Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
The forbidden chamber had become completely silent.
King Leo stared at the stranger standing inside the Gate.
The man looked exactly like him.
The same eyes.
The same jaw.
The same scar above his eyebrow.
Even the same way of standing.
But there was something different.
Something cold.
Something broken.
A black crown rested on his head.
Not the Crown of the Future.
This crown was darker.
Its edges looked as if they had been burned.
Black smoke slowly moved around it.
Leo finally found his voice.
"Who are you?"
The stranger smiled.
"You already know."
Leo shook his head.
"No."
The stranger stepped forward.
"I told you."
His voice became colder.
"I am Leo."
Mira moved closer to the old king.
"But King Leo is standing right here."
The stranger looked at her.
"For now."
Kael immediately drew his sword.
"Don't come any closer."
The stranger laughed.
"You still carry that sword."
Kael froze.
"You know me?"
The stranger looked at him.
"I know everyone."
He pointed toward Kael.
"I know how you die."
Kael's expression changed.
The stranger continued.
"I know where."
"When."
"And who kills you."
Kael tightened his grip.
"You're lying."
"I wish I were."
Leo stepped forward.
"Why do you call me Father?"
The stranger's expression suddenly changed.
For a moment, the coldness disappeared.
He looked almost sad.
"Because in my world, you were my father."
Leo stared at him.
"In your world?"
The stranger nodded.
"The future."
He looked around the chamber.
"One possible future."
Leo's heart sank.
"You said it was the future I failed to prevent."
"Yes."
"What happened?"
The stranger looked at Mira.
Then at Kael.
Then back at Leo.
"You broke the Crown."
Leo frowned.
"That was the right thing to do."
"In your world, it was."
The stranger touched his black crown.
"But you forgot something."
"What?"
"Power does not disappear simply because you destroy its container."
The chamber shook.
Behind the stranger, the Gate opened wider.
Hundreds of soldiers stepped through.
They wore black armor.
Their faces were hidden.
Behind them came strange creatures.
Some had wings.
Some had horns.
Some looked almost human.
And behind all of them were dragons.
Mira stepped backward.
"How many are there?"
Kael looked through the Gate.
"Too many."
Leo raised his sword.
"Then we fight."
The stranger smiled.
"That's exactly what you said the first time."
Leo stared at him.
"What first time?"
The stranger answered:
"When the war began."
The first soldier stepped through the Gate.
Then another.
Then ten.
Then a hundred.
The palace guards rushed toward them.
"Protect the king!"
Steel clashed against steel.
CLANG!
CLANG!
CLANG!
The forbidden archive became a battlefield.
Leo fought with surprising speed for his age.
His sword moved through the air like lightning.
One soldier attacked.
Leo blocked.
Another came from behind.
Kael intercepted him.
SLASH!
The soldier fell.
Mira stood near the center of the room.
She watched the battle.
Her golden mark was glowing.
She could feel something inside her.
Something enormous.
But she didn't know how to control it.
"Leo!"
She shouted.
The old king looked toward her.
"What?"
"I can feel something!"
"What?"
"I don't know!"
Her hand suddenly began glowing brighter.
The floor beneath her cracked.
A wave of golden energy burst outward.
Every soldier was thrown backward.
BOOOOM!
The room became silent.
Mira stared at her hand.
"I didn't mean to do that."
Kael looked at her.
"You need to learn control."
"How?"
"Before it controls you."
Mira looked frightened.
Then the future Leo appeared behind them.
He raised one hand.
Everything stopped.
The soldiers froze.
The guards froze.
Even Leo couldn't move.
Only Mira remained free.
The future Leo walked toward her.
"You are the key."
Mira shook her head.
"No."
"You don't understand."
"I said no!"
The future Leo smiled.
"You will."
He reached toward her.
Suddenly—
WHOOSH!
Leo broke free.
His sword struck the future Leo's crown.
CLANG!
The future Leo stepped backward.
The black crown cracked slightly.
Everyone moved again.
Leo stood between him and Mira.
"Stay away from her."
The future Leo touched the crack in his crown.
For the first time, anger appeared on his face.
"You always protect everyone."
Leo raised his sword.
"That's what a king should do."
The future Leo looked at him.
"That's why you lose."
Then he disappeared into the Gate.
The army followed him.
One by one, the soldiers vanished.
The Gate slammed shut.
BOOM!
The chamber became silent again.
But the black symbol remained burned into the floor.
Kael stared at it.
"This isn't over."
Leo lowered his sword.
"No."
He looked at Mira.
"It's just beginning."