Chapter 42 - The King Who Remembered TomorrowKing Aldric slammed his sword into the gap beneath the seventh door.
"Nobody opens it!"
The voice behind the stone fell silent.
For several seconds, Ethan could hear only the sound of his own breathing.
Then came a soft laugh.
The laughter sounded exactly like Daniel Cole.
"You still fear me, Aldric?"
The king's hands tightened around his sword.
"Leave the boy alone."
"Have you told him what happened to the other six?"
Ethan turned toward Aldric.
"What does he mean?"
The king refused to look at him.
A second laugh echoed through the chamber.
"Ask him how many times he watched you die."
Ethan felt the blood drain from his face.
"King Aldric?"
The old ruler finally spoke.
"Six times."
The words seemed impossible.
"Every time you arrived, the kingdom was facing destruction. You saved thousands. Sometimes millions. But on the final night, you always sacrificed yourself to close the fracture."
Ethan looked at the coffin.
"Then how am I alive?"
"Because time resets."
The king explained that Asterwyn existed inside a damaged part of history. Whenever Ethan died, the kingdom returned to the day before his arrival.
Everyone forgot.
Everyone except Aldric.
"Why do you remember?"
The king's voice cracked.
"Because I was the one who made the promise."
"What promise?"
"To keep you alive on the seventh attempt."
Ethan stared at him.
"Why the seventh?"
Aldric slowly raised his hand.
Beneath his sleeve, seven black markings covered his wrist.
Six were complete.
The seventh was glowing.
"Because the first six were failures," he whispered. "And this time, there will be no eighth."
Suddenly, a violent impact shook the chamber.
A crack spread across the Seventh Door.
Rowan ordered the guards above to seal the staircase.
The voice returned.
"You cannot stop what has already happened, Aldric."
Ethan approached the crack.
A dark eye appeared on the other side.
It looked exactly like his own.
"Hello, Ethan," the stranger whispered.
Ethan froze.
"Who are you?"
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The answer came immediately.
"I'm what becomes of you when you finally remember everything."
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