CHAPTER 67: CHAPTER 68: THE CROWN BELOW

Recap of Chapter 67: When Ghosts Wear Crowns

Previously, Kai and his companions—Lyra, Yuri, Astra, and Velis—descended into the crumbling ruins of Halveron, a kingdom long buried in blood and secrecy. Their goal: uncover the hidden vault said to hold the truth behind the kingdom’s collapse and Kai’s own cursed lineage. But nothing could have prepared them for what they would face inside.

Memories not their own assaulted them at every turn. Lyra questioned her past allegiances as her connection to the lost royalty deepened. Yuri’s flirtation with the line between reality and manipulation left the group on edge. Astra’s elemental magic surged uncontrollably, triggered by the ruins’ ancient magic, while Velis shared cryptic knowledge of a long-forgotten pact that could unravel everything.

Kai, battling visions of a past self who wore the crown with cruelty, finally opened the sealed vault using his blood as the key. The vault responded not just to lineage, but to pain, guilt, and the fire of rebellion brewing in his soul.

But what they found wasn’t clarity—it was chaos. The truth was fractured, wrapped in shadowy promises and hidden agendas. A darkness seeped from the vault, ancient and hungry.

Now, they’re not just haunted by the past—they’ve awakened it.

Main Story :

A low hum began to emanate from the tome again, soft at first, then rising like a chant from deep within the earth. The sigils carved into the walls pulsed in time with it, as if the vault itself had a heartbeat.

"We have to get out of here," Astra said, backing away. Her powers sparked around her fingertips, unstable. "The energy is building. It’s going to collapse."

"No," Kai growled, his voice low and steady. "This is the heart of it all. If we leave now, we’ll be running from the truth forever."

"But at what cost?" Yuri shot back. "You just relived your death in a past life, Kai. That’s not normal. This place is warping you."

Kai looked down at his hands. They were shaking, not from fear, but from the overwhelming surge of knowledge coursing through him. Every memory, every betrayal, every painful decision his former self had made—he carried them now. The weight of a crown he had once worn, and the flames it had ignited.

"This is our only chance to understand the curse," he said. "The book—it’s a key. We need to take it."

Velis’s eyes narrowed. "You’d risk corrupting yourself just to gain answers?"

Kai stepped toward the pedestal again. "If I don’t... who else will stop what’s coming?"

The others hesitated.

Then, one by one, they moved into position—each ready to face whatever emerged next. Astra summoned protective wards, Lyra gripped her dual blades, Yuri’s lips curled into a defiant grin, and Velis placed one hand on Kai’s shoulder.

"If we’re doing this," Velis said, "we do it together."

Kai reached for the tome once more—but this time, he didn’t touch it. Instead, he spoke the name he saw within its pages, etched in a forgotten tongue only he could now understand.

The vault shuddered.

A doorway opened—black, jagged, and endless.

Through it, voices called.

And the next phase of their descent began.

As the team emerged into the cold, open night beyond the ancient mountain pass, the sky was streaked with crimson—sunset or omen, no one could tell. The vault behind them collapsed in a thunderous roar, the ground trembling beneath their boots like the dying breath of a buried god. The mountain swallowed its secrets whole... but not before one had escaped with them.

A shadow.

It slithered through the mist like smoke with intent, invisible yet palpable, coiling around Kai’s ankles, dragging whispers into his ears that didn’t belong to this world.

"Heir of fire. Breaker of bonds. You cannot outrun what’s in your blood."

Kai spun, sword already half-drawn, but there was nothing there—nothing except Velis staring at him, her expression tight.

"You felt it too?" he asked.

She nodded slowly. "It came out with us. Whatever that throne awakened... it didn’t stay behind."

The others were already arguing in a loose circle beside a flickering campfire they’d lit in haste. Lyra stood tense, her back to Kai, while Astra traced protective runes in the dirt. Yuri sat cross-legged, her eyes shut, listening for something the rest of them couldn’t hear.

"This isn’t just ancient magic," Astra muttered. "This is something older. Primordial. It recognized you, Kai. It obeyed you."

"It tried to possess him," Lyra spat. "Don’t sugarcoat it."

Kai’s jaw clenched. He’d seen the memory, the firestorm of a city in ruin, his own face at the center of it—eyes alight with flame, his voice commanding the death of thousands. And the worst part?

Some small part of him had wanted it.

"What if this was always the plan?" Yuri asked suddenly, breaking her silence. "What if the Halveron vault didn’t test you? What if it... anointed you?"

The words sent a chill through the group.

Velis crossed the circle and knelt beside Kai. "We have to make a decision. Either we find the remaining fragments of the throne to stop this—"

"Or we destroy him," Lyra said without hesitation.

Silence.

It was Astra who spoke next, barely above a whisper. "Kai... what do you want?"

He looked at them. The women who had fought beside him, bled for him. Betrayed him and kissed him in the same breath.

"I don’t know," he said honestly. "But I think I need to find out—before that thing inside me does."

Behind them, in the wreckage of the mountain, something howled.

🌒 Bonus Scene – "Echoes Beneath the Crown"

The flickering light of the vault faded behind them as Kai stumbled into a smaller, adjacent chamber—a room the others hadn’t noticed in the chaos. It was silent here, unnaturally so, and the air felt like it was holding its breath.

The walls were lined with mirrored obsidian, and at the center stood a throne—cracked, scorched, but unmistakably regal. It was shaped from bone-white stone, veins of black running through it like dried blood. Unlike the memory-vault they’d left behind, this place was untouched. Preserved.

Kai approached slowly, his steps echoing too loudly in the silence. When he placed a hand on the throne’s armrest, a jolt shot through him—followed by an image.

A girl. No, a queen. Her crown sat awkwardly atop her head, too large, too heavy. Her eyes—his eyes—held both mercy and malice. She reached toward him, mouthing words that never reached his ears.

He blinked. Gone.

"What is this place?" Lyra’s voice came from behind him. She had followed, quiet as a shadow.

Kai didn’t answer at first. He sat on the throne slowly, his fingers curling around the worn arms as if they belonged there.

"I’ve been here before," he whispered. "In dreams I thought were nightmares."

"Or memories," Lyra said softly.

She knelt beside him, her hand gently touching his. "Kai, you don’t have to become what they were. The past is trying to break you—don’t let it define you."

Kai looked at her, truly looked. "But what if the only way to stop what’s coming is to embrace it?"

She didn’t flinch. "Then we’ll make sure you don’t do it alone."

The silence returned—but this time, it didn’t feel so heavy. And when Kai stood, the throne cracked down its center with a sound like thunder.

A choice had been made.

And the past? It would no longer rule him.

🔮 Preview – Chapter 69: "The Fire We Carry"

The vault may be behind them, but its ghosts have followed.

In Chapter 69, the aftermath of the memory surge begins to ripple through the group like a slow-burning fuse. Kai, now bearing the knowledge of his past self—the Monarch of Ash—struggles to differentiate between inherited instinct and his own conscience. His every decision starts to draw uneasy glances from his allies.

Meanwhile, tensions between Astra and Velis come to a boiling point when a forbidden spell surfaces—one tied directly to Astra’s lineage and Velis’s deepest fears. Their fragile truce begins to unravel, and a shocking betrayal may tip the scales for good.

But the real danger? It’s not just what they’ve learned.

It’s what followed them out.

A shadow with no name and no origin is stalking them, unseen and unrelenting. And as it infects dreams and alters reality, even the most sacred bonds begin to fracture.

In this next Chapter, loyalties will be tested, blood will be spilled, and Kai will be forced to make a choice between the fire of vengeance... and the light of mercy.

Will he rise as the hero the world needs, or fall back into the ashes of the man he once was?

One thing is certain—the past never stays buried.

⚔️ Everything is unraveling. But the fire’s only getting started...

🔥 Another secret unearthed. Another bond tested. Another lie revealed.

Kai’s past isn’t just a memory—it’s a weapon, and now it’s turning on everyone he loves. What would you do if your bloodline was the curse?

📚 Add this book to your library so you never miss a betrayal, a kiss, or the moment it all goes to hell.

💬 What did you think of the throne room scene? Who do you trust now—and who do you think is going to shatter next?

Your theories could unlock bonus scenes. Drop them in the comments!

🔺 Vote with your Power Stones if you’re ready for more chaos, magic, heartbreak, and plot twists that punch you in the gut. Your votes fuel the madness—and help the flames rise.

Let’s burn through the lies together.

The war for Kai’s soul is just beginning... 💀🔥