CHAPTER 5 - Through the Shattered Veil
There was no sound—not even gravity. Only the sensation of falling very deep without direction.
Keira didn't know whether she was screaming or not. The world felt like shattered glass around her. Silver and black light collided, forming a vortex too bright to look at and too dark to touch.
Her hand was still being held.
Daniel.
"Keira!" His voice was distorted, as if coming from the bottom of the ocean.
Then
Impact.
Air rushed harshly back into her lungs. Cold stone pressed against her palms.
Not hotel carpet. Not modern wooden flooring.
Stone. White marble.
Keira opened her eyes.
A high ceiling towered above her, adorned with golden carvings and royal emblems she had never studied—yet strangely felt familiar.
She recognized this place, even though she had never been here.
Daniel coughed beside her. "Where… are we?"
The sound of iron footsteps echoed.
Not modern shoes.
Armor.
Keira turned her head.
At the far end of the grand hall stood a line of knights holding silver spears and wearing dark blue cloaks. Their eyes widened; some dropped their weapons in disbelief.
Someone whispered.
"The Queen…"
Another knelt.
One by one.
Until the entire grand hall was filled with the clang of metal striking marble.
Alaric stood several steps from them. His dark crown was no longer a shadow from the modern world—he felt completely real now.
But his face did not look like that of a victorious king.
It was the face of someone who had just gambled the world… and nearly lost it again.
Lucien staggered slightly, clearly exhausted. "The portal… almost completely collapsed. The balance of time has been disturbed."
Sir Kael already stood upright, securing the area.
Cassian… stared at Keira without blinking.
As if, if he closed his eyes, she might disappear again.
Daniel stood slowly, still holding Keira's hand.
"I don't know what this place is," he said tensely, "but we're going back."
Several knights lifted their heads, confused by his unfamiliar language and tone.
Keira rose slowly.
Her casual skirt looked absurd in the middle of a royal hall.
And that was when—
A memory struck her.
The same grand staircase.
A golden crown falling.
Blood on the white floor.
Someone calling—
"Aelirra."
She staggered.
Alaric moved reflexively, but stopped before touching her.
She felt afraid. "What's happening to me?" she whispered.
No one answered immediately.
Because everyone in that room knew—
What was happening was not to Keira.
What had returned… was something this kingdom had once lost.
Daniel turned sharply to Alaric.
"You kidnapped her."
Not a question.
An accusation.
Sir Kael stepped forward instantly, but Alaric raised his hand.
"She is not a prisoner."
Daniel almost laughed. "Oh yeah? This isn't a hotel."
"It is her home."
The silence was heavier than the stone beneath their feet.
Keira slowly turned to Alaric. Their eyes met.
And for the first time since she saw him in the hotel hallway, she saw something different.
Not just loss.
Not just regret.
But… fear.
Fear that Keira would hate him again.
"If I once lived here," Keira's voice trembled slightly, "why don't I remember it?"
Lucien finally spoke, his voice weaker than usual.
"Because time was forcibly reset."
All eyes turned to him.
"Because you were reborn into a new timeline. And you lived again as Keira Genevieve Rose."
Daniel stiffened. "Don't start that nonsense again."
Lucien did not seem offended.
"And because you were dragged through the gate," he continued to Daniel, "the balance has become unstable."
Alaric turned sharply. "What does that mean?"
Lucien drew a deep breath.
"It means… the future may be able to change. Both here and in your world."
Keira felt something pulse in her chest.
Not fear.
Not entirely.
More like… a calling.
From beyond the great hall doors, hurried footsteps echoed.
An elderly woman in white robes entered in haste, her long silver hair flowing behind her.
Her eyes immediately filled with tears when she saw Keira.
"The light of the kingdom…" she knelt.
"Queen Aelirra."
The name no longer felt foreign.
But it did not yet feel like hers.
Daniel tightened his grip on her hand.
"I don't care about any of this," he whispered. "We'll find a way home."
Keira did not answer.
Alaric stepped one pace closer.
Not forcing.
Not touching.
Just close enough for only her to hear.
"Please don't leave," Alaric's voice was weak.
It was not the voice of a king.
It was the voice of a man not ready to lose someone for a second time.
"The world I live in…" he continued softly, "will not survive without you."
Suddenly, in the distance, the sky beyond the palace windows trembled faintly.
A thin crack split the clouds. Wind slipped through the high windows—then suddenly… stopped.
Not faded.
Stopped.
The curtains froze mid-air.
The sound of armor cut off mid-clang.
Daniel's breath halted in his lungs.
Everyone turned to stone.
Not because of royal magic.
But because of something far more precise.
Keira was still standing. Still breathing. Still able to move.
She turned quickly to the right and left.
"Daniel?"
No response.
She stepped back.
"Daniel?"
Silence.
A calm voice sounded behind her.
"I only need a few seconds."
Keira closed her eyes briefly before turning around.
"Nevil."
Nevil Noctaris stood several steps away. Not rushed. Not dramatic. As if this frozen time were merely a door he had closed for a moment.
"You stopped them?"
"Yes."
"Why am I the only one who can move?"
"Because I only need to speak to you."
The answer was simple.
"I did not touch you."
Keira exhaled, trying to steady her heartbeat.
"What now?"
Nevil glanced briefly at Alaric, frozen in the same position.
"The emotions in this room are nearly overtaking your purpose."
Keira frowned.
"My purpose?"
Nevil looked at her sharply.
"You did not come to this world to become queen again."
The sentence struck directly at her chest.
"Didn't you come to save the man lying in a coma in your new world?"
"Keenan." Without realizing it, she spoke the name softly.
The image of the beeping monitor in the hotel room flashed clearly in her mind.
"Don't forget that."
Keira shook her head slowly. "I haven't forgotten."
"Really?"
Nevil stepped closer.
"The moment he said that name—Aelirra—your heart wavered."
Keira was silent.
"The moment he begged you not to leave, you almost stopped thinking about the real reason you're standing here."
Keira clenched her fists.
"That's not true."
"Then say it."
Silence hung between them.
Nevil did not look away.
"Why did you agree to come here, Keira?"
She swallowed.
"To return his soul."
"Your intention?"
"To make him wake up."
"The risk?"
"If I fail… he will never truly come back."
Nevil gave a small nod.
"Good."
The sky outside remained cracked, but it did not widen.
"I did not stop time to warn you about this world," Nevil continued.
"I stopped it so you would not be dragged away by feelings that may no longer be yours."
Keira looked at Alaric, frozen in that fragile expression.
"Nevil… if I stay here too long?"
"Your focus will shift."
The answer came quickly.
"And the more you become entangled in this kingdom's drama, the further you drift from your goal."
He looked at her directly.
"That man does not have much time."
Keira froze.
"How long?"
"I am not giving you a countdown."
"But every distraction narrows your chances."
Silence.
Keira drew a deep breath.
"What should I do?"
"Come. Listen. Learn what you need to learn about your death."
Nevil tilted his head slightly.
"Then find the point where his soul is bound to the past."
"And release it?"
"Or pull it back."
Time began to tremble softly.
"I will not stop time again for this," Nevil said.
"From now on, every choice you make will move together with the world's heartbeat."
He began to fade.
"Do not let guilt, nostalgia, or the gaze of a king make you forget—"
His voice became a final echo.
"You are here to save someone who is still alive."
The world jolted back.
Armor clanged.
Daniel blinked.
Alaric drew a breath.
No one realized time had just stopped.
Keira stood in the same place.
But now her mind was far clearer.
She was not here for a crown.
Not for the past.
She was here for one purpose.