Silence.
It was the first sound Amina noticed after the explosion of light.
The Void, once alive with howls and darkness, now stood still—quiet as a breath held before the fall. All around her, the realm shimmered, fractured, like a mirror caught mid-shatter. Colors bled into one another—gold, blue, crimson—each echoing a memory, a sacrifice, a promise.
Valec knelt beside her, his body steaming from the power they'd just unleashed. The veins across his arms glowed faintly—residue of a god's wrath and a mortal's regret.
He was breathing.
Alive.
Changed.
Amina staggered forward, her hands trembling. Not from fear… but from what she saw floating in the stillness ahead:
A child.
Barefoot. Pale. Hair white as ash. Eyes hollow.
The Forsaken Flame, unmasked.
"No more illusions," the child whispered. "No more gods or monsters. Just what's left when everything is stripped away."
Amina felt her heart tighten. "Who are you?"
"I am what he was when they broke him," the child said, motioning to Valec. "Before the gods shattered his soul. Before the fire became rage."
Valec rose slowly. "You're… me."
The child nodded.
Amina stepped between them. "Why show yourself now?"
The child cocked his head. "Because the seal is broken. Because this story is nearing its end. Because you must choose."
The Void pulsed.
Behind the child, paths began to form—one made of light, the other shadow.
A voice echoed—a voice older than any, one that resonated through the bones of the world:
"Only one may return.
Only one may stay.
Light and shadow cannot both walk the mortal day."
Valec stiffened. "It's me or her."
"No," Amina whispered. "It's never that simple."
The child stepped aside. "To unmake the darkness, someone must take its place."
The choice was here.
Either Amina would stay, becoming the new guardian of the Void and sealing it once again with her flame…
Or Valec would.
But not both.
Amina turned to him. "We can find another way."
"There isn't one," he said, voice heavy. "This is the balance. This is the cost."
Valec took a step forward—then another.
But Amina grabbed his arm. "I'm not letting you do this. Not after everything we've fought for. Not after I finally understood you."
He smiled, tired but real. "That's why it has to be me."
Meanwhile, in the Mortal Realm
Mount Velora raged with golden fire, but deep in its roots, the ground cracked.
Lumeah stood at the edge of the altar circle, watching as Kai traced the last sigil with trembling hands.
"She's choosing," Kai whispered.
Lumeah nodded, her voice soft. "I can feel it."
All around them, the armies held their breath. Skyships hovered. Dragons coiled in stillness. No swords were drawn. No magic cast.
The world was waiting.
Back in the Void
Amina's hand trembled.
Valec walked toward the shadowed path.
But then the child—the Forsaken Flame—stepped between them both.
"I was born from pain," he said. "But I do not wish to be passed on like a curse."
He raised both hands.
"I can bear it. Alone. If you give me a name."
Amina blinked. "A name?"
"I've never had one," he whispered. "That's why I became everything and nothing. If I am to seal this place… give me something to hold."
A pause.
Then she smiled, tears streaking down her face.
"Your name is Elian."
Valec gasped softly.
And the child—Elian—smiled.
A light formed in his chest. The shadow receded. The Void began to collapse, not in destruction—but in restoration.
A bridge of gold formed beneath Amina and Valec's feet, leading them home.
As they walked, the child vanished into the folds of the realm, whispering:
"Remember me."
In the Mortal Realm
The heavens cracked one final time—
—and then silence.
Amina and Valec emerged from the light, scarred, weary, but whole.
Around them, people fell to their knees.
The Covenant Flame dimmed.
The war was over.
But the cost lingered.