The underground city remained frozen after the ancient words appeared on Kael's arm. The black mark continued glowing beneath his skin while dark veins stretched across his forearm like living shadows. Around him, the observation platform had become completely silent. Nobody looked toward the collapsing districts anymore. Nobody watched the battle between the First Son and the faceless giant. Nobody paid attention to the prison falling apart around them. Every eye remained fixed on the same thing.
The Last Heir Has Awakened.
The words seemed impossibly ancient.
Yet everyone understood their meaning.
The city trembled beneath another violent shockwave as a distant district collapsed into the abyss below. Ancient towers disappeared into darkness while rivers of crystal light flooded shattered streets. The underground metropolis had survived countless centuries, wars, and disasters, but now it felt fragile. Mortal. As though the entire prison had finally reached the end of its existence.
Kael stared at the glowing words covering his arm.
The mark pulsed.
A memory surfaced immediately.
This time the transition felt smoother.
More natural.
The world vanished around him, replaced by an endless city illuminated beneath a sky of silver and gold. Towering structures stretched toward the heavens while millions of lights shimmered across roads filled with people. Laughter echoed through the streets. Bells rang from distant towers. Children ran between marketplaces overflowing with life.
The city wasn't dying.
The city wasn't afraid.
The city was alive.
For a moment, Kael simply stood there.
Watching.
Listening.
Remembering.
A familiar voice suddenly reached him.
"You always look confused."
Kael turned.
A young man stood nearby.
Golden eyes.
Dark hair.
An easy smile.
The First Son.
Not the ancient being currently standing above a collapsing prison.
Not the figure capable of shaking reality with a gesture.
Just a young man.
A brother.
The realization arrived before the memory could explain it.
The First Son laughed.
The sound felt warm.
Natural.
Human.
"You forgot again."
Kael frowned.
"Forgot what?"
The young man pointed toward the sky.
"Everything."
The memory shattered.
Reality returned.
The underground city reappeared around him.
The observation platform.
The collapsing districts.
The abyss.
The prison.
Everything returned.
Yet the warmth of that brief interaction lingered.
It felt real.
Too real.
As though he hadn't been watching someone else's memory.
As though he had been remembering his own.
Lyra immediately noticed his expression.
"What did you see?"
Her voice remained calm, but concern lingered beneath it.
Kael hesitated.
Then answered honestly.
"I knew him."
The words settled heavily over the platform.
Nobody spoke immediately.
Because everyone knew exactly who he meant.
Far above the city, suspended amidst golden light and broken reality, the First Son slowly turned his head.
His golden eyes settled on Kael.
Then he smiled.
Not with amusement.
Not with curiosity.
Recognition.
The expression lasted only a moment before fading.
Yet it changed everything.
Because it confirmed the impossible.
The memories were real.
Theron looked exhausted.
The old caretaker slowly lowered himself onto a broken section of stone while staring toward the glowing mark. For someone who had spent centuries guarding the prison, he suddenly looked very old.
"Then it has begun."
General Caelan turned toward him.
"What has begun?"
Theron remained silent for several seconds while another tremor shook the city. The prison groaned around them as countless runes flickered throughout the cavern.
Finally, the old man spoke.
"The restoration."
Nobody liked the sound of that.
Aren certainly didn't.
The boy folded his arms.
"I feel like that word means something horrible."
Theron looked toward him.
"It does."
Aren sighed.
"Of course it does."
The city trembled again.
Far below, the abyss expanded.
Something enormous moved beneath the darkness.
The reaction spread instantly through the underground metropolis. Dreamers cried out in worship. Citizens fled through collapsing streets. The Warden raised its massive head toward the depths while golden light erupted from the cracks covering its body.
The prison was reacting.
The thing beyond the Door was moving again.
Everyone could feel it.
The First Son could feel it too.
His expression hardened immediately.
The playful confidence he had displayed since escaping the Lock vanished completely.
For the first time, he looked like a warrior preparing for battle.
A real battle.
Not a game.
Not a distraction.
The realization unsettled Kael more than anything else.
Because if the First Son was taking the situation seriously—
Then reality itself might be in danger.
The abyss suddenly erupted.
Darkness exploded upward like a tidal wave.
Entire districts vanished beneath it.
Ancient towers disappeared.
Bridges shattered.
The prison screamed.
The observation platform shook violently as waves of black mist spread throughout the underground city.
The faceless giant immediately moved.
Its enormous body crossed the city in a single motion before slamming directly into the rising darkness. The collision shook the cavern. Golden cracks illuminated across the giant's scaled body while darkness consumed everything around it.
For a brief moment, the ancient creature appeared triumphant.
Then a hand emerged from the abyss.
Not a giant hand.
Not a monstrous claw.
A normal hand.
Human.
The sight froze everyone.
The hand reached forward and touched the faceless giant's chest.
Nothing more.
No explosion.
No shockwave.
No dramatic display of power.
Just a touch.
The giant froze instantly.
Silence spread across the underground city.
The faceless giant stopped moving.
Stopped breathing.
Stopped existing.
Its enormous body slowly began breaking apart into black dust.
The process looked almost peaceful.
Almost gentle.
Within seconds, the creature that had battled the First Son and shattered ancient districts simply disappeared.
The city became silent.
Nobody could comprehend what they had witnessed.
The First Son didn't look surprised.
That frightened Kael more than anything else.
Because it meant he had expected this outcome.
The ancient being stared toward the abyss while golden light gathered around his body.
Then he spoke.
"You're awake."
The voice from below answered immediately.
"And you're late."
The exchange felt strangely familiar.
Like a conversation interrupted thousands of years ago.
The darkness parted.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
And a figure began walking out of the abyss.
The underground city froze.
The prison trembled.
The Dreamers wept.
The Warden lowered its head.
The First Son remained motionless.
The figure continued walking upward through empty air as though gravity no longer mattered. Darkness flowed around its body like liquid shadow while countless fragments of reality distorted in its presence.
At first, Kael couldn't see its face.
Then the figure stepped into the light.
The city became silent.
Because the figure looked exactly like him.
The same face.
The same eyes.
The same features.
The same age.
Everything.
The only difference was the expression.
Where Kael looked confused, the newcomer looked calm.
Where Kael looked uncertain, the newcomer looked ancient.
The figure smiled softly.
Then looked directly at him.
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
Then the newcomer tilted his head slightly.
The gesture felt familiar.
Terrifyingly familiar.
And when he finally spoke, his voice carried neither malice nor anger.
Only certainty.
"I've been waiting for you."