The night sky above Aetherion darkened.
Not because of smoke.
Because the stars themselves were disappearing.
One after another, their light faded behind a curtain of black clouds that spread across the heavens.
A cold wind swept through the capital.
Soldiers on the city walls paused.
Horses became restless.
Even the cries of battle seemed to grow distant.
Kael looked up.
"What is happening?"
Osric's face lost what little color remained.
"It has begun earlier than I remembered…"
"You remembered?"
"The trial follows history."
He tightened his grip on his staff.
"But history is no longer unfolding exactly as it once did."
Before Kael could ask another question, the ground beneath the hill trembled.
The vibration was subtle at first.
Then stronger.
Cracks raced across the earth like lightning.
Citizens screamed as statues toppled and rooftops collapsed.
Far beyond the palace, a deep rumble echoed from beneath the city itself.
It sounded…
Like something enormous had taken its first breath after centuries of sleep.
Beneath the Capital
Without warning, Kael's vision blurred.
The burning city disappeared.
He found himself standing in complete darkness.
Only a single golden flame floated before him.
Then another.
And another.
Soon, seven flames circled him in silence.
Each burned with a different color.
Crimson.
Azure.
Emerald.
Silver.
Violet.
Golden.
Black.
A familiar voice echoed around him.
Not Osric's.
Not the System's.
A woman's voice.
Calm.
Ancient.
"You seek a crown."
Kael turned slowly.
A figure emerged from the darkness.
She wore a long white robe embroidered with gold thread.
A simple crown rested upon her silver hair.
Unlike Astraea, whose beauty had felt divine, this woman carried the quiet dignity of someone who had once ruled millions.
She looked at Kael not as a stranger…
But as though she had known him for a lifetime.
"Who are you?"
She smiled gently.
"I have carried many names."
"To history…"
"I am forgotten."
"To Aetherion…"
"…I was its First Queen."
Kael stared at her in stunned silence.
"The First Queen…"
"I thought all of you were dead."
"We are."
Her answer carried neither fear nor sorrow.
"Only our memories remain."
The seven flames drifted closer.
Each settled before an empty stone seat that slowly emerged from the darkness.
"There were never seven queens."
Kael frowned.
"What?"
"There were seven Thrones."
"The people who inherited them changed throughout history."
"Some were women."
"Some were men."
"Some were elves."
"One…"
She smiled faintly.
"…was a dragon."
Kael blinked.
"So the legends were wrong?"
"They remembered only what was easy to remember."
"The truth is always more complicated."
The Covenant
The First Queen walked toward the empty throne at the center of the chamber.
"No king ruled Aetherion alone."
"Neither did any throne."
She placed her hand upon the armrest.
A golden crest appeared beneath her palm.
"This is the Royal Covenant."
"When a ruler proved worthy, the Throne chose them."
"Not because they were the strongest…"
"But because they strengthened everyone around them."
Kael listened in silence.
Everything he had believed about the "King of Harem" was changing.
It had never been about collecting companions.
It had been about uniting extraordinary leaders under one shared purpose.
"Then why call it a harem?"
The First Queen laughed softly.
"Because history enjoys simple lies more than complicated truths."
The Enemy They Never Defeated
Her expression suddenly grew serious.
"Aetherion did not fall because it was weak."
"It fell because we fought the wrong enemy."
Kael felt a chill.
"The kingdoms?"
"No."
"The Church?"
"No."
"The demons?"
"No."
She looked directly into his eyes.
"The greatest enemy of every kingdom…"
"…is the ambition growing within its own people."
Before Kael could answer, countless faces appeared in the darkness around them.
Kings.
Queens.
Generals.
Merchants.
Scholars.
Some smiled.
Others wept.
Some drew swords against one another.
"Aetherion was betrayed."
"But betrayal does not begin with murder."
"It begins the moment people value themselves above the realm they swore to protect."
Those words struck Kael harder than any weapon.
He remembered Osric saying something similar.
The kingdom had not been destroyed in a single day.
It had been dying long before the invasion.
The First Gift
The First Queen extended her hand.
Resting upon her palm was a simple silver ring engraved with the royal crest.
It looked ordinary.
Almost disappointing.
"This belonged to the first ruler who united Aetherion."
Kael accepted it carefully.
The moment it touched his skin, the Royal Covenant System awakened.
Royal Relic Acquired
Ring of the First Oath
Rank: Ancient
Effect: Hidden
Requirement: Grow your Authority.
Kael looked at the ring.
"That's it?"
The First Queen chuckled.
"You expected a legendary weapon?"
"…Maybe."
"A king's greatest weapon…"
She gently closed his fingers around the ring.
"…has never been steel."
Suddenly—
The chamber shook violently.
Cracks spread through the darkness.
The seven flames flickered.
The First Queen looked toward the unseen horizon.
Her calm expression vanished.
"He has found you…"
Kael's heart skipped.
"Who?"
She didn't answer.
Instead, she stepped backward.
The entire vision began to collapse.
"Remember this, Kael."
"The Crown can restore a kingdom."
"But only you…"
"…can restore its people."
The darkness shattered like glass.
Kael's eyes flew open.
He was back on the hill overlooking the burning capital.
Osric was kneeling beside him.
"You were gone for only a few seconds," the old keeper said quietly.
"But I think…"
He noticed the silver ring now resting on Kael's finger.
"…the Throne has accepted you."
Far away, hidden behind the enemy lines, the masked man from earlier slowly raised his head.
His crimson-marked mask reflected the glow of the burning city.
"So…"
"The First Queen has awakened."
He smiled beneath the mask.
"Then our game can finally begin."