Chapter 18: The Choice of Time

The world seemed to stop.

Not literally.

But for everyone standing within the ruins of Blackwood Tower, time felt suspended.

The three paths floated above the ancient map.

Three futures.

Three destinies.

Three catastrophes.

Each demanding a sacrifice.

Each demanding a choice.

Elena Ross stared at them in silence.

Around her, the battle continued.

Yet even war seemed distant.

The Hollow Ones still fought the Crimson Guard.

The Last Dragon still towered above the mountain.

King Alaric and Kael Vayne still clashed beneath collapsing stone.

But none of it mattered more than the decision waiting before her.

The black path pulsed first.

Darkness.

Extinction.

The rise of the dragon.

The end of kingdoms.

The end of civilization.

The end of history.

Elena rejected it immediately.

Whatever happened next, that future could never be allowed.

The silver path shimmered.

She saw the Crimson Kingdom survive.

The Hollow Ones defeated.

The dragon destroyed.

The people saved.

But she also saw Alaric.

Dying.

The Eternal Crown shattered.

The immortal king finally meeting the fate he had escaped for centuries.

The cost of victory.

One life.

One king.

One sacrifice.

Then came the crimson path.

The strangest of all.

Time fractured.

History changed.

Events unraveled.

The past and future collided.

Nothing remained certain.

Entire civilizations disappeared.

Others appeared.

Lives changed.

Memories changed.

Reality itself became unstable.

The queen stepped beside her.

You understand now.

Elena nodded slowly.

No good option.

No.

The queen's voice carried sadness.

Prophecies rarely offer happy endings.

The Last Dragon lowered its enormous head.

Its ancient eyes remained fixed on Elena.

Choose.

The word echoed through her mind.

The dragon was not commanding her.

It was waiting.

Watching.

Testing.

As though this moment had been planned thousands of years ago.

Below them, another explosion shook the mountain.

Kael and Alaric crashed through a ruined wall.

Darkness and crimson fire erupted across the battlefield.

The brothers rolled apart.

Both wounded.

Both exhausted.

Neither willing to surrender.

Kael rose first.

His pale face twisted with rage.

Do it.

Everyone turned toward him.

Choose the crimson path.

Break time.

Destroy the old world.

Create something new.

The Hollow King's eyes glowed.

Imagine it.

No mistakes.

No prisons.

No suffering.

A fresh beginning.

Elena looked at him.

You don't want a fresh beginning.

Kael smiled.

Perhaps not.

At least he was honest.

Alaric slowly stood.

Blood stained his armor.

The cursed wound continued weakening him.

Yet somehow he remained standing.

Five centuries of stubbornness.

Maybe that explained it.

The king looked toward Elena.

Whatever choice you make...

His voice weakened briefly.

Make it because it is right.

Not because of me.

Not because of him.

Not because of prophecy.

For the first time, Elena saw something different in the immortal king.

Acceptance.

The acceptance of someone finally ready to face consequences.

The acceptance of someone tired of running from destiny.

The dragon spoke again.

The age ends tonight.

Choose.

The map brightened.

The visions became clearer.

The silver path.

The crimson path.

The black path.

Waiting.

Elena closed her eyes.

She thought about everything she had learned.

The kingdom trapped outside time.

The Eternal Crown.

The prison.

The dragon.

The war.

The sacrifice.

Most importantly, she thought about the people.

The farmers she had seen in the valley.

The children playing in the streets.

The citizens who trusted their king.

The guards who fought despite impossible odds.

The lives hidden behind the legends.

Because legends weren't the ones paying the price.

Ordinary people were.

Her eyes opened.

The answer suddenly felt obvious.

Not easy.

Never easy.

But obvious.

The crimson path risked everything.

The black path guaranteed destruction.

Only one choice remained.

The silver path.

The path of sacrifice.

The path of survival.

The path that saved the kingdom.

The queen watched her carefully.

Are you certain?

No.

Elena admitted.

But I think it's the right one.

The queen smiled.

That is usually the closest anyone gets.

Elena stepped forward.

The silver path brightened.

The other two paths faded.

The map began transforming.

Ancient symbols spread across the sky.

Runes.

Thousands of them.

Millions.

Covering the mountain.

Covering the battlefield.

Covering reality itself.

The Last Dragon roared.

Not in anger.

In recognition.

The choice had been made.

The covenant was complete.

Power exploded from the map.

Silver light swept across the mountain.

The Hollow Ones froze.

Their black eyes widened.

Cracks appeared across their bodies.

Then another.

Then another.

The corruption binding them together began breaking apart.

Across the battlefield, the creatures collapsed.

One after another.

Dozens.

Hundreds.

Thousands.

The army of darkness began dying.

Kael stared in disbelief.

No.

The Hollow King rushed forward.

Too late.

The silver light reached him.

Ancient power wrapped around his body.

Chains of pure energy appeared.

The same chains that once held him beneath the Red Castle.

Kael struggled.

Screamed.

Fought.

Nothing worked.

The prophecy had chosen.

And prophecy was merciless.

The Last Dragon spread its wings.

The creature's enormous body became surrounded by silver fire.

The ancient beast watched Elena one final time.

Then something unexpected happened.

It bowed.

The Dragon of the First Age bowed its head.

Not to a queen.

Not to a king.

To a cartographer from Scotland.

The gesture lasted only a second.

Then the dragon began dissolving.

Its body transformed into light.

Ancient scales became stars.

Ancient fire became silver mist.

The Last Dragon was leaving.

Returning somewhere beyond the world.

Returning somewhere beyond time.

The covenant had ended.

Its purpose was fulfilled.

The queen watched silently.

At last.

The words sounded like relief.

Then the silver light reached Alaric.

The king froze.

The Eternal Crown began glowing beneath his armor.

Everyone saw it.

Everyone understood.

The price.

The silver path required a sacrifice.

Alaric looked toward Elena.

No fear.

No anger.

Only peace.

The kind of peace she had never seen in him before.

Perhaps immortality had become a burden too heavy to carry.

Perhaps he had known this ending was coming.

The king smiled.

A genuine smile.

The first Elena had ever seen.

Take care of them.

The words were spoken to no one and everyone.

To Rowan.

To Lyra.

To the kingdom.

To history itself.

The silver light consumed him.

The Eternal Crown shattered.

The mountain shook.

The sky brightened.

And the Age of the Immortal King came to an end.