For the first time since entering the strange world, Kael had no answer.
The silver-eyed man stood at the far end of the ruined street, watching him with an expression that was almost identical to the one Kael had seen on his own face countless times.
But there was something different in that smile.
It carried certainty.
Not arrogance.
Not confidence.
Certainty.
The kind that came from someone who had already witnessed the end of every question worth asking.
Kael's sword remained raised.
"Elara."
His voice was quiet.
She didn't look at him.
Her eyes were fixed on the silver-eyed man.
Aelia stood several steps behind Kael, silent.
The ruined city around them seemed to hold its breath.
Above them, the roots of the upside-down silver tree stretched through the darkness like the veins of some enormous creature. Silver leaves drifted slowly through the air, but none touched the ground. Every leaf stopped several inches above the broken streets before dissolving into pale light.
Kael lowered his sword slightly.
"Elara, what is he talking about?"
She finally looked at him.
There was pain in her eyes.
A kind of pain he had never seen there before.
Not fear.
Not confusion.
Guilt.
"I wanted to tell you."
The silver-eyed man chuckled.
"No."
Elara's eyes hardened.
"I said I wanted to."
"You wanted to tell him everything except the part that mattered."
The man's smile widened.
"You always do that."
Aelia suddenly stepped forward.
"Enough."
The silver-eyed man looked at her.
His expression became colder.
"You."
Aelia stopped.
"You have no right to speak."
Her fingers trembled.
"I know."
"Do you?"
The silver-eyed man's silver eyes narrowed.
"How many times did you watch her die?"
Aelia didn't answer.
Kael looked between them.
"How many?"
The question was directed at Aelia.
She slowly closed her eyes.
"Eight."
The word fell into the ruined city like a stone into still water.
Kael's expression changed.
"Eight?"
Aelia nodded.
"Eight times."
"Elara?"
Elara's lips parted.
"I don't remember all of them."
The silver-eyed man laughed.
"You remember enough."
Kael turned toward him.
"Stop talking in riddles."
"Then ask her."
He pointed toward Elara.
"Ask her what happened the first time she died."
Kael looked at Elara.
She stared back.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then Kael lowered his sword completely.
"What happened?"
Elara looked down.
"I died."
Kael's chest tightened.
"How?"
She shook her head.
"I don't know."
The silver-eyed man laughed again.
"You see?"
Elara suddenly shouted.
"Because I was a child!"
Her voice echoed through the ruins.
Everyone became still.
Even the silver-eyed man stopped smiling.
Elara's breathing became uneven.
"I was a child, Kael."
She looked at him.
"I didn't understand what was happening."
Kael took a step toward her.
"What happened?"
Elara wiped the corner of her eye.
"The first world was ending."
The silver leaves above them began to tremble.
"The sky had already broken. The World Tree hadn't grown yet. There were no kingdoms, no Firstborn, no Guardians. There was only the first world."
She swallowed.
"And it was dying."
The silver-eyed man quietly said,
"Tell him the rest."
Elara looked at him with hatred.
"You weren't there."
"I was."
"No."
Her voice became firm.
"You weren't."
The man smiled.
"Perhaps."
Kael looked at Elara.
"Keep going."
She nodded.
"There was a city."
Her eyes became distant.
"I don't remember its name. Maybe it never had one."
She slowly walked through the ruined street.
"I remember stone buildings. A large tower. A river running through the center. There were people everywhere."
Her hand touched the broken wall beside her.
"And I remember you."
Kael followed her.
"Me?"
"Yes."
"You were there?"
"I don't know if it was you."
Elara looked at him.
"That's the problem."
Kael frowned.
"You said I was there."
"I said I remember you."
She looked toward the silver tree.
"You looked like him."
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"The silver-eyed one?"
She nodded.
"But not exactly."
The man at the end of the street smiled.
"Finally."
Elara ignored him.
"You were older than you are now. Much older. You wore white clothes. You carried the Gardener Key."
Kael instinctively touched his chest.
"And you were dying."
Aelia whispered,
"Elara..."
"No."
Elara shook her head.
"He needs to know."
She looked directly at Kael.
"You were standing beneath the first tree."
Kael's heart began beating faster.
"The first World Tree?"
"No."
Elara's gaze moved upward.
"This tree."
The silver tree above them suddenly pulsed.
A wave of silver light traveled through its roots.
Kael looked up.
"This tree existed before the World Tree."
"Yes."
"Then what is it?"
Elara shook her head.
"I don't know."
The silver-eyed man answered.
"It is what remained after the first choice."
Kael turned toward him.
"What does that mean?"
The man walked closer.
"The universe wasn't created once."
He stepped over a crack in the road.
"It was chosen."
Kael said nothing.
"The first world was not born from nothing. There were possibilities before it. Countless ones. Endless worlds that could have existed."
The man's silver eyes reflected the glowing leaves.
"And then someone chose."
Kael looked at the silver tree.
"And that choice created the first world?"
"No."
The man smiled.
"It created the ability to choose."
Aelia's expression darkened.
"Don't listen to him."
"Why?"
"Because he always tells the truth in the most dangerous way."
The silver-eyed man laughed.
"That's why she hates me."
Kael looked at Elara.
"And your first death?"
Elara's expression became empty.
"I was there when the first world ended."
She closed her eyes.
"I saw the sky disappear."
Her voice became softer.
"I saw the rivers stop moving."
"I saw the mountains collapse."
"And I saw you."
Kael's fingers tightened around his sword.
"What was I doing?"
"You were trying to save everyone."
Kael's eyes widened.
"Everyone?"
"You believed you could."
Elara smiled sadly.
"You always believe that."
The silver-eyed man looked amused.
"He hasn't changed."
Elara continued.
"You opened the Gardener Key."
"The first branch appeared."
Then the second.
"Then the third."
"Then the fourth."
Her voice trembled.
"You tried to hold the world together."
Kael stared at her.
"Did I succeed?"
"No."
The answer was immediate.
The silver-eyed man smiled.
"You failed."
Kael looked down.
"And then?"
Elara's eyes filled with tears.
"You died."
Silence.
Kael didn't react.
He simply stared at her.
"How?"
"You were holding the world together with your own body."
She wiped her tears.
"Every wound the world suffered appeared on you."
Kael's face hardened.
"Why?"
"Because there was no other vessel."
Aelia stepped forward.
"That's not entirely true."
Elara turned toward her.
"Then tell him."
Aelia stopped.
Elara's voice became cold.
"Tell him what you did."
Aelia looked away.
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"What did you do?"
Aelia remained silent.
The silver-eyed man answered for her.
"She made the choice."
Kael looked at Aelia.
"What choice?"
Aelia finally met his eyes.
"I chose to end the first world."
The words struck harder than any weapon.
Aren, Lyra, Seraphine, Selene, and the others had finally reached the ruined city after descending from above. They had heard enough to understand that something enormous was being revealed.
Aren slowly lowered his sword.
"You did what?"
Aelia's face was expressionless.
"I ended the first world."
Lyra stepped forward.
"Why?"
"Because it could no longer continue."
"That's not an answer."
"It is the only one."
Lyra's magic began gathering around her staff.
"You killed an entire world?"
Aelia looked at her.
"No."
Her gaze shifted toward Kael.
"I killed its possibility of continuing."
Kael stared at her.
"What's the difference?"
"Everything."
Aelia pointed toward the silver-eyed man.
"That world had reached a point where every possible future ended in the same place."
Kael looked at the man.
"Death."
"Yes."
"Everyone died?"
"Eventually."
"Even Elara?"
Aelia nodded.
"Especially Elara."
Elara's body went still.
Kael looked at her.
"That's why you remember."
"I remember because I died."
"How many times?"
Elara didn't answer.
The silver-eyed man did.
"Eight."
Kael turned.
"Eight times?"
"Eight recorded deaths."
He raised one finger.
"The first was during the collapse of the original world."
A second.
"The second was in a world where the Firstborn won."
A third.
"The third was in a world where the World Tree consumed everything."
A fourth.
"The fourth was in the world of rejected possibilities."
A fifth.
"The fifth was a world without Kael."
A sixth.
"A world where Kael became the Gardener completely."
A seventh.
"A world where choice itself disappeared."
Then he lowered his hand.
"And the eighth..."
He looked directly at Elara.
"...hasn't happened yet."
Everyone froze.
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"What?"
Elara looked terrified.
The silver-eyed man smiled.
"The memory you are searching for isn't the memory of her first death."
He paused.
"It is the memory of the death she hasn't experienced yet."
Kael's sword rose again.
"You lied."
"No."
"You said the eighth memory was her first death."
"I said Aelia's eighth memory was her first death."
Kael's eyes widened.
The realization struck him.
Aelia.
Not Elara.
He slowly turned toward Aelia.
"You said there were eight memories."
Aelia nodded.
"The eighth is my first death."
"Then why does Elara remember eight deaths?"
Aelia didn't answer.
The silver-eyed man stepped closer.
"Because the memories were never separate."
The silver tree suddenly shook.
A deafening sound filled the ruined city.
Every silver leaf turned black.
The red sky above them cracked.
Aren raised his shield.
"What the hell is happening?"
The ground began shaking.
Buildings collapsed around them.
Lyra shouted,
"Everyone, move!"
The silver-eyed man didn't move.
Neither did Aelia.
Kael grabbed Elara's hand.
"Stay with me."
She looked at him.
"I am."
The street beneath them split apart.
A massive silver root burst through the ground.
Kael pulled Elara away.
The root slammed into the buildings.
Stone exploded.
Aren threw himself in front of Seraphine and Selene, shielding them from debris.
Lyra unleashed a barrier.
Mira and Rowan dragged Caelum away from a collapsing tower.
Then something emerged from beneath the city.
It was enormous.
At first Kael thought it was a creature.
Then he realized it was a hand.
A gigantic hand made of silver roots and black stone.
Five fingers spread across the ruined streets.
The silver-eyed man looked up.
"He's waking."
Kael's expression hardened.
"Who?"
The man smiled.
"The one who remembers everything."
Aelia whispered,
"No."
The hand clenched.
The entire city shook.
A voice came from beneath the ground.
It was neither male nor female.
It was the voice of countless people speaking at once.
"THE CHOICE HAS BEEN FOUND."
Kael felt the Gardener Key burn against his chest.
The seventh branch cracked.
The black flower split open.
Inside it was no longer a silver seed.
There was an eye.
A silver eye.
It opened.
Kael stumbled backward.
The eye looked at him.
Then it spoke.
"YOU WERE NOT THE FIRST."
Kael froze.
The voice continued.
"YOU WERE NOT THE SECOND."
The silver-eyed man smiled.
"Finally."
"YOU WERE NOT THE THIRD."
The ruins began disappearing.
"YOU WERE NOT THE FOURTH."
The world around them transformed.
Kael saw countless worlds.
Millions.
Billions.
Each one containing a version of himself.
Some were kings.
Some were monsters.
Some were children.
Some were dead.
Some had never existed.
Then the voice spoke again.
"YOU WERE THE LAST."
Kael stared at the visions.
"The last what?"
The answer came.
"THE LAST CHOICE."
The silver-eyed man stepped toward him.
"Now you understand why you're different."
Kael's expression hardened.
"You're another possibility."
"No."
The man smiled.
"I am what remained when you were removed."
Kael's eyes widened.
"You..."
"I was there before you chose."
He touched his chest.
"I remember the world before you."
Kael felt something inside him break.
Not physically.
Something deeper.
A memory.
A feeling.
A name.
He suddenly remembered standing in the white space.
But this time, he remembered something different.
There had been someone else there.
Someone standing beside him.
A second Kael.
The silver-eyed man.
Both of them had been children.
Both had been given the same choice.
And both had reached for the same door.
But only one had been allowed to enter.
Kael whispered,
"You were supposed to be me."
The man's smile disappeared.
"Yes."
Aelia closed her eyes.
"And I was supposed to die."
Kael turned toward her.
"What?"
Aelia looked at him.
"I was supposed to be the first sacrifice."
Elara suddenly grabbed Kael's arm.
"Don't listen."
Kael looked at her.
"Why?"
"Because this is exactly how it started."
"What started?"
Elara's eyes filled with fear.
"The cycle."
The silver-eyed man laughed.
"The cycle was never the problem."
He looked toward the silver tree.
"The problem was that someone kept trying to escape it."
Kael stared at him.
"Who?"
The man's silver eyes moved toward Elara.
"Her."
Elara froze.
Kael's heart sank.
The man continued.
"She was the first person who refused the ending."
Aelia looked at Elara.
"And that is why everything changed."
Elara shook her head.
"I don't remember."
"You don't need to."
The man smiled.
"Your soul does."
Kael stepped between them.
"Stay away from her."
The silver-eyed man looked at Kael.
For the first time, there was anger in his eyes.
"You still don't understand."
"Then explain."
"You think your existence was a gift."
The man pointed toward the sky.
"It wasn't."
He pointed toward the ground.
"It was a consequence."
Then he pointed at Elara.
"She refused to let you die."
Finally, he pointed toward Kael.
"And you became the answer to her refusal."
Kael's breathing stopped.
Elara looked at him.
"I..."
Her voice broke.
"I asked you to stay."
Kael remembered.
The seventh memory.
The white space.
The countless doors.
His own voice saying he didn't want to exist.
And Elara asking him to stay.
But there had been something he had never seen.
Something behind her.
A shadow.
A second version of himself.
Watching.
Waiting.
Kael slowly looked toward the silver-eyed man.
"You remember."
"Everything."
"And you hated me."
"I did."
"Why?"
The silver-eyed man's expression became strangely sad.
"Because when you chose to live..."
He looked down at his hands.
"...I was the one who disappeared."
Kael couldn't speak.
The man raised his eyes again.
"But now you're here."
The silver tree began to descend.
Its enormous trunk slowly pushed through the sky.
The ruined city trembled.
Aelia looked upward.
"He's coming."
Kael tightened his grip on his sword.
"Who?"
Aelia answered with a whisper.
"The first version of you."
The silver-eyed man smiled.
"And this time..."
The ground beneath them opened.
A vast white light erupted from the abyss.
"...he remembers why he chose to die."
Kael looked into the light.
Something was standing inside it.
A silhouette.
Small.
Young.
Familiar.
A child stepped out.
It was Kael.
The first Kael.
The one who had existed before the world.
The child looked at him.
Then smiled.
"You finally came back."
Kael stood frozen.
The child raised his hand.
And the seventh branch of the Gardener Key began to bloom.
One petal.
Then another.
Then another.
Until the black flower transformed into a doorway.
Behind it was the white space.
The place where the first choice had been made.
The child looked at Kael.
"Let's choose again."
And somewhere behind them, Elara screamed.
"No!"
The world shattered.