The first world had no sun.
Its sky was always dark blue, as though night had frozen for thousands of years.
A gigantic moon hung above them.
Cracked.
Half its surface was missing.
Yet its light still illuminated the road leading to the palace.
Aelion walked ahead.
Lyra followed a few steps behind.
There were no birds.
No sound of wind.
No life.
Only ruins.
Ancient buildings stood crooked along the road.
Statues of Moon Elves filled the square.
Every one of them had the same face.
Aelion.
Lyra studied the first statue.
"Why do they all look like you?"
Aelion didn't answer.
He approached the statue.
Ancient writing covered its base.
He touched it.
The writing immediately changed into a language he could understand.
AELION VAELARIS — THE LAST KEEPER OF THE FIRST WORLD.
Aelion pulled his hand away.
"Last Keeper?"
Lyra stepped closer.
"So you used to be this world's guardian?"
"I don't remember."
"Seraphine said you were always losing your memories."
Aelion stared at the statue.
"Then maybe everything that happened here is part of me that I've lost."
They continued walking.
The closer they got to the palace, the more statues they found.
There was a statue of Aelion standing with a sword.
Aelion sitting on a throne.
Aelion leading an army.
Aelion standing beside a woman.
Lyra stopped at the final statue.
The woman in the statue wasn't Seraphine.
Nor was she anyone else.
It was her.
But a much older version of her.
Wearing a crown.
Holding Aelion's hand.
A Moonveil flower rested between them.
Lyra stared at the statue for a long time.
"I've been here before."
Aelion shook his head.
"A version of you has."
Lyra touched the statue.
"For some reason, it feels different."
"What does?"
"It's like I'm looking at something I once forgot."
Aelion looked at her.
"Don't force yourself to remember."
"Why not?"
"Because we don't know what will happen if those memories come back."
Lyra smiled.
"Funny."
"What?"
"Usually I'm the one worrying about you."
Aelion let out a soft laugh.
"This time, it's my turn."
The palace doors opened before they touched them.
Aelion stopped.
Lyra immediately reached for her sword.
"A trap?"
"Maybe."
"Should we go in?"
Aelion nodded.
They entered.
The main hall was far larger than the Lunaris Palace.
White pillars soared to the ceiling.
Thousands of moon crystals illuminated the room.
Historical paintings lined the walls.
But they weren't like Elarion's history.
Here...
Aelion was at the center of everything.
He saw himself leading the Moon Elves.
Signing treaties.
Defeating ancient dragons.
Saving the world.
Getting married.
Then...
waging war.
The final painting made him stop.
Aelion stood in the middle of a battlefield.
Lyra stood before him.
Thousands of soldiers stood behind Lyra.
Yet everyone was pointing their weapons at Aelion.
Lyra held a sword.
Her eyes were full of tears.
Written beneath the painting were the words:
THE DAY THE KEEPER WAS BETRAYED.
Aelion stared at it.
"This..."
Lyra whispered:
"It's like what happened to you in your previous life."
Aelion nodded.
He approached the painting.
"No."
"What?"
"This wasn't a betrayal."
Lyra looked at him.
Aelion pointed at something.
"Look at Lyra's hands."
In the painting...
Lyra gripped the sword in her right hand.
But her left hand held a Moonveil flower.
Aelion shook his head.
"She didn't kill me."
"Then what was she doing?"
"She was trying to warn me."
Lyra examined it more closely.
A symbol appeared behind them.
The same symbol as the one on the flower.
Aelion touched it.
The painting moved.
A voice sounded.
"Don't let him open the gate."
Aelion stepped back.
Lyra was startled.
"Who was that?"
Aelion stared at the painting.
"Me."
A second voice emerged.
"I know what's going to happen."
Aelion recognized the voice.
It was him.
But different.
Older.
More tired.
More desperate.
Then a third voice spoke.
Lyra's voice.
"If you open the gate, this world will return."
Aelion fell silent.
"But the world that exists now will die."
Lyra looked at Aelion.
"So..."
"Yes."
Aelion understood.
The first world didn't want to destroy Elarion out of hatred.
The first world simply wanted to live again.
And Aelion was the key.
They continued their journey.
At the end of the hall stood a staircase leading to the throne.
But the throne was empty.
Aelion stared at it.
"He's not here."
Lyra looked around.
"But we saw him earlier."
"He deliberately let us in."
"Why?"
"Because he wanted us to find something."
Aelion walked toward the throne.
A small door stood behind it.
The door was locked.
Aelion touched it.
It opened.
Beyond it was a bedroom.
Unlike the other rooms.
This room was still intact.
There was a bed.
A desk.
A bookshelf.
A window facing the moon.
And on the desk...
A Moonveil flower.
Still fresh.
Aelion approached it.
Lyra stood behind him.
"This is your room?"
Aelion shook his head.
"I don't know."
He looked at the book on the desk.
There was no title on its cover.
Aelion opened it.
The first page was blank.
Then ink appeared.
Dear Aelion,
Aelion froze.
He read on.
If you're reading this, that means you've returned.
Aelion frowned.
I don't know which version of you will come.
Maybe you still remember me.
Maybe you've already forgotten me.
But there's one thing you need to know.
Aelion turned the page.
I never killed you.
Lyra read over his shoulder.
Aelion continued.
On the final day, you asked me to do something I would never be able to forgive myself for.
The next page.
You asked me to kill your body.
Lyra covered her mouth.
Aelion kept reading.
Because your body had become a gateway to the first world.
Aelion stopped.
His chest felt heavy.
The next page.
If I hadn't killed you, all of reality would have been devoured.
I chose to kill you.
Not because I hated you.
But because I couldn't bear to watch the entire world die with you.
Aelion closed the book.
Lyra looked at him.
"So that betrayal..."
"Wasn't a betrayal."
Aelion drew a breath.
"It was a sacrifice."
Footsteps echoed.
Slowly.
Someone appeared in the doorway.
The first Aelion.
He wore a white robe.
No armor.
No sword.
Only a black crown.
He smiled.
"At last, you've read the letter."
Aelion drew his sword.
"Why did you make me come here?"
The first Aelion looked at him.
"Because you have to remember."
"What?"
"Who you are."
"I know who I am."
"No."
He stepped inside.
"You know who you think you are."
The first Aelion stopped in front of the desk.
"But you don't know who truly lives inside your body."
Aelion raised his sword.
"Explain."
The first Aelion smiled.
"You're not a reincarnation."
Lyra fell silent.
Aelion froze.
"What?"
"You're not reborn."
"Seraphine said I was the final version."
"She was wrong."
The first Aelion pointed at Aelion's chest.
"The soul inside your body isn't a new soul."
He spoke slowly:
"That soul is a part of me sent through time."
Aelion didn't move.
"So I..."
"Are me."
The first Aelion smiled.
"And I am you."
Aelion stared at his hands.
Suddenly, his entire body felt hot.
A memory surfaced.
A small child.
Standing in the middle of the palace.
A woman held his hand.
Seraphine.
Then little Aelion saw someone approach.
Himself.
The current version of him.
Standing before the child.
Then he said:
"One day, you'll forget."
Aelion was shocked.
The memory vanished.
"I've seen you before."
The first Aelion nodded.
"Yes."
"When?"
"Before you were born."
"Impossible."
"Time doesn't move the same way in the first world as it does in Elarion."
The first Aelion walked closer.
"I sent a part of my soul into the future."
"Why?"
"To save the world."
Aelion fell silent.
"But I failed."
"So you sent me?"
"Yes."
"Why don't I remember you?"
"Because I erased your memories."
Aelion clenched his fists.
"You had no right."
"I know."
"Why?"
"Because if you remembered everything from the beginning..."
The first Aelion looked at him.
"...you would never love Lyra."
Lyra fell silent.
Aelion turned.
"What do you mean?"
The first Aelion smiled bitterly.
"Because if you remembered the first world..."
He looked at Lyra.
"...you would remember how your story ends."
The room fell silent.
Lyra asked:
"How?"
The first Aelion looked at her.
"Lyra dies."
Aelion froze.
"No."
"In this world, she dies."
"How?"
"To close the Chronos Gate."
Lyra looked at Aelion.
The first Aelion continued:
"And after her death..."
He pointed at the Moonveil flower.
"...Aelion shattered the laws of time."
Aelion felt his head throb.
"I did?"
"Yes."
"You shattered time?"
"I tried to turn it back."
"And?"
The first Aelion let out a bitter laugh.
"I succeeded."
"Then why did this world die?"
"Because I turned time back too far."
He pointed at the window.
"The entire world returned to the point before its destruction."
Aelion stared at the cracked moon.
"But the old world..."
"Rose again."
"And Elarion?"
"Became the world that replaced us."
Aelion began to understand.
"Two realities can't exist at the same time."
The first Aelion nodded.
"So one of them has to die."
Lyra stepped forward.
"Then why do you still want to bring this world back to life?"
The first Aelion looked at her.
"Because this is my home."
"And Elarion?"
"Your home."
Lyra shook her head.
"We can find another way."
The first Aelion smiled.
"That's what every version of you has said."
"And?"
"None of them ever succeeded."
Aelion raised his sword.
"Then I'll be the first."
The first Aelion looked at him.
"How?"
"I don't know yet."
"You have twenty-eight days."
Aelion fell silent.
"And every day..."
The first Aelion pointed at Aelion.
"...the world will remember a little more of you."
"That should be a good thing."
"No."
The first Aelion shook his head.
"Because the more the world remembers you..."
He looked at Aelion seriously.
"...the stronger your connection to the first world becomes."
Aelion understood.
"So the erasure isn't just a punishment."
"That's right."
"It's a protective mechanism."
"Yes."
The first Aelion smiled.
"And when the thirtieth day arrives..."
He looked at Lyra.
"...the world will have to choose one of you."
Lyra asked:
"Choose what?"
The first Aelion answered:
"The world that has Aelion."
He paused.
"Or the world that has Lyra."
Aelion attacked immediately.
His sword shot forward.
The first Aelion dodged.
CLANG!
The two moon blades collided.
A wave of energy shattered the window.
Lyra retreated.
Aelion slashed again.
The first Aelion blocked it.
"You're still using the same technique."
Aelion spun.
"Because it works."
"Against me?"
The first Aelion smiled.
"I was the one who created it."
He vanished.
Aelion sensed an attack from behind.
BOOM!
His body was thrown back.
He slammed into the wall.
Lyra screamed:
"Aelion!"
Aelion stood.
"Don't interfere."
The first Aelion looked at him.
"Why not?"
"Because this is my fight."
Aelion attacked again.
This time, faster.
Moonlight filled the room.
LUNAR EDGE.
The first Aelion blocked it with one hand.
"Still weak."
Aelion strengthened his magic.
"It's not over."
His sword shattered.
The first Aelion stepped back.
For the first time...
he looked surprised.
Aelion stared at the fragments of his sword.
Then he clenched his empty hand.
Lunar energy gathered.
Forming a new sword.
The first Aelion smiled.
"So you've finally found that technique."
"What?"
"Moonless Blade."
Aelion didn't know the name.
But his body did.
He attacked.
There was no light.
No sound.
Only a single thin line.
SHING.
The first Aelion was struck in the chest.
Blood flowed.
He touched the wound.
Then laughed.
"Good."
Aelion panted.
"Why are you laughing?"
"Because now I know."
"Know what?"
"There is still hope."
The first Aelion stepped back.
His body began to turn into light.
But before he vanished...
he said:
"Go to the northernmost tower."
Aelion stared at him.
"What for?"
"There, you'll find the one who knows the most about the destruction of the first world."
"Who?"
The first Aelion smiled.
"Yourself."
His body vanished.
The hall fell silent again.
Lyra walked over to Aelion.
"You're hurt."
Aelion looked at the blood on his arm.
"It's only a little."
Lyra stared at him.
"You always say that."
Aelion smiled.
Lyra cleaned his wound.
"Why didn't you kill him?"
"I don't know."
"He could come back."
"I know."
"He might be our enemy."
Aelion looked at the place where he had vanished.
"That's exactly why."
"What?"
"He knows something we don't."
Lyra nodded.
Then her eyes fell on the book on the desk.
She opened it.
There was one final page they hadn't read.
Writing appeared.
IF YOU WANT TO SAVE BOTH WORLDS,
Lyra read it aloud.
YOU MUST ACCEPT THAT ONE OF THEM HAS TO DIE.
Aelion stared at the page.
Then the final sentence appeared.
AND THE ONE WHO DIES CANNOT BE THE WORLD.
Lyra froze.
Aelion understood what it meant.
"So..."
He stared at the cracked moon.
"...what has to die is something that connects the two worlds."
Lyra looked at him.
"Aelion."
He didn't answer.
Because they both already knew the answer.
They left the palace before dawn.
But the first world knew no dawn.
The sky remained dark.
Aelion walked with the book in his hands.
Lyra was beside him.
Neither of them spoke.
Until finally Lyra said:
"If one day you have to choose..."
Aelion turned to her.
"Don't."
"I'm not finished."
"I know what you're going to say."
Lyra gave him a faint smile.
"If this world needs you..."
She took Aelion's hand.
"...don't choose me just because you love me."
Aelion fell silent.
"And if Elarion needs you..."
Lyra looked at him.
"...don't choose the world just because you feel like you have to be a hero."
Aelion sighed.
"Then what should I choose?"
Lyra smiled.
"A third choice."
Aelion let out a soft laugh.
"You really do like third choices."
"Because the first two choices are usually made by people who've given up looking for another way."
Aelion looked at her.
"You know..."
"What?"
"I'm starting to understand why every version of me fell in love with you."
Lyra fell silent.
Her face flushed.
Aelion smiled.
"Sorry."
"Don't."
"Why not?"
"Don't take it back."
Aelion fell silent.
Lyra tightened her grip on his hand.
"Just let it stand."
They continued walking.
Behind them...
one of Aelion's statues slowly cracked.
Then shattered.
The name beneath it disappeared.
AELION VAELARIS.
In its place, new writing appeared.
DAY 3 OF 30.
Then a voice echoed from within the first world.
"He's starting to remember."
Someone answered:
"Good."
"Why?"
"Because when he remembers everything..."
The first Aelion's shadow appeared among the ruins.
His eyes glowed.
"...he'll be the one to ask to be forgotten."
Far ahead...
the northern tower began to come into view.
Someone stood at its summit.
Someone whose face was identical to Aelion's.
But this time...
that person was crying.
And when Aelion saw him in the distance...
his chest suddenly began to ache.
Because for no clear reason...
he knew who that person was.
Himself.
To be continued.