Leo raised his sword.
"Then I'll try."
The old man looked amused.
"Like your father."
Austin stepped forward.
"Leave my son alone."
The First looked at Austin.
"You have spent centuries running from me."
Austin's face became pale.
"Centuries?"
Leo turned.
"What does he mean?"
The First laughed.
"Your father has not been in the Gate for twenty years."
Leo stared.
"Then how long?"
The First answered:
"Two hundred years."
Leo's heart stopped.
Austin looked at him.
"The Gate does not follow the same time as your world."
Mira whispered:
"So King Austin has been alive for two hundred years?"
Austin nodded.
"Yes."
Leo stared at his father.
"You never aged."
Austin looked down.
"Time stopped around me."
The First smiled.
"And now it has started again."
Austin suddenly fell to his knees.
His hair began turning white.
His face changed.
His body became older.
Leo rushed toward him.
"Father!"
Austin smiled.
"Now..."
He struggled to breathe.
"...I finally feel time again."
Leo held his father.
Austin looked at him.
"My son."
"Don't talk."
"I have one final lesson."
Leo shook his head.
"I don't want another lesson."
Austin smiled.
"You always hated lessons."
Leo laughed through his tears.
"Not from you."
Austin touched his son's hand.
"Then listen."
Leo nodded.
"The future cannot be controlled."
"I know."
"The future cannot be predicted perfectly."
"I know."
"And the future cannot be protected by one person."
Leo closed his eyes.
"I know."
Austin smiled.
"Then you finally understand."
The First watched silently.
Mira began crying.
Kael lowered his sword.
Austin looked toward the people.
"Your greatest strength was never the Crown."
He looked at Leo.
"It was never your sword."
Then he looked at Mira.
"It was never her power."
He smiled.
"It was always choice."
His eyes slowly closed.
Leo held him tightly.
"Father?"
No answer.
"Father!"
Austin smiled one final time.
Then he whispered:
"Build something better."
His hand became still.
Leo cried.
For the first time since becoming king, he cried openly in front of his people.
Mira stood beside him.
Kael lowered his head.
Even the enemy soldiers became silent.
The First looked at Austin.
Then he whispered:
"He finally understood."
Leo looked up.
"You killed him."
The First shook his head.
"No."
"He chose."
Leo stood.
His tears remained on his face.
But his eyes had changed.
"Then I choose too."
The First smiled.
"Good."
Leo raised his sword.
"I choose to fight."
Chapter Twenty-Three: Leo's Final Battle
The First raised his hand.
The sky split open.
Thousands of cracks appeared across reality.
Through them, countless worlds became visible.
Leo could see other versions of Chingy City.
Other kingdoms.
Other Leos.
Other Miras.
Other futures.
The First spoke.
"Every choice creates a future."
He pointed toward the countless worlds.
"Every future creates another choice."
His eyes became blacker.
"And I exist between them all."
Leo charged.
CLANG!
His sword struck the First.
The First blocked it with one hand.
Leo was thrown backward.
Mira attacked.
Golden energy exploded.
The First walked through it.
Kael attacked from behind.
The First turned.
BOOM!
Kael flew across the palace.
Leo charged again.
Again.
Again.
Every attack failed.
The First was too powerful.
Leo fell to his knees.
The First stood over him.
"You cannot defeat me."
Leo looked up.
"You're right."
The First smiled.
"Finally."
Leo stood.
"I don't have to."
The First frowned.
Leo looked at Mira.
Mira understood.
Then Kael understood.
Then the people understood.
The Crown had never been about one person.
The future had never belonged to one king.
So Leo lowered his sword.
And thousands of people lowered theirs.
The First looked confused.
"What are you doing?"
Leo answered:
"Choosing."
One by one, people began speaking.
"I choose my family."
"I choose peace."
"I choose courage."
"I choose freedom."
"I choose forgiveness."
"I choose hope."
Mira raised her hand.
"I choose the future."
Kael raised his sword.
"I choose my own path."
Leo looked toward the people.
"And I choose to trust them."
Golden light began appearing.
Not from the Crown.
Not from Mira.
From everyone.
The First stepped backward.
"No."
The light grew.
"No!"
The First screamed.
The Gate began collapsing.
The countless worlds began disappearing.
The First tried to hold it open.
But the more people chose their own futures, the weaker he became.
Leo shouted:
"THE FUTURE BELONGS TO ALL OF US!"
The entire kingdom answered:
"ALL OF US!"
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
The Gate exploded.
The First disappeared.
The black crown shattered.
The remaining fragments of the Crown flew into the sky.
Then they disappeared among the stars.
Silence returned.
Chapter Twenty-Four: The Choice
Morning arrived.
Chingy City was damaged.
But it still stood.
The people began rebuilding.
Again.
Just as they had after every war.