Chapter 37 - The Future KingEthan stared at the man wearing his face.
"You're lying."
The stranger shook his head.
"I wish I were."
The older Ethan appeared to be nearly fifty.
He had gray at his temples, a scar across his right cheek, and eyes filled with immeasurable sorrow.
King Aldric stepped between them.
"Stay away from him."
The future king gave a tired smile.
"You always say that."
He approached the broken altar.
"Every time Ethan arrives, someone tries to keep him from learning the truth."
Rowan tightened his grip on the black crown.
"Then tell him everything."
The future king looked toward him.
"Everything?"
Rowan nodded.
"Even the part where you caused this."
Ethan's heart pounded.
"What happened?"
The older man stared at the photograph.
"One day, years from now, your mother will die."
Ethan shook his head.
"No."
"You will become obsessed with changing that day."
The future king raised one hand.
A vision appeared.
Ethan saw himself as an adult inside a laboratory.
Machines surrounded a circular doorway.
Lightning pulsed through cables.
On a table lay a photograph of his mother.
The adult Ethan activated the machine.
Something went wrong.
The doorway exploded into a thousand fragments of light.
Each fragment became another possible world.
One contained the medieval kingdom.
Another held endless frozen oceans.
Another showed a burning city beneath two moons.
The vision vanished.
The future king spoke softly.
"I tried to save one person."
Ethan could barely breathe.
"And you created all this?"
"Yes."
Rowan stepped forward.
"And what did you do to fix it?"
The older Ethan lowered his head.
"I sent myself backward."
"Again and again," Rowan whispered.
"Until I found a version of myself young enough to choose differently."
Ethan studied the man's face.
"Then why are the armies afraid of me?"
The future king's answer came slowly.
"Because every other version of you eventually chose to open the doorway."
The chapel fell silent.
May you like
Then the older man looked directly into Ethan's eyes.
"And this time, the decision comes before your mother dies."
Related Stories
