AT THE SAME TIME

ALEXANDER

The Goblin general raised its axe and the entire battlefield trembled. One hundred goblins lowered their weapons, one hundred goblins knelt, not to their general, to me. My skin crawled because I knew that something was wrong. The General’s single yellow eye never left me.

"The King returns."He repeated.

Then it moved, fast. A four meter monster should not move like that. The ground exploded beneath its feet. BOOOOOOOM!

"MASTER!" Scarlet screamed.

The academy students panicked instantly, Victor drew his sword, Rosalia raised her rifle, Noa vanished, and Iris eyes widened. The Goblin general was already in front of me, its massive axe descending. A strike powerful enough to split buildings, powerful enough to kill me instantly. I couldn’t move, my body froze. The pressure alone was crushing. Suddenly, my sword screamed with a voice filled with centuries of rage.

"ENOUGH!"My sword shouted.

Everything stopped, the world itself seemed to freeze. The blade tore itself from my hand as the golden light exploded across the battlefield. The academy students screamed, Michael nearly fell over. The sword hovered in the air by itself. Ancient runes erupted across its surface, the rusted appearance was shattered. Light burst from cracks that had never existed before. For a moment, the sword looked completely different. The Goblin general froze, its eye widened. The descending axe stopped mid air. Then the sword moved, not fast, just one simple motion. SHIIIIIIING. The sound echoed across the valley as the Goblin general staggered backward, and then he dropped to one knee. The entire battlefield went silent, one hundred goblins immediately knelt lower. The general lowered its head, like a knight before a king.

"Royal Blade..."The general said. Its voice trembled. "You still exist..."

The sword hovered silently. For the first time since I found it wasn’t sarcastic, it wasn’t mocking me, it wasn’t complaining, it was silent, and somehow that was terrifying.

"Forgive me."Then the general spoke again.

The axe fell from its hands. CLANG. Michael and Reynold looked ready to faint. Half the academy students actually did faint, and Victor sat down without realizing it. The Goblin general slowly reached toward the altar, then carefully lifted the second key fragment. It offered the fragment to me.

"DING. Second fragment acquired. Castle key progress: 2/3."The system announced.

The moment my hand touched the fragment, something snapped. A flood of memories, not mine, someone else’s. A black castle, burning banners, an army kneeling, a king standing alone, a woman crying. Blood. Fire. Regret. So much regret. My vision blurred as pain exploded through my head.

"ALEXANDER!" Scarlet shouted.

"DING. Hidden memory resonance triggered. Warning. Castle recognizes key bearer. Compatibility increasing. Current Synchronization: 18%."The system said. "Entering memory realm. User consciousness transfer initiated. Do not disconnect."

"Disconnect?"Michael blinked.

The system vanished. My vision went black and the last thing I felt was Iris catching me.

I opened my eyes, and forgot how to breathe. Spider lilies, endless spider lilies. Countless red flowers stretching beyond the horizon beneath a black sky filled with silver stars. The wind carried petals through the air like drifting memories. I slowly stood up and my body felt strangely light.

"Where am I?"I asked.

No answer, only endless red flowers. Then I heard footsteps. I turned around a man stood among the spider lilies. Tall, black obsidian hair, silver eyes. He looked, too familiar, not identical, but close enough that my heart skipped a beat. His face carried a calm smile. The kind that belonged to someone who had seen the world rise and fall. His clothing was elegant, ancient, dark, a cloak moved gently in a wind that didn’t exist, and at his side hung an empty sword sheath. Like something important had been lost. The man looked at me, then smiled wider, not surprised, but genuinely happy. Like someone seeing an old friend after centuries apart.

"Ah." His voice was soft. "You finally made it."

"Do I know you?" I blinked.

The man laughed quietly, not mocking, just amused.

"No." He stepped closer. Spider lilies bent beneath his feet. Yet somehow none were crushed. "My name is Auron." He placed a hand against his chest and bowed slightly. "A pleasure to finally meet you properly."

Properly? That was a strange word.

"Finally?"I frowned.

Auron’s silver eyes softened. There was something strange in them, sadness, hope, relief all at once.

"I have been waiting a very long time."He said.

The wind carried red petals between us, I stared at him. He looked familiar, too familiar. Like remembering someone from a dream you never had, then I noticed something. His empty sheath, and suddenly my sword’s voice echoed faintly inside my mind.

"Master."The sword said.

The field of spider lilies stretched endlessly beneath a sky filled with silver stars, no wind, no sound. Just red flowers as far as the eye could see and Auron standing before me with that strange smile. Not the smile of a king, not the smile of a legend. Just a tired man who had waited too long. The silence lasted several seconds before I finally spoke.

"You said you’ve been waiting."I said.

"Yes."Auron nodded.

"For me?"I asked.

"Also yes."Another nod.

That answer somehow raised more questions than it answered.

"Okay. Let’s start with the obvious one."I crossed my arms.

"You want to know who I am."Auron looked amused.

"That would be helpful."I said.

The man laughed softly, not loudly, just enough to carry through the sea of spider lilies. Then he placed a hand against his chest.

"My name is Auron." The red flowers swayed gently around him. "And I am your ancestor."

"What?"My brain stopped.

"Several dozen generations removed, but yes."Auron’s smile widened slightly.

I blinked, then blinked again.

"No."I said.

"No?"He tilted his head.

"I refuse."I said.

"Alexander."He tried.

"What?"I asked.

"Bloodlines do not stop existing because they are inconvenient."He said.

That was annoyingly reasonable.

"You look like me."I pointed at him.

"Actually, you look like me."Auron said and smiled.

"..."

"..."

"Fair."I sighed.

Auron looked genuinely pleased, the man began walking slowly through the flowers. I followed mostly because standing still felt wrong. The spider lilies glowed faintly beneath our feet.

"I was wondering when one of my descendants would arrive."Hes said.

"Wait." I stopped. "Descendants?"

"Yes."He said.

"You mean there are more?"I asked.

"Alexander."Auron looked at me strangely.

"What?"I asked.

"That is generally how families work."He said and nodded.

I stared at him, and he stared back. I hated that he had a point.

"Wait."I said.

"What?"Auron raised an eyebrow.

"You said ancestor."I began.

"Correct."He nodded.

"And you’re here."I said.

"Also correct."He nodded.

"Shouldn’t you be dead?"I asked.

Auron went silent, his smile became quieter. Then he looked toward the distant horizon.

"I am."He said. "I left only an echo. The castle preserves memories and I had many unfinished things."

That sentence carried centuries of weight, I didn’t know why but hearing it hurt. Auron suddenly looked at me again, then smiled. A real smile.

"I am glad you inherited the Gacha summoner system."Auron said.

I froze. The what?

"The system?"I asked.

"Yes."Auron nodded.

"You know about it?"I asked.

Auron laughed, actually laughed. The sound echoed through the spider lilies.

"Alexander."He began. His silver eyes sparkled faintly. "I created the foundation for it."

"What?"I asked.

"The Gacha summoner system." He pointed at himself. "My greatest achievement."

Very casually Auron dropped what might have been the greatest historical revelation in existence.

"It is how I became king."Auron finished.

"What?"I asked.

"That reaction seems appropriate."Auron looked amused.

"No."I grabbed my head.

"You and I have more in common than you realize."Auron nodded.

"You had the system too?!"My thoughts derailed immediately.

"Not exactly the same version." Auron began walking again. "Mine was incomplete, crude and unstable. Frankly, terrible." That sounded familiar, very familiar. "But it gave me companions."He looked at me.

I immediately thought of Scarlet, Noa, Aiko, Zavier, Iris.

"My companions became my friends."Auron’s expression softened. "My family."

For a moment the king disappeared and I saw only a man remembering people he missed.

"I was not born a king." He looked toward the horizon. "I was not even important. I was a nobody with a strange power and with that power..." His voice became distant. "I built a kingdom."

The spider lilies moved around us. Like memories breathing.

"I united races. Humans, elves, dwarves, even goblins."Auron continued.

Suddenly goblin general face appeared in my mind.

"Goblin general"My eyes widened.

"Ah."Auron’s smile returned instantly. "He’s still around."

"You know him?"I asked.

"Know him?"Auron laughed softly. His silver eyes carried centuries of affection. "He was my first general and one of my closest friends."

I remembered the giant goblin kneeling, the way he spoke, the way he called me king. Suddenly, everything made a lot more sense, and somehow that made it worse. I slowly looked at Auron.

"Who exactly were you?"I asked.

For the first time the smile left his face. Not sadness, not anger, just old exhaustion. The kind carried by history itself. Auron looked toward the distant darkness beyond the flowers.

"I was the first king."He said.

The spider lilies swayed, and I understood that everyone saw the Fallen king’s castle and king wrong.