Chapter 2769: Story 2770: The Brother Who Wore Another Face

The second Cael smiled beneath his crown of living bone.

“Little brother,” he repeated. “Have you missed me?”

The real Cael stepped backward, his scarred face drained of color.

“Stay away from them.”

The impostor tilted his head. “Still pretending you are the protector? After everything you did?”

Ronan moved between the two figures, his sword raised. Red light crawled along its blade, answering the golden mark beneath his skin.

“Explain yourself, Cael.”

“I will,” Cael whispered. “But first, do not let him touch you.”

The crowned figure laughed.

“You always were afraid of the truth.”

He lifted one hand.

Every suspended chain in the chamber snapped taut. Elias was dragged off his feet, black chains erupting from his arms as he fought against an invisible force. Aren’s silver barriers appeared around Darian, but they cracked almost instantly.

Lyra fired three arrows.

The first vanished. The second turned to ash. The third struck the impostor’s shoulder—and passed through him as though he were made of smoke.

He looked at her with amusement.

“Still defending the First Son? How touching.”

Ronan lunged.

Their swords collided with a thunderous crash.

The impostor’s weapon was identical to Ronan’s, except its blade was white and seemed to contain frozen stars. With one effortless movement, he knocked Ronan backward.

“You have grown stronger,” he said. “But you still fight like a frightened child.”

Ronan rose, blood dripping from his mouth.

“Who are you?”

The impostor removed his crown.

His face remained Cael’s, but beneath his skin, golden symbols glowed like cracks in ancient porcelain.

“I am the one who existed before Cael learned to fear.”

Cael finally spoke.

“He was my first self.”

Silence fell.

“Before the kingdoms,” Cael continued, “I was chosen to guard the original throne. I discovered what waited beyond creation, and I tried to destroy it. Instead, I divided myself. One part became the brother you know. The other remained here, guarding the truth.”

The impostor’s smile disappeared.

“You abandoned me to suffer alone.”

“You chose to become its servant!”

“I chose survival.”

The chamber shook as the impostor raised his crown. The empty thrones began filling with shadowy figures, each bearing the face of a different dead king.

The forgotten child appeared behind Ronan, clutching his chest.

“Brother,” he whispered. “He has the missing piece.”

Ronan glanced at him. “What piece?”

“The name.”

The impostor pressed the crown against his forehead.

Golden fire erupted, and the chamber’s chains wrapped around his body like a living armor.

“I kept the name safe,” he declared. “I guarded it while your mother erased our history and your brothers inherited stolen power.”

Cael drew a small dagger.

“You were never meant to speak it.”

The impostor turned toward him.

“Then why did you leave me alive?”

He spoke a single ancient word.

Cael screamed.

His body split into streams of golden light, and something invisible tore free from his chest.

Ronan reached for him, but Lyra seized his arm.

“Don’t!”

The stolen light flew into the impostor’s crown.

Every throne ignited.

Then the crowned figure looked directly at Ronan.

“Now, First Son, I can finally remember my name.”

And beneath their feet, creation began to die.