The air thickened.
Amina stood between two forces—one of flame, flickering and fragile, the other of darkness, vast and consuming. Every breath was a battle. Every second, a test.
Valec's eyes—alive, aware—locked onto hers.
"Amina…" he rasped. His voice was torn between the man she loved and the thing that had swallowed him.
But behind him loomed the Abyssal, eyes glowing with eternal hunger.
"You feel it now, don't you?" the Abyssal whispered, stepping closer, his form twisting like smoke. "His soul is tethered to mine. You try to save him, and you lose yourself. That is the cost of love. Always."
Amina didn't flinch.
"I'd rather be lost trying than live with regret," she said. Her flame surged again, painting gold over the void.
But Valec's body jerked violently. Chains of shadow snapped back onto him, pulling him toward the abyssal pit yawning open behind.
"No!" Amina shouted, rushing forward.
She caught his wrist just in time. Her flames touched his skin—and it sizzled.
He cried out, trembling. The fire hurt him now.
Amina hesitated, pain tearing through her. "Valec… don't let it win. Fight it! You're stronger than this!"
His jaw clenched. "I… can't…"
"Yes, you can," she whispered. "Because I'm here. Because I never stopped believing in you."
The Abyssal laughed. "Touching. But belief isn't power. Flame burns. Darkness consumes. Only one will remain."
The shadows launched forward in a wave.
Amina thrust her free arm outward. Her fire collided with the dark, lighting up the entire void in a thunderous blaze. Screams echoed—some ancient, some too familiar.
But still… the darkness pushed closer.
"Let go!" Valec gasped. "You'll be pulled in with me!"
"I. Don't. Care!" she shouted back.
A burst of golden light erupted from her chest. The bond—Amariel's legacy—awakened fully.
Suddenly, the entire void trembled.
Not from fear.
But from memory.
A presence stirred… not the Abyssal.
Amariel.
From behind Amina, a silhouette of light appeared—tall, regal, burning with ancient fire.
"You were never meant to do this alone," Amariel's voice echoed through the space. "The flame remembers. And so… do I."
Amina's flame grew hotter, more vibrant.
The Abyssal recoiled.
"Impossible," he snarled. "You were erased!"
"No," Amariel said calmly. "I was waiting. For her."
She placed her hand over Amina's, reinforcing the connection between Amina and Valec. The fire no longer burned him—instead, it healed. It reached into him, peeling back the darkness like old paint on a fading wall.
Valec screamed—one final cry of agony—as the chains shattered.
His form collapsed into Amina's arms.
But the ground shook. The abyss roared in rage. The Abyssal was unraveling—but so was the world around them.
"You broke the seal," Amariel said. "Now you must choose."
Amina's heart thudded. "Choose what?"
"Save him," Amariel whispered, "and remain trapped here. Or return alone and finish the war."
Amina looked down at Valec—weak, but alive.
Behind her, the path out flickered—a flame-road across collapsing shadows.
Her breath caught.
Sacrifice or salvation.
Her voice trembled. "There has to be another way…"
But the world was crumbling fast.
Valec stirred in her arms. "Amina… let me go. Finish this. That's all I ever wanted."
Tears welled in her eyes.
"No," she whispered.
She rose—pulling him with her.
"I'm not leaving you. Not again."
And with one final cry of defiance, she stepped onto the flame-road—carrying Valec.
The void roared behind her.
The Abyssal screamed.
And the fire blazed forward.