The council members raised their weapons.
Leo didn't move.
"Descendant?"
Kael nodded.
"The First Dragon protected your kingdom."
"And your ancestor?"
Kael's smile disappeared.
"My ancestor protected something else."
"What?"
"The truth."
Leo stared at him.
"What truth?"
Kael looked at Mira.
"The Crown of the Future was never created to give people freedom."
Mira frowned.
"Then why was it created?"
Kael walked toward the ancient book.
"To control time."
Everyone became silent.
Leo's grip tightened around his sword.
"That's impossible."
"No."
Kael opened the book again.
"The crown could see possible futures."
He turned a page.
"It could change them."
Another page.
"It could erase them."
Another.
"And eventually, it could decide which future was allowed to exist."
Mira stared at the drawings.
"Then why did the First Dragon let Leo destroy it?"
Kael looked at her.
"Because the First Dragon finally realized what the crown had become."
Leo remembered the dragon's final words.
The future belongs to everyone.
His eyes widened.
"That's why it smiled."
Kael nodded.
"The First Dragon wasn't defeated."
Leo looked at him.
"What do you mean?"
"It chose to disappear."
The room became silent.
"The First Dragon knew that if it remained alive, people would continue fighting over the crown."
Kael closed the book.
"So it sacrificed itself."
Mira whispered:
"Then why is the Second Dragon awakening?"
Kael looked toward the ceiling.
"Because the crown is still alive."
Leo shook his head.
"We saw it break."
"The crown broke."
Kael smiled.
"But its power didn't."
Suddenly—
BOOOOM!
The entire archive shook.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
A deep roar echoed beneath them.
Kael looked toward the floor.
"It's awake."
Leo raised his sword.
"Who?"
Kael answered:
"The Second Dragon."
The people of Chingy City ran through the streets.
The sky had turned dark.
Not because of clouds.
Because something enormous was moving beneath the city.
Buildings shook.
The palace towers cracked.
Then the central square exploded upward.
KABOOOOM!
Stone flew into the air.
A massive black wing emerged from beneath the earth.
People screamed.
Another wing followed.
Then a gigantic head rose from the ground.
The Second Dragon had awakened.
Its scales were black.
Its eyes burned blue.
Its horns stretched toward the sky.
But unlike the First Dragon, it did not breathe fire.
It breathed darkness.
Where the darkness touched the ground, flowers died.
Trees withered.
Stone turned black.
The dragon opened its mouth.
A voice thundered across the kingdom.
"THE AGE OF CHOICE IS OVER."
Leo emerged from the palace.
Mira stood beside him.
The council followed.
Thousands of citizens gathered behind them.
The dragon looked at Leo.
"King Leo."
Leo raised his sword.
"You know my name."
"I knew your grandfather."
Leo's eyes widened.
"My grandfather?"
The dragon laughed.
"King Austin was not the first king to fight me."
Leo lowered his sword slightly.
"What happened?"
The dragon's eyes glowed brighter.
"He lost."
The crowd became silent.
Leo shook his head.
"My father defeated the darkness."
"No."
The dragon leaned closer.
"Your father only delayed it."
Mira stepped forward.
"Then why didn't you attack before?"
The dragon looked at her.
For a moment, it seemed surprised.
"You."
Mira swallowed.
"What?"
"You carry the mark."
Leo turned toward Mira.
"What mark?"
A golden symbol suddenly appeared on Mira's palm.
Everyone gasped.
The same symbol from the Crown of the Future.
Kael stepped forward.
"That's impossible."
The dragon smiled.
"No."
It looked at Mira.
"It has chosen its next keeper."
Chapter: The Girl Chosen by the Future
Mira stared at her hand.
The golden symbol pulsed.
Glow.
Glow.
Glow.
She felt warmth spreading through her body.
Then she heard voices.
Hundreds of voices.
Thousands.
Children.
Adults.
Kings.
Farmers.
People from distant lands.
All speaking at once.
Choose.
Mira fell to her knees.
"Mira!"
Leo rushed toward her.
But a powerful golden barrier appeared around her.
Leo was thrown backward.
BOOM!
"King Leo!"
Mira screamed.
"I can't control it!"
Kael stared at her.
"The Crown has chosen her."
Leo stood.
"No."
Kael looked at him.
"What?"
Leo pointed at Mira.
"The Crown doesn't choose people."
Kael frowned.
"Then what is happening?"
Leo remembered his father's final lesson.
The future belongs to those who build it.
He looked at Mira.
"The people choose the future."
The golden barrier grew brighter.
Suddenly, images appeared in the sky.
Everyone saw them.
One future showed Chingy City burning.
Another showed the kingdom covered in darkness.
Another showed people fighting one another.
Another showed the Second Dragon ruling the world.
Then another appeared.
It showed Mira standing before a great golden gate.
Beside her stood a young man.
Leo stared at the image.
He recognized the man.
It was Kael.
Mira looked at Kael.
"Why are you in my future?"
Kael didn't answer.
The vision changed.
Kael was holding a sword.
Mira was crying.
And behind them stood Leo.
Then the image disappeared.
Everyone was confused.
Leo looked at Kael.
"What are you hiding?"
Kael remained silent.
The Second Dragon laughed.
"Ask him."
Leo's eyes narrowed.
"Tell me the truth."
Kael finally spoke.
"I wasn't sent here to help you."
Leo raised his sword.
"Then why are you here?"
Kael looked at Mira.
"I was sent to kill her."
Mira's face went pale.
Everything became chaos.
The soldiers surrounded Kael.
Leo stood between him and Mira.
"You will not touch her."