The crown floated above the Singularity Throne.
Lyra stood, bones humming with quantum fire. She was no longer bound by one life, one timeline. She was the sum of them.
"You don't have to do this," Damien said.
"Yes, I do," she said. "You lit the fire. I'll end the war."
She stepped into the throne.
The shard embedded itself into her chest.
The throne screamed.
And all of time bent at the knee.