Their journey lasted seven days.
They crossed forests.
Rivers.
Mountains.
And abandoned villages.
On the fourth night, they camped beneath a giant tree.
Mira sat beside the fire.
Kael sat across from her.
Leo was sleeping nearby.
Mira looked at Kael.
"Can I ask you something?"
Kael nodded.
"What?"
"Why did you really come to Chingy City?"
Kael stared into the fire.
"I told you."
"You were sent to kill me."
"Yes."
"But you didn't."
"No."
"Why?"
Kael remained silent.
Mira waited.
Finally, he said:
"Because I saw something."
"What?"
"Your future."
Mira frowned.
"What did you see?"
Kael looked at her.
"You standing alone."
"Where?"
"In a ruined city."
"Was Leo there?"
"No."
"Was anyone there?"
Kael shook his head.
"No one."
Mira's voice became quiet.
"Then what happened?"
Kael looked away.
"You opened the Gate."
Mira's heart raced.
"And then?"
"You disappeared."
"Where?"
Kael answered:
"I don't know."
Mira stared at the fire.
"Maybe that future can change."
Kael smiled.
"That's why I'm here."
Mira looked at him.
"You believe the future can change?"
"I have to."
"Why?"
Kael looked at her.
"Because otherwise none of our choices matter."
Neither of them noticed Leo awake nearby.
He had heard everything.
And he smiled.
On the seventh day, they reached the mountains.
Elias pointed ahead.
"There."
Everyone stared.
Between two enormous cliffs was an ancient valley.
At the center stood ruins.
Massive stone towers.
Broken statues.
Collapsed temples.
Mira whispered:
"This was a city?"
Elias nodded.
"The first city ever built by humans."
Leo stared at the ruins.
"What was it called?"
Elias answered:
"Chingy."
Mira looked surprised.
"The same name?"
"The kingdom was named after it."
They entered the ruins.
Everything was covered in vines.
Strange symbols covered the walls.
Leo touched one.
A golden light appeared.
The symbol changed.
It became the Crown of the Future.
Then another symbol appeared beside it.
A black dragon.
Mira stepped backward.
"The First Dragon and Second Dragon."
Elias shook his head.
"No."
He pointed toward a third symbol.
Something none of them had seen before.
It looked like an eye surrounded by stars.
Kael whispered:
"The Watcher."
Leo turned.
"You know that symbol?"
Kael nodded slowly.
"My ancestors warned us about it."
"What is it?"
Kael stared at the symbol.
"The thing that existed before the dragons."
Everyone became silent.
Mira looked around.
"Then where is it?"
A voice answered from the darkness.
"Closer than you think."
Everyone turned.
A figure stood on top of the ruins.
A woman.
She wore silver armor.
Her hair was white.
Her eyes glowed gold.
Leo raised his sword.
"Who are you?"
The woman smiled.
"My name is Aria."
She jumped down.
"I have been waiting for you."
Leo narrowed his eyes.
"How do you know me?"
Aria looked at Mira.
"I wasn't waiting for him."
She pointed at Mira.
"I was waiting for her."
Mira stepped backward.
"Why?"
Aria walked closer.
"Because the mark chose you."
Mira looked at her palm.
"I don't understand it."
"You will."
Aria looked toward the ruins.
"The Crown is not dead."
Leo frowned.
"I know."
"No."
Aria shook her head.
"You don't."
She touched an ancient stone.
The entire valley lit up.
Thousands of golden symbols appeared across the ruins.
"The pieces of the Crown were scattered across the world."
Leo nodded.
"Yes."
Aria looked at him.
"But every piece still carries power."
Leo's expression changed.
"How many pieces?"
Aria answered:
"Seven."
Mira stared at her.
"Seven?"
"The first piece is already in Chingy City."
Leo realized something.
"The stone beneath the palace."
Aria nodded.
"The second is in the northern mountains."
"The third is beneath the ocean."
"The fourth is in the kingdom of fire."
"The fifth is inside the city of shadows."
"The sixth..."
She stopped.
Leo asked:
"And the seventh?"
Aria looked toward Mira.
"It is inside her."
Mira froze.
"What?"
Aria nodded.
"You are not merely the keeper."
"You are part of the Crown."
Mira shook her head.
"No."
Aria continued.
"The Crown chose you because you were born with one of its seven fragments."
Mira stared at her hand.
"Then what happens if the other six are found?"
Aria's face became serious.
"The Crown will become whole again."
"And then?"
Aria looked toward the sky.
"The Gate will open permanently."
Kael stepped forward.
"And the future army will invade."
Aria nodded.
"Not just the army."
Leo asked:
"What else?"
Aria looked at him.
"The future itself."