the last sovereign of infinity

Golden tears fell like rain across the ruined city.

Lucien was not entirely certain how one was expected to react when a being larger than a kingdom began crying because of an overdue apology. It was not a situation his current life had adequately prepared him for.

To be fair, very few situations in his current life had.

The tears struck the broken streets with enough force to form lakes of molten gold. Wherever they touched, the city changed. Cracked pillars straightened. Fallen statues repaired themselves. For a brief moment, the ruins remembered what they had once been.

Lucien watched in silence.

Around him, no one seemed particularly surprised.

That was perhaps the most disturbing part.

Aiden eventually cleared his throat.

"I'm going to ask a question, and I would appreciate it if someone answered honestly."

No one objected.

"Why is the city-sized eye crying?"

"Emotional vulnerability," Orion answered immediately.

"That is not an explanation."

"It's the only one you're getting."

Aiden looked ready to argue before apparently deciding that there were limits to how much absurdity one could reasonably process in a single day.

Lucien, meanwhile, remained focused on Eternity.

"You remember everything."

The eye beneath the city blinked slowly.

"YES."

"Everything?"

"EVERY CONVERSATION."

Lucien had a sudden and deeply unpleasant thought.

"Everything?"

"YOU ONCE SPENT ELEVEN YEARS ATTEMPTING TO TEACH THE DRAGON KING HOW TO PLAY CHESS."

The Dragon King looked away.

"YOU INSISTED IT WAS A MATTER OF PRINCIPLE."

"It cheated," the Dragon King rumbled.

"YOU SAID THAT EVERY TIME YOU LOST."

The Last Witness coughed loudly into his tea.

Lucien narrowed his eyes.

"I don't suppose I ever succeeded."

The city trembled.

Lucien was beginning to suspect that was Eternity's equivalent of laughter.

"NO."

"Reasonable."

"YOU ALSO ATTEMPTED TO TEACH ME POETRY."

"Oh?"

"IT WAS TERRIBLE."

"I see."

"YOU WERE DEEPLY OFFENDED WHEN I SAID SO."

Lucien felt an odd sense of vindication.

"At least I was consistent."

The eye stared at him for several moments.

Then, unexpectedly, its voice softened.

"YES."

Silence followed.

The single word carried an emotion Lucien couldn't quite place.

Nostalgia.

No.

Something deeper.

Loss.

"You missed me."

The statement escaped before he could stop it.

The entire city grew quiet.

Even the wind seemed to hesitate.

"YES."

The answer came immediately.

No hesitation.

No embarrassment.

Just simple, honest truth.

"IT WAS QUIETER AFTER YOU LEFT."

Something inside Lucien's chest tightened painfully.

Dangerous.

That feeling was becoming increasingly common.

The Last Witness appeared beside him within the Mindscape, staring silently at the black door.

"It gets worse."

"What does?"

"The memories."

Lucien considered that.

"Is that intended to discourage me?"

"No."

The old man's expression grew distant.

"It's a warning."

Before Lucien could ask what he meant, Eternity spoke once more.

"YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE COME HERE."

That caught everyone's attention.

Seraphina frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"THE CITY IS WAKING."

As if responding to its words, another bell rang somewhere in the distance.

Then another.

And another.

Lucien looked toward the ruined streets.

He had noticed movement before.

Shadows standing in windows.

Figures watching from rooftops.

Now, however, they were becoming clearer.

People.

Thousands of them.

They lined the streets in absolute silence, their forms translucent and pale. Some wore armor. Others carried books or instruments. A few appeared to be children.

Ghosts.

Memories.

Echoes.

Every single one of them was staring at Lucien.

Aiden slowly reached for his sword again.

"I assume this is abnormal."

"No," Vaelith said quietly. "This is exactly what should happen."

The nearest figure stepped forward.

An old woman carrying a lantern.

The moment her eyes fell upon Lucien, she began to cry.

Then she bowed.

The others followed.

Thousands of echoes lowered themselves to one knee.

Lucien stared.

"No."

"YES," Eternity replied.

"I don't understand."

"THEY REMEMBER."

"Remember what?"

The eye beneath the city was silent for several moments.

Then—

"THE DAY YOU SAVED THEM."

A memory surfaced.

Not a fragment.

Not an echo.

A complete moment.

The city burning.

Dragons falling from the sky.

People running through streets consumed by black fire.

And himself.

Standing before the gates with a sword in one hand and a smile that looked entirely too tired.

"Leave."

"What about you?"

"I'll be fine."

"You always say that!"

The memory shattered.

Lucien staggered.

Seraphina caught him before he could fall.

"What did you see?"

"The city."

Vaelith closed her eyes.

"Of course."

"You knew."

"I was there."

Lucien looked toward her.

The memory had been brief, but he remembered one thing with absolute clarity.

She had been standing beside him.

"You stayed."

The words left his mouth before he understood them.

Vaelith went still.

"I always stayed."

Silence.

The city bells rang again.

Lucien suddenly realized something.

"You said this city belonged to me."

"Yes."

"And Eternity was my prisoner."

"Yes."

"And these people..."

The answer came from the Dragon King.

"They were your responsibility."

Responsibility.

The word felt strangely familiar.

Dangerously familiar.

Lucien looked across the endless sea of kneeling echoes.

How many?

Thousands?

Millions?

How many lives had been tied to his existence?

How many had he failed?

The black door shuddered.

A voice whispered from beyond it.

"You failed all of them."

Lucien froze.

The words had not been spoken aloud.

Only he had heard them.

"You promised to protect them."

The voice sounded like him.

Cruel.

Patient.

"You remember the ending, don't you?"

"No."

"Liar."

Pain exploded behind Lucien's eyes.

He saw a throne.

A crown made of black fire.

An ocean of corpses stretching beyond the horizon.

And himself.

Alone.

The memory vanished before he could breathe.

"Lucien."

Seraphina's voice pulled him back.

He realized everyone was staring at him.

Interesting.

Apparently, he'd stopped moving.

"You disappeared for a moment," Orion said quietly.

"How concerning."

No one laughed.

The black door had changed.

Three chains now lay broken upon the floor of the Infinite Mindscape.

Lucien counted them twice.

There had only been two before.

"Master."

The Last Witness didn't look at him.

"I know."

"It opened further."

"I know."

"Should we be concerned?"

The old man finally met his gaze.

"Lucien."

"Yes?"

"The moment you begin asking that question calmly is the moment I become truly terrified."

Fair.

Eternity's eye suddenly narrowed.

"SOMETHING IS WRONG."

That immediately captured everyone's attention.

"What?" Lucien asked.

The city trembled beneath them.

"THE ROAD SHOULD HAVE CLOSED."

Silence.

"It didn't?"

"NO."

Lucien turned slowly toward the arch behind them.

The golden road remained.

More importantly...

Someone was walking toward them.

A lone figure wrapped in black robes.

Tall.

Unfamiliar.

And carrying something over one shoulder.

The figure stopped several hundred meters away.

Then, very slowly, raised one hand and waved.

The Last Witness dropped his teacup.

Orion's expression became one of profound disbelief.

The Dragon King actually took a step backward.

Lucien noticed.

That was concerning.

"Who is that?"

No one answered.

"Master."

The old man continued staring at the approaching figure.

"That's impossible."

"MASTER."

"It's impossible."

Lucien was rapidly losing patience with that phrase.

The stranger lowered the hood of their robe.

Black hair.

Golden eyes.

And his face.

The figure standing at the end of the golden road was Lucien.

Older.

Perhaps twenty years old.

A long scar crossed his left eye, while an enormous black sword rested across his shoulder.

He smiled.

It was not a kind expression.

Then, with all the casual familiarity of an old friend arriving late to dinner, he spoke.

"Hello, everyone."

Silence.

Absolute silence.

The stranger's golden eyes settled on Lucien.

"Oh."

His smile widened.

"So this is what we look like now."

Lucien stared.

"No."

"Yes."

The older version of himself laughed.

"I've missed being confused."

The black door within the Infinite Mindscape shook violently.

And for the first time since his rebirth, Lucien realized a horrifying truth.

The thing behind the door...

Wasn't trapped alone.