CHAPTER 26 — The Place Between Worlds
Louis did not wake in darkness.
He woke in silence.
No sky. No ground. Just drifting light—countless fragments of worlds, like memories floating in water. This was the place between portals, where souls anchored wars and sealed fate.
"You have returned again," a voice echoed.
Ancient beings appeared—neither gods nor men.
"You are the constant," they said. "The one who chooses others over himself."
Louis clenched his fists.
"Then let me choose differently."
They were silent.
CHAPTER 27 — The Girl Who Refused the Ending
Alice never stopped searching.
Years passed. Kingdoms rebuilt. His name became a legend—the Twice-Sealed Hero.
But she rejected monuments.
Alice studied forgotten magic. Traveled to dying worlds. Listened to beings older than history.
Finally, Alice found it—
The First Door, the origin of all portals.
"To open it," the guardian warned, "you must give up what binds you to this world."
Alice smiled sadly.
"I already did."
She stepped through.
CHAPTER 28 — Love Stronger Than Fate
The space between worlds cracked.
Louis felt it—her presence—burning brighter than any crown.
"She crossed willingly," the ancients whispered.
"No mortal has done this."
She stood before him, glowing not with power, but resolve.
"I'm tired of legends choosing for us," Alice said.
"I choose you."
The ancients spoke their judgment:
One of you must fade from history.
One of you must live as myth.
They looked at each other.
And laughed—softly, sadly.
CHAPTER 29 — The Choice That Saved Everything
He stepped forward.
"I've been remembered enough."
Before she could stop him, Louis embraced her—forehead to forehead, tears finally free.
"Live," he whispered.
"Not searching. Not waiting. Just living."
Louis kissed her gently—no desperation, no fear.
Then Louis turned into light.
Not death.
Not disappearance.
Ascension.
The portals collapsed forever. The crown's magic vanished from all worlds.
War lost its doorway.
CHAPTER 30 — The World That Still Loves You (Epilogue)
Alice returned to a peaceful world.
She lived.
She laughed again—sometimes.
Years later, children listened wide-eyed as she told stories.
"Was the hero real?" they asked.
She smiled.
"He was."
At night, when the sky was clear, a new constellation shone—
a figure holding a gate closed with one hand, reaching forward with the other.
Legends said the Guardian Between Worlds watched over them.
Alice looked up and whispered,
"I'm happy. Just like you asked."
And somewhere beyond time—
Louis smiled back.