The first thing Kael noticed was the smell.
It was not the salty scent of the ocean.
It was not the cold air of the western continent.
It was something warmer.
Grass.
Trees.
Flowers.
The ship had finally reached the eastern continent.
After days of sailing across the newly opened sea, the coastline had appeared shortly after sunrise. At first, it had been nothing more than a thin green line on the horizon. Then mountains emerged behind it, followed by enormous forests stretching farther than Kael could see.
The eastern continent was alive.
Birds filled the sky.
Strange creatures moved through the forests.
Several enormous winged beasts circled above the mountains before disappearing into the clouds.
And beyond the coastline stood a city.
It was enormous.
Unlike the western capital, which had been built around ancient technology, this city seemed to have grown naturally with the land. Towers of white stone rose among enormous trees, their walls covered in vines and flowers. Bridges connected buildings across the streets, and glowing crystals floated above every major road.
The city was surrounded by enormous walls.
But the walls were not meant to keep people inside.
They were meant to keep something outside.
Aren stood at the front of the ship.
"So that's one of the eastern kingdoms."
Seris nodded.
"The Kingdom of Elaris."
Kael looked at her.
"Is it yours?"
She smiled.
"Yes."
Aren glanced at the city.
"You're a princess."
"I told you that."
"I didn't think you'd actually be a princess."
Seris raised an eyebrow.
"What did you think I was?"
"A very confident merchant."
Lyra laughed.
Seris shook her head.
"I've changed my mind."
"About what?"
"I liked you less after five minutes."
Aren smiled.
"That's progress."
Kael ignored their conversation.
Something felt wrong.
The city looked peaceful.
Too peaceful.
The people were standing along the harbor, watching their ship approach.
There were thousands of them.
Merchants.
Soldiers.
Children.
Mages.
Beastkin.
Elves.
Humans.
They weren't hiding.
They weren't afraid.
They were waiting.
Kael looked at Seris.
"Why is everyone here?"
Seris's expression changed.
"They know you're coming."
"How?"
"The network."
Kael looked at the silver branches above the continent.
"They can see it?"
"Everyone can."
The network stretched across the sky, but unlike the western continent, its branches were thinner here.
Some ended abruptly.
Others curved away from certain regions.
Kael noticed one particular branch.
It stretched toward the city.
Then stopped.
A gap remained between it and the capital.
Kael frowned.
"Why doesn't the network enter the city?"
Seris looked uncomfortable.
"Because the kingdom rejected it."
Kael turned.
"Rejected the network?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because my father believes no outside power should enter Elaris."
Kael stared at her.
"Even the network?"
"Especially the network."
"Does he know what it is?"
Seris laughed softly.
"My father believes everything is a weapon until proven otherwise."
Aren nodded.
"I like him already."
Seris looked at him.
"He's probably going to arrest you."
Aren stopped smiling.
"I take that back."
The ship entered the harbor.
The moment it stopped, a formation of soldiers surrounded it.
Their armor was white and gold.
Each carried a spear.
At their center stood an older man.
He wore a long dark-blue coat decorated with golden embroidery.
A crown rested on his head.
His expression was stern.
Seris immediately stepped forward.
"Father."
The king looked at her.
"You were ordered not to cross the western sea."
Seris smiled.
"And yet I did."
His eyes moved toward Kael.
Then toward Aelia.
Then toward the silver network.
His expression became colder.
"Bring them inside."
Kael stepped off the ship.
The soldiers immediately surrounded him.
Aren reached for his sword.
Kael raised one hand.
"Don't."
Aren frowned.
"They're surrounding us."
"I noticed."
"They could attack."
"They could."
Aren slowly lowered his hand.
"You're getting annoyingly calm."
Kael smiled.
"I've had practice."
The king turned.
"Follow me."
They entered the capital.
Kael immediately noticed something strange.
The people were not looking at Seris.
They were looking at him.
Some whispered.
Others bowed their heads.
A few touched symbols hanging around their necks.
Kael frowned.
"What are they doing?"
Seris walked beside him.
"Praying."
"To me?"
"No."
She looked at the people.
"To the possibility you represent."
Kael sighed.
"I don't want that."
"I know."
"Then why are they doing it?"
"Because people always turn something they don't understand into something sacred."
Kael looked at her.
"You sound like you've thought about this before."
"I have."
They reached the palace.
It was enormous.
The entrance opened into a vast hall filled with paintings.
Kael immediately stopped.
He recognized one.
A black-haired woman stood beneath a silver tree.
Aelia.
But beside her stood someone else.
A young man.
Elion.
And behind them was a third figure.
Kael.
Not the Kael from the present.
The image showed him standing beside the other two as though they had been together for years.
Kael stared.
"That's impossible."
Aelia stopped.
She looked at the painting.
Her expression became unreadable.
Seris looked at her.
"You know it."
Aelia nodded.
"I know the place."
Kael looked at her.
"When?"
"Long ago."
"Before the first world?"
Aelia didn't answer.
Kael stepped closer.
"Then tell me."
Aelia sighed.
"Not here."
"Why?"
"Because some paintings remember."
Kael frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Before she could answer, the king spoke.
"Enough."
Everyone looked at him.
He stood at the end of the hall.
"That painting has been forbidden for centuries."
Kael looked at him.
"Why?"
"Because it records an event that never happened."
Kael stared.
"But it's here."
"That is the problem."
The king walked toward them.
"History says the three of you never stood together."
Aelia's expression hardened.
"History is wrong."
The king shook his head.
"History is what survives."
Kael looked between them.
"What happened?"
The king answered.
"The painting appeared three hundred years ago."
"Nobody knows who made it."
"But every attempt to destroy it failed."
"Fire couldn't burn it."
"Magic couldn't erase it."
"Even the World Tree couldn't remove its memory."
Kael looked at the painting.
"What does it show?"
The king's expression became grim.
"A future."
Kael frowned.
"A future?"
"Yes."
"The three of you standing beneath the World Tree."
"Behind you is a door."
"The same door you opened."
Kael stared.
The king continued.
"And beneath the door..."
He paused.
"...the world is dead."
Silence.
Elara stepped closer.
"Dead?"
The king nodded.
"Every kingdom."
"Every continent."
"Every race."
"Everything."
Kael looked at the painting again.
The three figures were standing together.
But something was wrong.
Kael walked closer.
The painting's version of him was smiling.
Elara was crying.
Aelia was holding a black sword.
And behind them...
the sky was completely empty.
No stars.
No suns.
Nothing.
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"Who painted this?"
"We don't know."
"Who is the third person?"
The king pointed at the painting.
"The person standing behind you."
Kael looked.
There was another figure.
Almost invisible.
A black silhouette.
Kael's expression changed.
The silhouette looked familiar.
It was the black-eyed version of himself.
The one from the Fourth World.
But the painting had been created three hundred years ago.
Before Kael had ever met him.
Kael stepped backward.
Aelia immediately noticed.
"You saw him."
Kael nodded.
"The other Kael."
The king looked confused.
"Other?"
Kael didn't answer.
The palace suddenly shook.
A deep sound echoed beneath them.
Boom.
Everyone froze.
The king looked toward the floor.
"No."
Another pulse.
Boom.
The palace windows shattered.
Soldiers fell.
Seris shouted,
"Father!"
The king immediately raised his hand.
"Seal the palace!"
Magical barriers appeared across every entrance.
Kael drew his sword.
"What is happening?"
The king looked at him.
"The reason I rejected the network."
The floor cracked.
Something enormous moved beneath the palace.
Seris's face became pale.
"Not again."
Kael looked at her.
"Again?"
She nodded.
"We've been hearing it for months."
"What?"
"Something beneath the city."
Another pulse.
This time, the entire palace shook.
A crack opened beneath the painting.
The ancient artwork fell from the wall.
Kael caught it.
The moment his fingers touched the painting, the silver mark on his palm activated.
The image changed.
The figures disappeared.
The black silhouette turned toward him.
Its eyes opened.
Black.
Completely black.
Then it smiled.
Kael dropped the painting.
"What did you see?"
Elara asked.
Kael looked at her.
"It saw me."
A voice echoed through the palace.
Not from beneath them.
Not from the sky.
From the walls.
"YOU CAME."
Kael raised his sword.
The king looked terrified.
"That voice..."
"You've heard it before?"
"Yes."
"Who is it?"
The king whispered,
"We don't know."
The palace shook again.
The floor split open.
A massive hand emerged.
The soldiers attacked immediately.
Spears of light struck the hand.
The creature roared.
The shockwave threw everyone backward.
Aren charged.
His sword collided with the creature's claws.
The impact shattered the stone beneath his feet.
Aren gritted his teeth.
"Little help!"
Lyra raised her staff.
"Move!"
A massive spell formed above her.
Aren jumped away.
Lightning struck the creature.
The entire palace shook.
The creature recoiled.
Kael rushed forward.
His sword began glowing silver.
He struck the creature's arm.
The blade cut through its flesh.
Black blood sprayed across the floor.
The creature roared.
Then its eyes opened.
It had no face.
Only eyes.
Hundreds of them.
They covered its body.
Kael froze.
Every eye looked at him.
Then they all spoke together.
"UNDEFINED."
Kael's silver mark burned.
The creature lunged.
Kael raised his sword.
A barrier appeared.
Elara.
The creature's claws struck the barrier.
Elara was thrown backward.
Kael caught her.
"Are you alright?"
She nodded.
"I'm fine."
The creature attacked again.
Aren intercepted it.
His shield appeared.
The claws slammed against it.
Aren screamed.
The shield cracked.
"Kael!"
Kael understood.
He raised his hand.
The network responded.
Silver branches descended from the sky.
They pierced the palace roof.
The creature screamed.
Kael pulled.
The branches wrapped around its body.
The creature fought.
Buildings shook.
Windows shattered.
The soldiers fled.
Kael continued pulling.
"Get out!"
Everyone ran.
The king grabbed Seris.
Aelia helped Elara.
Lyra and Seraphine dragged the injured soldiers toward the entrance.
Aren remained behind.
Kael shouted,
"Aren!"
"I'm fine!"
The creature broke one of the branches.
Aren charged.
His shield expanded.
He slammed into the creature.
The impact pushed it backward.
Kael used the opening.
He drove his sword into the creature's chest.
Silver light exploded.
The creature screamed.
Then something strange happened.
It laughed.
Kael froze.
The creature leaned closer.
"YOU STILL DON'T REMEMBER."
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"Remember what?"
The creature smiled.
"THE FIRST DEATH."
Kael's body became cold.
"What?"
The creature's body began dissolving.
"ASK ELARA."
Kael looked toward her.
Elara stood at the entrance.
Her face was pale.
The creature disappeared.
The palace became silent.
Smoke filled the hall.
Broken stone covered the floor.
Kael slowly lowered his sword.
He looked at Elara.
"What does it mean?"
She didn't answer.
"Elara."
She looked at him.
"I don't know."
Kael stared.
The same answer.
But this time, he knew she was lying.
He walked toward her.
"You do."
She looked away.
Aelia stepped between them.
"Not here."
Kael frowned.
"Then where?"
"Somewhere safe."
Kael looked at the destroyed palace.
"This place isn't safe."
Aelia nodded.
"Exactly."
The king approached.
His crown had fallen off.
His face looked exhausted.
"You need to leave."
Kael stared.
"Why?"
"Because the creature wasn't attacking the city."
Kael frowned.
"Then what was it doing?"
The king looked at the place where it had disappeared.
"It was warning us."
"About what?"
The king looked toward the sky.
"The door."
Kael's expression changed.
The silver network above the city suddenly went dark.
Every branch.
Every connection.
All of it.
Then a single black line appeared across the sky.
The same line.
The same door.
But this time...
it wasn't above the city.
It was behind Kael.
He turned.
Nothing was there.
Then he heard a whisper.
"Kael."
He froze.
It was his own voice.
But older.
Colder.
The voice of the black-eyed version.
"Don't come looking for me."
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"Why?"
The answer came quietly.
"Because if you find me..."
A pause.
"...you will remember why you killed me."
Kael's blood ran cold.
The voice disappeared.
Everyone stared at him.
Elara looked horrified.
Kael slowly turned toward her.
"You knew."
She closed her eyes.
"I remembered."
"What?"
Her voice trembled.
"The first death."
Kael stepped closer.
"Whose death?"
Elara opened her eyes.
Yours.
Silence filled the ruined palace.
Kael couldn't breathe.
Aelia looked toward the sky.
The black door remained invisible.
But something had changed.
The world was no longer simply opening.
It was remembering.
And somewhere beyond the boundary between worlds...
another Kael was waiting.
Not to kill him.
Not to conquer him.
But to reveal the one memory that had been hidden from the beginning.
The memory of how Kael had died.
And why the world had brought him back.
The journey into the Worlds Beyond had truly begun.