Chapter 930: Alternate Timeline: King Caleb

Kiara’s attention returned to Caleb Crescent.

The old king still slept peacefully, his chest rising and falling with slow, steady breaths.

Kiara stood and walked to the bedside.

The wooden floor creaked softly beneath her boots.

She lifted the Purification Stone once more. Its glow brightened, bathing the room in a pale silver radiance.

Following the system’s instructions, she placed the stone gently against the old man’s forehead, exactly where the Doom Seal lay hidden.

Kiara channeled her ether energy into it.

At once, the stone dissolved into countless motes of white light, which streamed into the seal like stars falling into a dark well.

The process lasted only ten seconds.

Then the black mark vanished.

As if struck by an unseen bell, Caleb Crescent’s eyes flew open. The old king inhaled sharply and sat upright, his movements abrupt but powerful, like a lion rising after years of sleep.

[Ding! Quest completed.]

[Ding! Unique Skill acquired: Seal Breaker.]

"Where am I?" he demanded. His voice thundered through the room, rough with age but still carrying the authority of command.

Then his eyes swept across the unfamiliar surroundings.

Before Kiara could speak, his gaze locked onto her face.

He froze, and shock widened his eyes.

"Arianna Frost?"

The name burst from his lips.

Kiara blinked. "Who?"

The old king shook his head immediately.

"No... no, that cannot be. Sister Arianna died a long time ago."

He looked around the room again, confusion clouding his features.

"Am I dreaming?"

He touched his clothes, the bed, the walls.

"Or is this the afterlife?"

His brow furrowed deeply.

"But why does the afterlife look like an inn?"

Meanwhile, Kiara was momentarily stunned.

Had Caleb Crescent known her maternal grandmother?

And not merely known her, but addressed him as "Sister."

In this world, people rarely use the word sister. Brotherhood is not that uncommon. Those who grew up together, those who worked together in the past, or even those who fought together even once, can become brothers.

But a man wouldn’t easily call a woman he had no blood relations with as a sister, unless they belong to the same martial clan. However, his information shows no relation to Frost Clan as an affiliation.

However, at the same time, it is also a fact that the Frost Clan used to reside in the Desmont Mountains, and Celestra bordered Western Phoenix.

So, there can be interactions.

But this isn’t the time to think about those useless things.

Kiara inclined her head. "Greetings, Your Majesty."

Her calm voice drew his attention back to her.

"This is not a dream. And I am not Arianna Frost either."

She placed a hand over her chest.

"My name is Kiara, a commoner, and I came from the Imperial City of the Phoenix Empire."

The old king stared at her intently.

Kiara continued. "Can you tell me the last thing you remember?"

"Not Sister Arianna?" he murmured.

He glanced once more at the room, at his simple linen clothes, and then at the young woman whose face carried the echo of an old friend.

He closed his eyes.

His breathing became uneven.

Then memories crashed into him. His hands flew to his head. Shock flashed across his face, and that shock ignited into fury.

His voice trembled with rage as he roared. "That treacherous bastard Edward Crescent! He stabbed me in the back while I was retreating."

His fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles whitened.

"Even my wife conspired with him and poisoned me. And Supreme General..."

His teeth ground audibly.

"How dare they raise a coup against me? I will kill every last one of them!"

Kiara gave him a moment and then raised a hand quickly.

"Your Majesty, there is something you need to know.""

Her tone was firm but respectful.

The old king turned to her.

Kiara met his gaze steadily. "This is the year 1786 of the Ether Era. "It has been ten years since the coup.""

The anger on Caleb Crescent’s face shattered into stunned disbelief.

"Ten years?"

His lips parted. "I slept for ten years?"

Kiara nodded. "I found you in Irontraz Prison. A powerful seal had bound both your ether energy and your consciousness. I had to use a very precious treasure to remove it."

"The year 1786..." The old king repeated the words as though tasting something impossible. "Irontraz Prison..."

His voice grew faint.

The weight of a lost decade settled over him like a mountain of stone.

*

As Kiara patiently explained everything she had learned so far, Caleb Crescent listened in silence, but the silence was not the peaceful kind.

It was the silence of a man standing in the ruins of his own life, turning over broken stones with trembling hands and finding, beneath each one, another bitter truth waiting for him.

By the time she finished speaking, the color had drained from his face.

The old king exhaled a long, weary breath, as though ten years of buried grief had suddenly found a crack through which to escape, and then he slowly lowered himself back onto the bed. The mattress sank beneath his weight, the fresh linen rustling softly, and he raised one hand to his forehead, pressing his fingers against his brow as though he wished he could squeeze the pain out through his skin.

"Sigh..." His voice was heavy and tired. "I once believed those traitors wanted only my death, but it seems I was still too naive. Edward Crescent did not wish to kill me and get the throne. No, he wished to become me."

He let out a humorless laugh and stared at the floorboards.

"When two brothers share the same face, fate itself can be deceived. And when a wife who shares my bed opens the palace gates from within, what need is there for an army to batter down the walls?"

His fingers tightened.

"Now that I think about it, the Church of Doom may also be behind this. My late father-in-law was one of their elders. If they truly lent their hand to this plot, then my fall was never a contest between men. It was a moth challenging a storm."

He fell silent.

For several moments, only the faint crackle of the oil lamp and the distant murmur of voices from the inn’s corridor filled the room.

Then Caleb looked up, and for the first time, Kiara saw something more painful than anger in his eyes.

Fear.

"I do not fear for my own life," he said quietly. "A man who has already lost ten years is like a tree struck by lightning. Whether it stands another season or falls tomorrow makes little difference."

His voice grew softer.

"But my son..."

His lips trembled.

"He was only sixteen when I was taken from him. 16." He gave a wistful smile that vanished as quickly as it came. "It was the age when I should properly teach him the royal court politics."

He swallowed hard.

"I wonder what he’s doing now..."

His gaze became distant as he further murmured, "If I reveal myself and my enemies learn the truth, what if they seize him, the heir to the throne? What if my return becomes the knife held at his throat?"

The words lingered in the air like smoke.

Kiara stood quietly, letting him speak.

As she listened, pieces of the puzzle slid into place.

The queen had betrayed her husband.

Edward Crescent had stolen his brother’s life.

Both of them are in this. Perhaps, they have a secret extramarital affair.

Adding on top of them, the Church of Doom might be involved, which is backing the Queen.

And yet, one question still gnawed at her thoughts.

Why imprison him?

Why preserve him in a sealed sleep instead of ending his life?

Was it hatred?

Sentiment?

A contingency plan?