the last sovereign of infinity

Lucien discovered two things over the course of the next three hours.

The first was that news traveled with alarming speed when dragons were involved.

The second was that people became remarkably difficult to avoid once they discovered you might be the center of an ancient prophecy.

By noon, House Arkanis had transformed from a noble estate into something resembling a military fortress.

Guards patrolled the walls in pairs.

Mages had begun erecting barriers around the manor.

Servants whispered in corners whenever Lucien passed, lowering their voices the moment he looked in their direction.

He found the entire situation mildly irritating.

"This is your fault," he said quietly.

"You'll have to be more specific."

Lucien was currently seated beneath an old oak tree overlooking the estate gardens. From outward appearances, he was enjoying a peaceful afternoon.

In reality, he was engaged in an argument with an immortal hiding inside his soul.

"The dragons."

"Ah. Then no."

"No?"

"Technically speaking, this is your fault."

Lucien frowned.

"How?"

"You exist."

"That hardly seems fair."

"Reality has rarely been fair to either of us."

Unfortunately, the old man had a point.

A soft rustling sound pulled Lucien from his thoughts.

Elara emerged from behind a nearby hedge with all the subtlety of a charging beast.

"I found you!"

"I wasn't aware I was hiding."

"You were sitting quietly and looking mysterious."

"I assure you, neither was intentional."

She sat beside him without invitation.

For several moments, they remained in silence.

Then—

"Are you going to leave?"

Lucien blinked.

"What?"

"The servants are saying important people are coming."

Ah.

Children, he was learning, had a tendency to hear considerably more than adults realized.

"I don't know."

"Oh."

She lowered her gaze to the dragon carving he had returned to her earlier that morning.

"I hope you don't."

The words were spoken so quietly that he almost missed them.

An odd sensation settled in his chest.

Uncomfortable.

Warm.

Dangerous.

The Last Witness was suspiciously silent.

That alone should have concerned him.

"Why?"

Elara shrugged.

"Because you're my brother."

Simple.

Direct.

Strangely effective.

Lucien found himself without an appropriate response.

Fortunately, he was spared from finding one.

A familiar heartbeat echoed through his chest.

Slow.

Ancient.

"West."

The voice was clearer this time.

"Come to us."

Lucien stiffened.

Elara noticed immediately.

"Brother?"

"Nothing."

It was becoming an increasingly common answer.

The heartbeat faded, leaving behind a faint sense of longing.

Interesting.

The dragon wasn't merely calling to him.

It was waiting.

"Your expression is strange."

Lucien looked down.

"I have a strange expression?"

"Mm."

She nodded seriously.

"Like Father when he reads tax reports."

He wasn't entirely certain how to interpret that.

Before he could ask, Steward Elias appeared at the entrance to the garden.

"Young Master."

"Yes?"

"Lord Arkanis requests your presence in the eastern hall."

Lucien sighed internally.

Apparently, his life had become a never-ending sequence of meetings.

"Very well."

As he stood, Elara grabbed his sleeve.

"You'll come back?"

The question caught him off guard.

"I..."

He stopped.

When had anyone last asked him to come back?

The answer should have been immediate.

Instead, all he found was darkness.

Strange.

"Yes."

The word left his mouth before he could reconsider.

"I'll come back."

She smiled.

It was a surprisingly effective weapon.

---

The eastern hall contained considerably more people than Lucien had expected.

Cassian stood at the center of the room alongside Aiden and several elders of House Arkanis.

More importantly, there were strangers.

Three of them.

The first was an elderly woman with silver eyes and enough magical power to make the air around her shimmer.

The second was a man wearing the uniform of the Royal Court.

The third...

Lucien froze.

A young girl around his age sat quietly near the window, her silver hair illuminated by the afternoon sunlight.

Her eyes.

They were impossible.

One was blue.

The other was gold.

And for a single, terrifying moment—

He remembered her.

A clock tower.

Falling snow.

A promise made beneath a sky filled with dying stars.

Pain exploded behind his eyes.

"Lucien?"

Cassian's voice sounded distant.

The girl looked up.

Their eyes met.

And suddenly, she stood.

"No..." she whispered.

The room fell silent.

The girl took an unsteady step forward.

"It can't be."

Lucien had no idea what was happening.

The Last Witness, meanwhile, had gone completely silent.

That was significantly more concerning.

"Master?"

Nothing.

"Master."

Still nothing.

For the first time since his rebirth, the old man refused to answer.

The silver-haired girl stopped several feet away.

Her expression was one of utter disbelief.

"You..." Her voice trembled slightly. "Why do you have his eyes?"

An excellent question.

Lucien would have appreciated knowing the answer himself.

"Lady Seraphina," the elderly mage said sharply. "Control yourself."

Seraphina.

The name struck him like a physical blow.

A memory surfaced.

"If we survive this, promise me you'll teach me how to make tea."

"That seems an odd request."

"You're impossible, Lucien."

The memory vanished before he could grasp it.

"I apologize," the girl said quietly, though her eyes never left his. "You simply...reminded me of someone."

Impossible.

She couldn't know him.

Could she?

No.

That was absurd.

And yet...

The Last Witness finally spoke.

"Well."

Lucien resisted the urge to sigh in relief.

"Care to explain?"

"Not particularly."

"Master."

"Fine."

The old man sounded unusually subdued.

"That would be Seraphina Valeris."

"And?"

Silence.

"You promised to marry her."

Lucien stopped breathing.

"What?"

"In your seventh life."

"What?"

"Technically, she said yes first."

WHAT?

The room continued moving around him as though reality hadn't just fundamentally changed.

Cassian was speaking.

The royal envoy was saying something about alliances.

Lucien heard none of it.

"You're joking."

"I assure you, I am not."

"She's ten."

"She's actually several thousand years old."

"...What?"

"Long story."

Lucien suddenly understood why previous versions of himself apparently developed trust issues.

Seraphina continued watching him with an expression he couldn't decipher.

Sadness.

Hope.

Disbelief.

It was deeply unsettling.

"There is another matter," the elderly mage announced.

Her gaze settled upon Lucien.

"The Oracle has spoken."

Those words immediately captured everyone's attention.

Even Cassian appeared surprised.

"What did she say?"

The old woman hesitated.

"Three things."

Lucien had a very bad feeling about this.

"First, the Dragons have awakened."

Reasonable.

"Second..."

Her expression darkened.

"The Door has begun to open."

Silence.

The Last Witness dropped his teacup.

It shattered.

Lucien had never seen the old man look afraid before.

"Master?"

No response.

"Third..."

The elderly mage's voice grew quieter.

"The Worldbreaker has returned."

Every eye in the room turned toward Lucien.

The silence that followed was absolute.

Somewhere within the Infinite Mindscape, chains rattled.

Once.

Twice.

Then a third time.

Lucien heard it clearly.

A door opening.

Slowly.

Deliberately.

And from beyond that door, a voice whispered.

"I have waited...for so very long."

For the first time since his rebirth, genuine fear settled into Lucien's heart.

Because somehow...

He recognized that voice.

And deep down, in the oldest parts of his soul, he knew a terrible truth.

It belonged to him.

The Last Witness slowly lowered his head.

"Oh," he said quietly.

"Oh, this is bad."

The stars above the Infinite Mindscape began to disappear.

One by one.

As if something in the darkness between them had opened its eyes.