The world stood still.
No one spoke.
No one moved.
The woman floating above the Temple of Eternal Echoes looked exactly like Queen Elara.
The same silver hair.
The same royal features.
The same piercing eyes.
Yet something was different.
Something ancient.
Something terrifying.
Aurelion's face was pale.
"Lyra..."
The name escaped his lips like a forgotten nightmare.
Kael looked at him.
"You know her?"
The First King slowly clenched his fists.
"I prayed I would never see her again."
The woman smiled sadly.
"Yet here we are, Aurelion."
The sky darkened.
Even the crimson moon seemed to dim.
Below, citizens watched in fear as the ancient queen hovered above the kingdom.
Orion stepped forward.
"You said you're the First Queen of Elysium."
Lyra nodded.
"I was."
The answer only deepened the mystery.
Kael's heart raced.
"If you're the First Queen, then you've been alive for thousands of years."
Lyra looked at him.
For a brief moment, sorrow flashed across her face.
"I stopped counting a very long time ago."
Suddenly, the black throne beneath the temple released another pulse.
The air shook.
Ancient runes appeared across the sky.
A message formed above the kingdom.
> EIGHTH SOVEREIGN FULLY AWAKENING.
SYNCHRONIZATION: 34%
The message horrified everyone.
"She's not fully awake yet?" Orion asked.
Aurelion shook his head.
"No."
His voice was heavy.
"And that's the problem."
---
Far above the kingdom, Lyra gazed toward the shattered moon.
Toward the prison of the Ninth Sovereign.
Her expression hardened.
"You're awake too."
A cold laugh echoed from the heavens.
The Ninth Sovereign appeared upon a fragment of the broken moon.
Silver eyes met silver eyes.
Two ancient beings.
Two forgotten rulers.
Facing each other after ten thousand years.
"Lyra."
The Ninth Sovereign smiled.
"It's been a while."
The First Queen did not return the smile.
"You should have stayed imprisoned."
"And you should have stayed dead."
The sky trembled.
Their mere conversation caused storms to form across the kingdom.
Kael stared in disbelief.
These beings were monsters.
Not because they were evil.
But because they were powerful beyond imagination.
---
Suddenly—
The golden countdown clock flickered.
61:13:27
Then the numbers froze.
Everyone looked up.
The Ninth Sovereign's smile vanished.
Lyra narrowed her eyes.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
The clock cracked.
CRACK!
Golden fragments scattered across the sky.
A new message appeared.
One that had never appeared before.
> WARNING.
EXTERNAL AUTHORITY DETECTED.
Aurelion's blood ran cold.
"No..."
The Gate of Origin.
Something from beyond the gate had interfered.
The message changed again.
> ACCESS GRANTED.
FIRST WATCHER DESCENDING.
The stars disappeared.
One by one.
As if a giant hand was covering the heavens.
The kingdom fell into darkness.
Then a single golden eye opened above reality itself.
Larger than moons.
Brighter than suns.
Ancient beyond comprehension.
Everyone immediately fell to their knees.
Everyone except Kael.
The eye was watching him.
Only him.
Then a voice echoed across creation.
A voice so old that even time seemed young beside it.
> Candidate of the Last Throne.
Your final judgment approaches.
Kael's heart pounded.
Aurelion looked horrified.
"The Watchers..."
Orion frowned.
"What are Watchers?"
The First King answered without taking his eyes off the sky.
"The beings who existed before the Sovereigns."
Silence.
Then the eye blinked.
And an enormous golden door appeared behind it.
The Gate of Origin was opening wider.
Something was coming through.
Something even the Ninth Sovereign seemed unwilling to face.
For the first time since his awakening...
Fear appeared in the Ninth Sovereign's eyes.
And Lyra whispered a name that nobody had heard in ten thousand years.
"The First Watcher... Astraeus."
A golden hand emerged from the Gate of Origin.
And every throne in existence began to tremble.
To be continued...