The man stood in the sky.Barefoot.Unarmed.Wearing Kael's face.Behind him stretched an army of shadows.They did not attack.They simply waited.Kael looked up at the impossible figure.“Who are you?”The man smiled.“You already asked me that.”“I've never seen you.”“You have.”“When?”The man's smile faded.“Every time you wondered who you would have become if you had chosen differently.”Kael said nothing.The figure descended.His feet touched the ruined fortress wall.No impact.No sound.He looked almost human.Almost ordinary.That frightened Kael more than the shadow behind him.Lira stepped beside Kael.“Are you another version of him?”The man looked at her.“No.”“Then what are you?”He considered the question.“An answer.”Kael's expression hardened.“To what?”The man looked across Eryndor.“To everything you refused to become.”Renn moved first.His sword flashed from its sheath.Kael caught his wrist.“Don't.”Renn frowned.“He's standing right there.”“I know.”The

The white light swallowed the chamber.Kael held Darian against his chest as the force tore through the room.Stone shattered.Ancient symbols burned across the walls.Elias was thrown against a pillar.Lira grabbed Renn before he disappeared into the darkness.Aran remained standing.He was staring at the child.The child smiled.Not at Kael.At Aran.“You remember me.”Aran's voice was barely audible.“No.”“You do.”“No.”The child tilted his head.“You remember the day you left.”Aran's face tightened.“I remember.”The child smiled wider.“Then you remember me.”Aran took one step backward.Kael noticed.“Aran.”“Don't.”The child laughed.A small, innocent sound.It did not belong in that chamber.“You always did that.”Aran looked at him.“Did what?”“Ran away whenever you were afraid.”Aran's eyes hardened.“I was six.”“So was I.”Silence.Kael looked at Darian.“Who is he?”Darian struggled to breathe.“He is not another child.”The figure turned toward him.“Father.”Darian

The first light struck the earth.There was no explosion.No fire.No sound.It simply disappeared beneath the ground.The second followed.Then the third.For several seconds, nothing happened.Kael stood beside his father, watching the horizon.Darian's face had gone pale.Lira noticed.“You know what those are.”Darian nodded.“I know what they mean.”“Then tell us.”Darian looked toward the distant mountains.“They're not signals to the Gate.”Kael waited.“They're signals to the people who built it.”Elias frowned.“People?”Darian nodded.“The ones who left.”Aran looked at him.“Left where?”Darian didn't answer immediately.Then he said,“Beyond Eryndor.”The first structure opened before sunrise.A mile from the ruined mountain, the earth split.Ancient stone rose from beneath the fields.A circular platform.No weapons.No inscriptions.Only a doorway.Farmers gathered around it.Nobody dared approach.Then the doorway opened.A man walked out.He wore simple grey clothing.

The white blade descended.Kael moved before anyone else could react.He stepped forward and raised his empty hand.The blade stopped.Not against steel.Against nothing.A pressure wave exploded across the ancient road.Stone shattered.The sea rose on both sides.The people gathered behind Kael were thrown backward.Lira hit the ground and rolled.Renn caught Mara before she fell into the widening crack beneath them.Aran planted both feet against the stone.Elias reached for the memories around him.Cael raised his hands.But Kael remained standing.His palm was inches from the white blade.The older man stared down at him.For several seconds, neither moved.Then the man smiled."You still refuse to carry one."Kael's eyes narrowed."You still need one."The man's smile disappeared.He pulled the blade back.The pressure vanished.Kael looked at his hand.A thin white line had appeared across his palm.No blood.Only light.The boy beside him whispered:"Don't let him touch you."

The darkness did not move.It watched.Kael could hear breathing around him.Lira.Aran.Elias.Sol.The sixth child.Darian.Serah.Everyone was still alive.But the seventh child stood somewhere beyond them.Kael could not see him.Only his voice remained."Then I choose you."Kael's hand tightened."I didn't give you permission."A soft laugh came from the darkness."You finally understand."A spark appeared.Then another.A faint white light spread across the chamber.The seven chairs became visible.Six were occupied.The seventh remained empty.But the seventh child was no longer standing in the darkness.He was behind Kael.Kael turned.The boy was young.Perhaps twelve.Perhaps older.His appearance changed whenever Kael tried to focus on him.Sometimes a child.Sometimes a teenager.Sometimes an old man.His face carried no fixed age.Only the eyes remained constant.Kael's eyes.The boy smiled."Now you see why I could never be remembered."Kael studied him."Because you don