Chapter 2643: Story 2644: The Kingdom Before

Kael opened his eyes.

He was no longer inside the Blood Gate.

He stood upon a black plain beneath a crimson sky. No stars. No wind. Yet somewhere beyond the darkness, something breathed.

Kael slowly rose.

“Where am I?”

His voice vanished.

Footsteps echoed.

One.

Two.

Three.

Kael tightened his grip around his sword.

A figure emerged from the red mist.

It was Lena.

But her eyes were completely black.

“Lena?”

She smiled.

“You finally remembered.”

“Where is Elias?”

Her smile vanished.

“Behind the first door.”

A bell rang. The ground trembled.

Thousands of ancient doors appeared across the plain. Each was carved from black stone and covered with crimson symbols.

Kael stared.

“Which?”

Lena pointed toward the horizon.

“The one already open.”

A massive door stood there, larger than a fortress. Three symbols covered its surface.

K-26.

K-27.

K-28.

Kael’s blood burned.

Then another symbol appeared beneath them.

AZRAEL.

He stepped backward.

“No.”

A voice answered behind him.

“Yes.”

Kael turned.

The stranger stood there.

His face changed from Kael, to Elias, to the Sleeping King, then became an ancient man wearing a crown of bones.

“I have waited for you.”

Kael raised his sword.

“Who are you?”

“I am the memory you were forbidden to remember.”

The enormous door opened.

Freezing air swept across the plain.

Inside stood Elias, chained to a pillar of crimson stone.

His head hung low.

“Elias!”

Kael rushed forward.

The ancient man raised one hand.

Kael stopped.

“Release my brother.”

“He is not imprisoned.”

Elias slowly lifted his head.

His eyes glowed crimson.

“I chose this.”

“Why?”

Elias looked toward the darkness.

“Because something is coming.”

A deep roar shook the kingdom.

The ancient doors began opening one after another.

From each doorway emerged bone-armored creatures.

Lena stepped beside Kael.

“They existed before the First Kingdom.”

“How do you know?”

She touched her palm.

“Because they remember me.”

The creatures suddenly knelt.

All lowered their heads.

Then the darkness split apart.

A colossal throne descended from the crimson sky.

Upon it sat the forgotten king.

He looked neither human nor undead. His crown was formed from broken crowns.

His eyes fixed upon Kael.

“Azrael.”

The name echoed.

Kael felt something awaken inside his chest.

“What do you want?”

The king stood.

“Nothing.”

He pointed beyond the throne.

“I want you to see what your birth created.”

The sky shattered.

Behind it was another world, a dead civilization beneath a black sun.

Millions of ancient warriors stood frozen. Then every warrior opened its eyes.

The king whispered, “Your first kingdom was only a beginning.”

Kael raised his sword. “What is this?”

The king smiled. “Your inheritance.”

Behind Kael, Lena screamed.

“Kael, look!”

Elias’s chains had broken.

Something enormous stood behind him.

Something with Kael’s face.

It whispered,

“Brother.”

Kael’s blood froze.

The forgotten king lowered his crown.

“The war before history has awakened.”

Beneath the dead world, another heartbeat answered.

BOOM.

The kingdom moved for the first time.