Chapter 2760: Story 2761: The Door Inside the First Son

Ronan staggered backward as the child’s six burning eyes fixed upon him.

“Come home,” the boy whispered.

The second heartbeat inside Ronan’s chest grew louder. Each beat sent black veins crawling across his neck, while the ancient sword in his hand twisted like liquid shadow.

Lyra seized his arm.

“Ronan, fight it!”

He tried to answer, but another voice emerged from his throat.

“OPEN.”

The floor split beneath his boots.

A column of black light erupted from the fissure, lifting stones and dead warriors into the air. Elias wrapped chains around Ronan’s waist, and Aren reinforced them with silver energy, but the force dragged both brothers forward.

“Let him go!” Darian shouted.

He unleashed violet fire at the child. The flames stopped inches from its face, then reversed direction, striking Darian and throwing him against the wall.

Cael rushed toward the boy.

“Listen to me! You don’t have to become him!”

The child tilted his head.

“Become whom?”

“The thing inside your heart!”

For a moment, confusion crossed the boy’s face.

Then the ancient father laughed.

“You still believe there is a child left to save?”

He raised one hand, and Cael was hurled across the chamber. Kael caught him, but both crashed beneath a collapsing arch.

Ronan struggled against Elias’s chains.

“Brother,” he gasped, looking at the child. “You said you were alone. I know what that feels like.”

The boy’s six eyes flickered.

“I waited for you.”

“I know.”

“You never came.”

“I didn’t know you existed.”

The child’s expression crumpled. Beneath the monstrous crown, he looked painfully young.

Then the darkness inside him roared.

The boy screamed, clutching his chest as black armor spread across his face.

“HE IS LYING!” the ancient voice thundered. “THE LIVING ALWAYS LIE!”

The father stepped toward him, reaching for the glowing heart.

“Give it back to me.”

The child struck him with a blast of darkness. The ancient being flew through the gate, smashing into the stone beyond.

Silence followed.

Ronan’s chains loosened.

Lyra rushed to his side. “You reached him. Keep talking.”

Ronan approached the boy slowly, ignoring the darkness gathering around his boots.

“You don’t have to forgive me,” he said. “You don’t even have to love me. But you deserve to choose what happens next.”

The boy stared at him.

“Can I choose?”

“Yes.”

The six eyes dimmed. The crown cracked, and the child’s small hands emerged from the black armor.

For one heartbeat, hope filled the chamber.

Then the boy turned toward their mother.

“Can I choose who dies?”

She went completely still.

The child extended his hand toward her.

“You chose Ronan before I ever breathed.”

His voice broke.

“Now I choose you.”

The darkness surged toward their mother, swallowing her scream.

Ronan lunged forward, but the ground opened between them.

From the depths came a final whisper.

“THE FIRST MOTHER MUST FALL.”