The skies were grey as dawn broke. The city held its breath, torn between chaos and silence. Aria knelt beside her sister's lifeless body, fingers curled around Elira's pendant—a twin to the one she herself wore.
"Even in death… you were his pawn," Aria whispered. Her voice didn't shake, but her soul cracked silently.
Kael stood a few steps behind, his fists dripping with the black residue of the corrupted shard Riven had used to kill Elira.
> "He's not afraid to destroy anyone... even those who once bled for him."
"Good," Kael said coldly. "Because I'm done holding back."
---
🌙 The Forgotten Temple: A Key to the Other Side
Aria found the answer in a place long erased from history: The Temple of the Rift, where souls once passed to the netherworld.
Together, Kael and Aria journeyed to the ruins hidden in the obsidian mountains. The path was treacherous—riddled with memory echoes, spirits whispering truths Kael didn't want to hear.
> "You could have saved your family if you were stronger."
"You let your best friend become a monster."
"Will you let your second love suffer the same fate?"
Kael bit his lip until it bled. "Not this time."
Inside the temple, they discovered an altar with carvings resembling both Kael and Riven—two souls intertwined by fate, destined to rise... or fall... together.
---
🧪 Meanwhile: Riven Ascends
In a hidden dimension between life and death—The Hollow Realm—Riven had begun the final phase of his ritual.
Bound to a throne of living bone, he devoured fractured souls, using their memories to fuel his evolution. His form shifted, monstrous and divine, part man, part god.
"I am no longer confined to mortality," he hissed. "Kael thinks he's the hunter. Let him come. I've already won."
---
💔 Aria's Secret: Her Time Is Running Out
Back at their hideout, Aria confessed something to Kael—she had been touched by the Hollow Realm during her last battle with Elira. Her life was now tied to Riven's existence.
> "If he ascends fully, I'll vanish. My soul will be one of the first he consumes."
Kael's rage boiled. "Then we end this before that happens."
Aria smiled softly. "Even if we don't… I'd still choose this path. With you."
They held each other in silence that night, knowing time wasn't on their side.
---
🐉 The Final Key: The Guardian Beast
To enter the Hollow Realm, Kael had to defeat the Guardian of the Rift—a beast made of obsidian scales and forgotten magic, who once served Kael's ancestors.
It tested him not with strength, but with memory—forcing him to relive his mother's death, his friend's betrayal, his own cowardice.
In the end, Kael didn't fight it.
He accepted his pain.
And that's when the beast bowed.
"You are worthy. But remember—once you cross the rift, not all of you will return."
---
Kael steps into the glowing portal with Aria's hand in his. Behind them, the city burns as Riven's final followers begin unleashing chaos.
A single whisper echoes as the portal seals:
> "One will walk back. One will fade. The soul always demands a price."
---