Ten Years Later.
The grass in the Ashlands was a strange color. It was a deep, hardy blue-green, fed by the minerals of the old smog.
Elric sat on a bench made of repurposed Strider-plating. He was older now. His hair was white, and he walked with a cane, but his cough was gone.
"Grand-Archivist," a voice called.
Elric looked up.
King Valen stood there. He was twenty now. Tall, healthy, wearing a crown that didn't weigh him down.
"Your Majesty," Elric smiled, not standing. "You're late."
"The Council ran long," Valen said, sitting beside him. "General Valerius wants more budget for the Wall."
"The Wall is a ruin," Elric said.
"He calls it a 'Memorial Park now'," Valen laughed. "But he still posts guards. Old habits."
They looked out at the valley. It wasn't Iron-Hollow anymore. It was a lake. Clear water filled the crater where the Titan once slept.
"Do you think he can hear us?" Valen asked quietly.
Elric looked up.
It was noon, but if you looked closely, you could see them. Faint, dark points of light connecting the blue sky. The Black Constellation.
"I think he's busy," Elric said. "Holding the door is a full-time job."
They walked to the center of the garden.
There was a statue.
It wasn't marble or gold. It was carved from crude, black basalt. It depicted a Knight. He wasn't kneeling. He wasn't fighting. He was just standing, his hand resting on the pommel of a sword, looking up.
There was no inscription. No "Hero," no "Savior."
Just a name carved into the base.
KAEL.
"He swore in Ash," Elric said, touching the stone.
"And he kept his oath," Valen finished.
A breeze blew through the valley, smelling of rain and new life. High above, the black stars shimmered, just once.
A wink.
"Come on," Elric said, turning back to the city. "We have a world to build."
***
**THE END**