Justin and the others walked inside the king's castle, waiting for his majesty to arrive. The servants of the castle started treating Justin the way he was supposed to be treated, like a god. The kneeled in front of him and kept wiping the ground after where he walked and many tried to kiss his hands and feet, only to get pushed away by the deity himself. Justin did not mind that at all. In his eyes, if the king ordered it, then so shall it be. Justin asked one of the assistants for his majesty's location to which he responded: "In the garden, my lord." The trio continued walking towards the gardens where the king is located. They opened a large door with stairs that lead down towards the gorgeous gardens of the castle that are filled with rare flowers from all over the world to give it distinct beauty. Justin and the others walked down the stair steps and arrived at the gardens.

As they walked, the group took a gander in the surrounding area with their eyes fixated at the breathtaking decorations and beautiful scenery. They gazed at the stunning walls, fountains, and the beautiful animal statues, which, according to Ethan, each represent a king that once ruled over the vast kingdom in its years of inception. On each sculpture, a memorial plaque was attached, bearing the name of each king that passed.

"Each plate shows the name of the king, who corresponds to the statue. You see, every king was given an animal name that corresponds with their actions and their methods throughout the years." Ethan explained. "For example, King Demetrius the Leopard; he was known for his hunting prowess. He spearheaded the hunting parties that were meant to vanquish the legendary beasts of his time. He also was one of the founders of the Hunters Guild."

"The place where you bring them any bounty target and they pay you for it?" 

"Exactly. Now moving on to King Maximus. Now, he is one of my favorites," Ethan stated as the group approached a statue. The peculiar thing about this one was that it was not a statue of a wild, fierce animal, but of a man in full armor.

"King Maximus is... Well Justin, can you guess what he was named after?"

"I can see that it's not an animal..." 

"You're right. But can you tell me?"

"Ooh! Ooh! I wanna try!" Mia exclaimed while jumping with enthusiasm repeatedly. "The awesome one!" Ethan chuckled at that answer.

"The great?" Justin answered.

"He was great, but no."

"I give up," Justin stated.

"Alrighty then. King Maximus is the Founder King." Ethan stated, much to the astonishment of the kids. "King Maximus was the first to officially wear the crown and declare the kingdom as his own in the name of the gods. He went out of his way to fight myriad demons and monsters, unifying the lands in the process. He lived approximately two thousand years ago and was known for his leadership and power that nothing could surpass, except for his kindness."

The group crossed a beautifully designed bridge that links between two parts of the garden that are separated by a stream of fresh water. Justin looked at the floor beneath them and noticed that they were walking on a quartz pathway in between small rocks with colorful quartz slabs that are in the shape of diamonds.

The castle has the freshest air in the whole kingdom, and the gardens are no different. However, the garden itself has the unique smell of roses and other flora. Additionally, the garden brought with it a feeling of peace and tranquility that consumes the person's being, making them calm, relaxed, and free of worry.

"The gardeners must take good care of the garden," Justin noted.

"Agreed," Ethan said while nodding his head.

"I see that your acquaintances have arrived. And so with that, I must excuse myself." A man donning a white T-shirt with red and blue dragon designs and a fine pair of jeans said to the king before leaving. 

The king then appeared to the trio and walked to them, saying, "I see you've brought your friend, Justin." Mia and Ethan bowed down while Justin stayed risen. Justin was starting to develop a fatherly bond with King LeoDivinus, seeing him as a fatherly figure and a mentor at the same time. 

"You don't mind me bringing her?"

"Good morning, your majesty! M-My name is Mia, a-and I am a friend of Justin! Please excuse my company of Ju-" Mia spoke before being cut off by her friend.

"No need for all that. The king is well aware of who and what you are and is fine with you being here." Hearing this, Mia was terrified to find out that not just someone else, but the very king of the kingdom she resides in knows of her true self.

"U-Understandably, I know you're not comfortable with the fact that I'm aware of you. But It is not a problem. I am fine with it as long as Justin is." The king informed. Mia's mind was put at ease by that information, but not enough to stop making her feel nervous in the presence of the monarch.

"Now, if you don't mind, I'd like you all to follow me." The king said. The king and the rest of the group walked towards the statue of the founder king. 

"Justin, can you please place your hand on the dragon insignia?" The king asked. Justin did not notice the dragon face etched on the statue platform right between the founder's feet. As soon as Justin placed his right arm on the symbol, it started to glow. The ground started shaking right beneath the group's feet as the entire statue started moving backward, revealing a massive spiral staircase that leads to a dark abyss. 

The steps themselves were reasonably large, requiring one to take a step down then two steps forward before descending to the next step. As soon as the group started descending with Justin being the second right behind the king, the walls began to glow in a light shade of blue, taking the party by surprise.

"Whoa..." Mia said, amazed by the magic manifesting in front of her.

"Have you not seen this in your world, Mia?" The king asked. 

The young demon was taken aback by the question ."N-No... your majesty, I have not," Mia replied, feeling attacked.

"I apologize for the question being too sudden and offensive. I am just curious about your world." 

"Speaking of curiosity, did you ever know this was right under your nose all this time?" Justin asked.

"I did not. In fact, I do not know where we are headed exactly or what we will obtain once we reach the end of this staircase."

"O-O-Okay..." Mia stuttered and nodded her head. 

"If I were you, I'd run down these stairs. It looks very fun!" Justin stated.

"I am too old for that, Justin."

"But not too old to fight a giant ice monster?" 

"Ice monster?" Mia asked.

"Yea the king, Ethan and I went on an adventure to get this amazing sword, but those scary monsters did not want that, so they attacked us, but we were stronger, and we finished them all!" Justin explained, filled with enthusiasm and excitement about telling the story to his friend.

"Your majesty? What do you think these walls try to tell?" Ethan asked.

"I believe it's the story of all the past kings of yore. They all fought the evil and darkness, sacrificing everything they can, all to ensure that we get to this day." The king explained. "And in the end we-" 

The king stopped talking when a familiar face carved on the stone took him by surprise, leaving him staring blankly at the wall. Everyone was perplexed as to what the king saw. The carving portrayed a man in an armor fighting off monsters in what seemed to be a slightly less modern version of the capital. The ruling monarch's expression of shock and grief left the group feeling a sense of unease.

"Who is that, your majesty?" Ethan asked.

The old man placed his hand on the wall and said: "This... This is my father..." He stared at the carving, caressing his father's portrait as tears flew down his eyes.

Shocked by the findings, Justin ran past the king and looked at the last part of the wall. He discovered that there were no carvings or any images there, unlike the portrait of King LeoDivinus' predecessor. An unfinished art that was left blank at the end, with all signs pointing to that being intentional. 

"He guys... I think we're at the end of this staircase." Justin informed. "But why is the painting unfinished?"

The king understood exactly why the art was left unfinished. "It's because the story of the kings is yet to see its conclusion." He replied with the sadness expressed clearly in his voice.

The group got visibly confused and frustrated by this odd situation. "But... but we're at the end of the staircase! Look, a few steps and we're there! What does this mean?!" Justin asked.

"It means that we are very close to the end..." Ethan trailed off, as he, too, understood why the last parts of the wall were left unfinished.

"Exactly..." The king spoke. "Justin, you're here. It's only a matter of time before you ascend. When that happens, the kingdom will no longer have a reason to exist."

Ethan started to get mad at the thought of losing his king. "According to the history books, the founder king established the kingdom in order for a new god to ascend. But then this over here brings up so many questions! Was this all preordained? What will happen after you ascend? And is king LeoDivinus the last king?"

"I can answer the last question." The king replied.

"What do you mean?" Asked Justin, showing that he did not understand.

"Zachary..." Was all the king said as he looked down on his feet, finally coming to a dark realization. His eyes started to tear up. Ethan immediately took notice of this and offered the king a tissue from his pocket.

"You mean your son? Prince Zachary that you sent away?" Justin asked.

Ethan gasped at this realization. "Prince Zachary is alive?!" he asked with complete shock.

"I sent prince Zachary away a long time ago. It was a week after his birth..." 

"The night her majesty was assassinated..." Ethan stated.

"They didn't come for me, Ethan. They came for him. Whoever they were, they probably thought that Zachary was the chosen one and they were ordered to kill him. The queen, she... she jumped in front of the blade as I went to grab my little boy and..." The king then broke down into tears. "They took her from me... they ripped her from my arms!"

"But the queen was... through a car explosion!" Ethan stated.

The monarch and the grieving husband decided to explain, saying: "That car was shot by a rocket launcher as a means to halt our pursuit. It was parked right outside the castle with no one attending to it."

"So you told the media that the queen and the prince were in it when it exploded and decided to hide him from the world and the prying eyes of the perpetrators to ensure his safety," Justin stated. "But who even were those assassins? I can't believe that there is a group powerful enough to sneak inside the royal castle, murder the queen and escape without even a single one of them captured or killed!"

"I believe them to be Roman assassins. They were presumably sent by the empire to assassinate my child based on the belief that the chosen is part of the royal bloodline. But the truth is that the royal bloodline was never meant to give birth to the chosen one, as it turns out. It was only I and commander Astralis who knew that he came from another world. We discovered that on the night Justin was placed in the garden inside a basket," The man explained. "I... I can't let him bear the responsibility of an entire kingdom..." 

"Your majesty, listen. I don't know anything about ruling a kingdom, and I am sure that Zachary will have a lot on his plate, but I am also sure he will rise to the occasion and be a great leader! I am sure of it!" Justin stated. "And I promise you that I will be by his side and watch over him as much as I can! That is a promise!"

The king wiped his tears with Ethan's tissue and looked at Justin. "I know you will." He said with a smile, knowing that the boy he raised is willing to be friends with his son.

"Now, let's finish what we started, shall we?" Justin asked before proceeding to the door. The group arrived at a doorway at the end of a corridor with two doors containing no locks but were locked nonetheless. 

Ethan said: "Justin, I think these doors want your godly touch," prompting Justin to place his hand on the doors, making them start to open.

The group entered what seemed to be a big circular room that housed a red and gold armor in the middle. The armor glowed with light blue aura and particles of crystal-like material floating around it. Justin, Mia, and Ethan's Jaws dropped to the floor at such an ethereal sight. 

"By the gods..." The king said. 

Mia replied to her king with: "Literally." while bewildered herself as her eyes could not stop gawking at the marvelous creation.

Justin approached the armor and reached his arm to it to touch it. The armor itself was much larger than Justin and seemed to have been placed in the room for years, but that did not stop it from glowing brightly and floating onto Justin's body in its ethereal glow. And with a sudden flash of light, it disappeared into its master, leaving everyone to question what had just happened.

"It disappeared!" Mia exclaimed.

Justin looked at his body, examining each of his limbs as he felt the power of the armor. "I feel it within me..." Justin stated while looking at his right hand.

"What do you feel?" The king asked.

"Power..." Justin replied while staring blankly at his hand. 

Visibly astonished, Mia asked her friend to: "Summon it back!"

Justin tried to focus but to no avail. "I can't!" Justin said. "I don't know how!"

The group tried to cheer their friend on and give him words of encouragement. "Focus and try to do it!" Ethan stated. Mia started clapping with joy while her friend tried his hardest to convoke his new power. After a solid minute of trying, Justin failed to summon his newly acquired armor.

"Aww, man!" Ethan exclaimed.

The king placed his hands on the boy's shoulder and said: "It's fine. With proper training, you will be able to conjure it."

Justin kept looking at his body. "But why can I easily conjure my sword but not the armor?" He asked.

"It does take a while. An armor should boost your abilities as much as protect you from the elements and foes alike. The harder the armor is to conjure, the more power it possesses," The king explained.

"Cool..."

"Now let us leave. I have work to do now and some people I want you all to meet." 

The group proceeded to leave the secret armor room and return to the surface. Once there, King LeoDivinus instructed a servant to escort the three around the castle to meet people who will be helping them for the upcoming quests. The king himself went to make some preparations for many contingencies. He realized that there was enough space on the staircase wall for two more kings, which meant that his reign is coming to an end and that his son's time is approaching. LeoDivinus grabbed the nearest phone and contacted one of his most trusted allies and his closest friend.

"Robert. It's been a long time." The king greeted his old friend.

"Your majesty? Indeed, it has been a long time." The man called Robert showed high enthusiasm upon hearing his king's voice.

King Leodivinus asked: "How are you doing, old friend?"

"Just fine. The kid is growing to be a fine young man. He's pretty responsible and honest. He's also very hardworking."

"I expect nothing less from you, Rob."

Robert took notice of the monarch's voice and asked: "Why the sudden call, Leon? You do not seem like you're in the best of times."

"I must talk to you. In-person."

"You want to see him, don't you? Didn't you tell me that only when he's at the right age will you introduce yourself to him?"

"Everything has changed, Robert. Does he know who his father is?" 

"Indeed. I told him the moment he was able to talk and understand. Just like you asked."

"Good. It's time that he meets me in person. See you soon, Robert."

"Be safe, your majesty."

The king knew the stakes well and was ready for anything. The beginning of Justin's journey was near. Knowing what was about to come, the current monarch prepared to face the dangers of the end time. All his predecessors fought for the kingdom for generations and it was time for the current ruler to do the same. The king understood that his life, alongside the lives of those that he knows and loves are in extreme peril. He knew the gods already have a plan for him, that it is time to prepare the heir of the kingdom. King LeoDivinus set out to finally meet his son for the first time.

Hope you enjoyed reading this book! More chapters are on the way! Don't forget to vote and comment down below! Follow me for more content and thanks again!