Nothing."
"You can't defeat me."
"I know."
"Then surrender."
"No."
Riva closed her eyes.
"I finally understand."
The woman frowned.
"Understand what?"
"You aren't my enemy."
"I am you."
"No."
Riva opened her eyes.
"You're the part of me that believes everything must be controlled."
The woman froze.
Riva continued:
"You were my fear."
"My loneliness."
"My need for perfection."
"My refusal to accept uncertainty."
"That's why I called you a mistake."
The woman shook her head.
"Stop."
"But you weren't a mistake."
"You were a warning."
---
The woman screamed.
The entire world shook.
"You don't get to redefine me!"
Riva stepped closer.
"I don't need to."
The white Crown floated between them.
"I accept you."
The woman stopped.
"What?"
"I accept that you existed."
"I accept what you did."
"I accept what I did."
"But I don't have to obey you."
The woman began disappearing.
"No."
Riva reached out her hand.
"Come back."
The woman stared.
"Why?"
"Because I'm done destroying pieces of myself."
---
The woman touched Riva's hand.
The moment they connected...
Every Crown shattered.
The palace disappeared.
The worlds disappeared.
The sky disappeared.
Everything became white.
Riva saw herself standing alone.
But this time...
She wasn't alone.
The woman stood beside her.
They looked at each other.
Then the woman smiled.
"I always wondered what would happen if you accepted me."
Riva answered:
"So did I."
The woman slowly merged into her.
Riva screamed.
Then silence.
---
Caelan found Riva lying on the ground.
"Riva!"
Her eyes opened.
He pulled her into his arms.
"Are you alive?"
Riva smiled weakly.
"Unfortunately."
Caelan laughed through his tears.
"Don't joke."
Elara rushed toward her.
"Mother!"
Riva hugged her.
"I'm here."
Seris stood nearby.
All the Crowns were gone.
The sky was clear.
The world was quiet.
Kael was nowhere to be seen.
The First Aurelia had disappeared.
Riva looked around.
"It's over."
Seris shook her head.
"No."
Riva frowned.
"What?"
Seris pointed upward.
A single black star had appeared in the sky.
Riva stared.
"What is that?"
Seris whispered:
"The Void."
---
The star grew larger.
Then a voice echoed across every world.
Not the woman's voice.
Not Kael's.
Not the Keepers'.
Something else.
Something enormous.
"CREATOR."
Riva froze.
The voice continued.
"YOU HAVE ACCEPTED YOUR FIRST MISTAKE."
The black star opened.
"NOW ACCEPT YOUR FIRST CREATION."
Riva looked toward Elara.
Her daughter was glowing.
White light surrounded her.
Elara whispered:
"Mother..."
"What?"
"I remember."
Riva's heart sank.
"Remember what?"
Elara looked toward the sky.
"The reason you created me."
Riva stared.
Elara's eyes filled with tears.
"I wasn't created to live."
"I was created..."
"...to replace you."
The black star exploded.
And somewhere beyond the edge of existence...
Something began waking up.
End of Chapter 30