The ancient library trembled.
Not violently.
The vibration spread through the stone floor like the heartbeat of an awakening giant.
Lyra instinctively stepped back as countless books slid from their shelves. Dust, undisturbed for centuries, rose into the air while faded runes carved into the walls began glowing with a faint silver radiance.
Selene quickly raised a protective barrier around them.
"What did you read?"
Lyra stared at the ancient page.
"I... I only spoke the sentence."
She looked back at the manuscript.
The ink was disappearing.
Not fading...
Changing.
New words slowly appeared beneath the old ones.
**"The Seven Thrones shall never awaken together."**
**"Each chooses its own ruler."**
**"When the First Gardener remembers the world... the Thrones begin searching for those worthy of standing beside him."**
The room fell silent.
Selene's expression slowly changed.
"...Standing beside him?"
Before Lyra could answer—
BOOM!!
The library windows exploded outward.
A pillar of brilliant silver light erupted far beyond the academy walls.
Students screamed.
Professors rushed outside.
Every mage within the academy instinctively looked toward the eastern mountains.
Something had awakened.
...
Several hundred kilometers away...
The eastern mountains had been considered forbidden territory for nearly two thousand years.
No beasts lived there.
No mana flowed there.
Even birds avoided flying over the barren peaks.
At the summit of the tallest mountain...
The earth cracked.
Stone split apart.
Ancient chains thicker than castle walls snapped one after another.
From beneath the mountain emerged a colossal throne carved from pure white crystal.
It was over a hundred meters tall.
Its backrest resembled enormous wings.
The instant it appeared—
Every mage across the continent felt their mana tremble.
The throne remained empty.
Waiting.
...
Imperial Palace.
Princess Seraphina suddenly dropped to one knee.
The pressure pressing against the world's mana was overwhelming.
The elderly court magician beside her struggled to breathe.
"Y-Your Highness..."
"What is that...?"
Seraphina slowly stood.
Her golden eyes reflected the silver light piercing the distant sky.
"A Throne."
The old magician looked confused.
"But... thrones are just legends."
Seraphina quietly shook her head.
"No."
"They were waiting."
...
Holy Church.
The black sword sealed beneath countless chains suddenly vibrated.
One chain.
Then another.
Then five more.
The High Pontiff stared silently.
"So..."
"They've begun choosing."
The silver-armored knight looked alarmed.
"Choosing whom?"
The Pontiff smiled sadly.
"Heroes."
"No..."
He corrected himself.
"Guardians."
...
Inside the Hall of Forgotten Names...
Kael suddenly stopped walking.
The silver sapling in his hand grew another leaf.
The Gardener's Key floated before him.
Seven glowing branches extended from the key before separating into different directions.
Each branch pointed toward a different place in the world.
The World Tree spoke.
"The Thrones have awakened."
Kael frowned.
"I've never heard of them."
"You have."
"You simply forgot."
A flood of fragmented memories surged through his mind.
He remembered seven figures standing around the World Tree.
None wore crowns.
None wore royal robes.
Each sat upon a unique throne.
One radiated endless flames.
Another commanded oceans.
One was surrounded by stars.
One by life itself.
One by shadows.
One by time.
And...
One throne remained empty.
Its surface was covered with growing vines.
Kael staggered backward.
"The Gardener's Throne..."
The World Tree answered.
"It was never one of the Seven."
"It stands above them."
Silence filled the endless hallway.
Kael slowly understood.
The Seven Thrones were not rulers.
They were protectors.
Champions chosen by the world itself.
His eyes narrowed.
"Then why are they awakening now?"
"Because..."
The World Tree hesitated.
"...the Watcher has begun moving."
...
At that exact moment...
Far beyond the edge of reality...
Beyond stars.
Beyond time.
Beyond memory itself...
An endless darkness stirred.
A single silver eye slowly opened.
Unlike before...
This time it did not merely observe.
It moved.
Its gaze settled upon the world below.
Then...
Upon the newly awakened Crystal Throne.
A voice without emotion echoed through the endless void.
"Interference detected."
"Probability of restoration..."
The eye remained silent for several seconds.
Then...
"...has increased."
The darkness surrounding it began expanding.
Entire stars disappeared into the void.
Ancient worlds crumbled.
Forgotten realities ceased to exist.
Yet...
For the first time in thousands of years...
The Watcher did not speak with certainty.
Instead...
It calculated.
...
Imperial Academy.
Students gathered outside, staring toward the distant pillar of light.
Whispers spread through the crowd.
"What is happening?"
"Did a ruin appear?"
"Is it another dungeon?"
Among them stood Aren.
Unlike everyone else, he wasn't looking at the light.
He was staring at his own right hand.
A strange symbol had appeared on the back of it.
A silver shield.
It pulsed once.
Then again.
Aren frowned.
"...What?"
Suddenly, a deep voice echoed only within his mind.
**"Will you protect those who cannot protect themselves?"**
Aren's breathing stopped.
He looked around.
Nobody else had reacted.
The voice came again.
**"Answer."**
For several moments...
He remained silent.
Then he remembered.
The villages destroyed during the war.
The friends he had failed to save.
The soldiers who had died buying time for others to escape.
He slowly closed his hand into a fist.
"...Yes."
The symbol burst into brilliant light.
Far away...
The Crystal Throne trembled.
Not because its master had arrived.
Because...
It had found its first candidate.
And across the world...
Six more Thrones quietly began searching for the people destined to sit upon them.