For three seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Kael said, "I'm sorry. Did he just call you his little sister?"
Rosy continued staring at the stranger seated upon the royal throne.
"Yes."
"And threaten to destroy everything you love?"
"Also yes."
Kael nodded slowly.
"Wonderful. Your family reunions are considerably worse than ours."
Sol looked offended.
"Our family reunions are perfectly normal."
Azrael glanced at him.
"Last time, you turned an entire mountain into a flower garden because your mother said she liked flowers."
Sol folded his arms.
"She did like them."
"The mountain is still pink," Kael added.
"It looks lovely."
Rosy raised one hand.
"Everyone, please. I am attempting to process the discovery of a previously unknown cosmic brother who has apparently decided that my continued existence is a personal inconvenience."
The stranger on the throne laughed.
It was a beautiful sound.
That somehow made Rosy dislike him more.
"Still amusing, little sister."
Rosy's eyes narrowed.
"Call me that again, and I'll introduce your face to the floor."
His smile widened.
"There she is."
He stood.
The crown upon his head shimmered like a galaxy caught in glass.
"My name is Asterion."
Rosy waited.
He appeared to expect something.
"All right," she said.
His expression faltered.
"All right?"
"Yes. You've given me your name. Would you like a certificate?"
Kael turned away, shoulders shaking.
Azrael muttered, "Don't encourage her."
"I'm not encouraging anything. I'm appreciating the moment."
Asterion looked genuinely irritated.
"You have always been disrespectful."
Rosy tilted her head.
"And you've always been dramatic, apparently. We all have our flaws."
The king suddenly dropped to one knee.
"Your Highness."
The room fell silent.
Rosy slowly turned toward him.
"You're kneeling to him?"
The king lowered his head.
"He is the First Prince."
"The what?"
Asterion smiled.
"The first heir of the original royal bloodline. The kingdom you know was built upon the ruins of my family's empire."
Rosy stared at the king.
"You knew about him?"
"Only through the old records."
"And you never thought to mention that the first prince of your dynasty was an ancient cosmic being sitting on a throne outside reality?"
The king looked deeply uncomfortable.
"We believed he had been destroyed."
Rosy laughed without humor.
"Your ancestors seem to have a habit of believing inconvenient people are dead."
Asterion descended the steps.
"They attempted to imprison me because I refused to obey the Dreamer."
Seraphine's voice echoed from the doorway.
"No."
Everyone turned.
The silver-haired woman entered the throne room, her white eyes fixed upon Asterion.
"You were imprisoned because you tried to replace it."
Asterion's expression hardened.
Seraphine continued.
"You wanted to become the author of reality. You believed that if you controlled the dream, you could create a perfect world."
"A world without suffering."
"A world without choice."
Asterion looked at Rosy.
"Tell me, little sister. Have you enjoyed watching your precious humans destroy one another? Have you enjoyed being betrayed, hunted, and blamed for crimes you never committed?"
Rosy said nothing.
He stepped closer.
"I can give you a world where none of that happens again."
For a moment, the throne room seemed to disappear.
Rosy remembered the original novel.
The Sunshine.
She remembered how Isle Blackwell had been portrayed as a monster. How the prince had been praised for his arrogance, how the heroine had been celebrated for her tears, and how the people who had suffered because of them had been reduced to footnotes.
She remembered the strange loneliness of reading a story in which everyone seemed to have decided who the villain was before she had even spoken.
Then she remembered something else.
Sol's small hand reaching for hers.
Azrael returning despite every reason to stop.
Kael complaining while standing between her and danger.
Her father, who had made terrible decisions out of fear and was finally trying to make them right.
A world without suffering sounded wonderful.
A world without choice sounded like another prison.
Rosy raised her eyes.
"No."
Asterion's smile disappeared.
"No?"
"No."
She walked toward him.
"I don't want a perfect world designed by someone who thinks everyone else's choices are mistakes."
His eyes darkened.
"You would rather let people suffer?"
"I'd rather let them live."
Rosy stopped before the throne.
"And if someone hurts the people I love, I'll deal with them myself. I don't need you to rewrite existence for me."
Sol smiled.
Kael whispered, "That's my aunt."
Asterion's expression turned cold.
"Then you will regret refusing me."
Rosy smiled sweetly.
"Get in line."
---
The first attack came from the royal guards.
Not all of them.
Only those wearing the silver insignia beneath their collars.
They drew their weapons simultaneously.
The general turned.
"Traitors!"
One guard struck toward the king.
The general intercepted him, knocking the weapon aside.
Kael raised his hand.
Ice spread across the marble, trapping the conspirators' feet without harming the other guards.
Sol lifted a golden barrier around the queen and the servants gathered near the doors.
Azrael moved like a shadow.
One moment he stood beside Rosy.
The next, he had disarmed three guards and sent them sprawling across the floor.
Rosy watched him briefly.
"Showing off?"
"Would you prefer that I let them stab me?"
"Not particularly."
"Then appreciate the performance."
"I'll consider it."
Asterion watched the chaos with mild amusement.
"You see? This is what your world produces. Betrayal. Greed. Violence."
Rosy raised her hand.
Darkness surged around the conspirators, pinning their weapons to the floor.
"And yet they are still responsible for their choices."
She turned toward the captured guards.
"Who ordered you to attack the king?"
Nobody answered.
Rosy's eyes glowed.
"Let me rephrase that. Who promised you power if you helped open the door?"
One guard began trembling.
Asterion's expression changed.
Rosy noticed.
Interesting.
The guard looked at the throne.
"He promised us a place in the new world."
"Who?"
The man's lips moved.
No sound emerged.
A thin white mark appeared across his throat—not a wound, but a symbol of silence.
Seraphine's expression darkened.
"He has bound their voices."
Rosy looked at Asterion.
"You're not very good at earning loyalty, are you?"
"They were insignificant."
"Then you won't mind if I remove their bindings."
Rosy snapped her fingers.
Her darkness flowed around the guards.
The white symbols shattered like glass.
The first guard collapsed to his knees, gasping.
"It was the royal council," he blurted out. "They told us the prince would return with a power capable of restoring the kingdom's former glory."
The king went rigid.
"The council?"
The guard nodded frantically.
"They've been meeting in secret for months. They said the Grand Duke was the final obstacle."
Rosy blinked.
"Me? Again?"
Kael sighed.
"You're very popular among people with terrible judgment."
"Apparently."
The general stepped forward.
"Where is the council now?"
The guard pointed toward the eastern corridor.
"They're waiting in the old council chamber."
Rosy smiled.
Not warmly.
"Excellent."
Asterion laughed.
"You think a handful of corrupt nobles matter?"
Rosy turned toward him.
"No."
Her smile sharpened.
"But I do enjoy finishing my paperwork."
---
The old council chamber was locked.
Naturally.
Rosy kicked the door open.
The wood struck the wall with a satisfying crash.
Kael looked at the broken hinges.
"You could have used the key."
"I could have."
"Did you even try?"
"No."
He sighed.
"I miss the days when our problems were ordinary."
Inside, seven nobles stood around a table covered in maps, documents, and strange silver instruments.
They turned as Rosy entered.
The oldest man immediately rose.
"Grand Duke Blackwell! You have no authority to—"
Rosy dropped a stack of documents onto the table.
"Sit down."
He stared at her.
"I beg your pardon?"
"Sit. Down."
The darkness beneath his chair rose just enough to lift him back into it.
He sat.
Rosy smiled.
"Wonderful. We're making progress."
The general moved to the table and began examining the papers.
His expression grew increasingly furious.
"These are orders to arrest the Blackwell family."
Another document.
"These are false witness statements."
He picked up a third.
"And these are payments to the people who spread the original accusations against Isle."
The room went silent.
Rosy looked at the nobles.
"So that's how it happened."
The oldest noble lifted his chin.
"The Grand Duke was a danger to the kingdom."
"Because she was powerful?"
"Because she refused to submit to the crown!"
Rosy stared at him.
Then she laughed.
"You tried to destroy a woman because she wouldn't bow to you?"
"It was necessary!"
"For what?"
"For stability!"
Rosy's expression changed.
"Do you know what I find fascinating about people like you?"
Nobody answered.
"You use words like stability, tradition, and duty as though they magically turn cowardice into virtue."
She leaned forward.
"You destroyed someone's reputation because you were afraid she couldn't be controlled."
The old noble looked away.
Rosy straightened.
"Now you're going to tell the truth."
"We will never—"
The king entered the room.
"Yes, you will."
Every noble turned.
The king stood in the doorway, his crown slightly crooked and his expression colder than Rosy had ever seen it.
"By my authority, the council is dissolved pending investigation."
The oldest noble rose.
"Your Majesty, you cannot—"
"I can."
The king's voice rang through the chamber.
"And I will."
He looked at Rosy.
"I owe the Blackwell family a debt that cannot be repaid by a simple apology. But I can begin by ensuring that those who conspired against them answer for their actions."
Rosy studied him.
Then she nodded once.
"That's a start."
The king turned back to the nobles.
"Remove them."
The general gestured to the guards.
As the conspirators were escorted away, one of them suddenly laughed.
It was a thin, desperate sound.
"You think you've won?"
Rosy turned.
The noble's eyes had turned white.
"The prince has already opened the way."
The silver mark appeared on his forehead.
Seraphine shouted, "Get back!"
Too late.
The noble vanished.
Not his body.
His entire existence.
His chair remained empty.
His name disappeared from the documents.
Even the other nobles stared at the space where he had been, struggling to remember who had stood there.
Rosy felt cold spread through her chest.
Asterion's voice echoed through the chamber.
"One down."
Rosy looked at the empty chair.
Then she understood.
The conspirators weren't merely helping him.
They were being erased one by one as their usefulness ended.
She turned toward the palace.
"Azrael."
He was already beside her.
"I know."
"We need to reach the prince."
"Yes."
"And we need to find out how to close the door."
Seraphine looked at the silver ring's fading light around Rosy's hand.
"There may be another way."
Rosy turned.
"What way?"
Seraphine hesitated.
"The door was created by the first royal family. It can only be closed by someone carrying the original royal seal."
The king slowly removed his crown.
Beneath its inner band was a small silver symbol.
The same symbol that had appeared above the throne.
He looked at Rosy.
"My family has guarded it for generations."
Rosy stared at the crown.
"Then give it to me."
The king hesitated only a moment before placing it in her hands.
The metal was warm.
A faint golden light spread across its surface.
For the first time, the crown's ancient symbol changed.
It became a small sun surrounded by darkness.
Seraphine inhaled sharply.
"The seal recognizes you."
Rosy looked at the crown.
Then at the king.
"Does this mean I'm the queen now?"
The king looked alarmed.
"No."
"Good. I don't want the paperwork."
Kael covered his face.
"Can we please have one serious moment?"
"No," Rosy replied. "Apparently not."
But her smile faded when the crown began to tremble.
A voice whispered through the metal.
Not Asterion's.
Not the Dreamer's.
The prince's.
"Grand Duke Blackwell..."
Rosy went still.
"I'm sorry."
The crown flashed.
And the throne room appeared before her eyes.
The prince was standing beyond the black door, pale and exhausted, with white light crawling across his arms.
Behind him stood Asterion.
The prince looked directly at Rosy.
"He's not the one you should be afraid of."
Rosy's blood ran cold.
"What do you mean?"
The prince swallowed.
"Asterion is trying to stop it too."
The image flickered.
Asterion's expression was no longer amused.
He looked terrified.
The prince whispered his final words before the vision vanished.
"The Dreamer has already awakened."
The crown went dark.
For a long moment, Rosy stood perfectly still.
Then she lifted her head.
"Everyone, get ready."
Azrael's crimson eyes met hers.
"What's the plan?"
Rosy placed the crown in her pocket.
"We go through the door."
Sol stepped beside her.
"Together?"
Rosy looked at him, then at Kael, Azrael, and Seraphine.
"Together."
Outside, the palace bells began to ring.
One by one, the stars above the capital disappeared.
And far beyond the boundaries of reality, something enormous began to rise from its sleep.
To be continued...