CHAPTER 16 — When the Sky Split Open
The portal symbol burned across the heavens like a scar.
People screamed. Magic went wild. The crown relic responded as if it had found its true master.
Princess Elythra raised her hand.
"So it's true," Alice said calmly. "Your soul still commands it."
Louis tried to move—but invisible chains of magic wrapped around him.
"No!" Alice shouted, reaching for him.
The Crown Seekers struck at that exact moment.
Light exploded.
When the dust settled—
They were gone.
CHAPTER 17 — The Girl Left Behind (Again)
Alice woke up alone.
The ground around her was scorched, soldiers unconscious, the portal mark fading from the sky.
Louis was nowhere.
Her chest tightened—not with panic, but with something colder.
Resolve.
"So this is fate's favorite trick," Alice whispered. "Taking you away."
Back in the capital, whispers spread fast:
The hero of another world has been taken by the crown.
Alice clenched her fists.
"Then I'll take him back."
CHAPTER 18 — The Hero in Chains
Louis opened his eyes to white stone and silence.
A tower suspended by magic. No doors. No windows.
Princess Elythra stood before him, crown relic floating behind her like a second sun.
"You sealed a war once," she said. "Do it again—for me."
Louis laughed bitterly.
"I won't sacrifice children. I won't sacrifice worlds."
Her gaze softened—just slightly.
"You sacrificed her."
The words hit harder than any spell.
"…That was my sin," louis said quietly. "And I won't repeat it."
Something in him stirred.
The seal on his power cracked wider.
CHAPTER 19 — Awakening of the One Who Returned
Far away, Alice trained.
Day and night.
She learned forbidden magic—not to rule, but to break chains. The portal energy responded to her as well. Not because she was chosen…
…but because she remembered.
"You crossed worlds once," an ancient mage told her.
"That means you are no longer bound by one."
Her magic changed—no longer bright, but deep. Quiet. Endless.
Love, sharpened into strength.
CHAPTER 20 — I Will Find You
In the tower, Louis felt it.
A familiar warmth.
"She's coming," Louis whispered.
The crown relic trembled.
Princess Elythra turned sharply. "Impossible."
But somewhere beyond the capital walls, the sky darkened again—not from war…
…but from return.
Alice stood at the edge of the kingdom, cloak billowing, eyes glowing with power earned through loss and love.
"Wait for me," Alice said softly.
"This time… I'm the one breaking fate."