The world breathed slower now.Kael remained still, lying where the starlight met the earth’s glowing roots. The air shimmered around him—time curved gently, refusing to move without his permission.But someone else had already changed.Marcus stood at the edge of the obsidian tree, its crystal-like branches weaving silently behind him. He looked… almost the same.But not quite.His skin now held faint constellations that moved beneath the surface like memory echoing under flesh. His eyes had lost their whites entirely—replaced by smooth spheres of starlit gray. He didn’t blink. He didn’t need to.When Selene stepped closer, she felt it immediately.He wasn’t human anymore.“Marcus,” she whispered. “Is that still you?”He turned slowly, and when he smiled—it was gentle. Sad.“In part,” he said, echoing the same words he had spoken when he first emerged from the black tree. “But not all.”Pamela watched him warily, arms folded. She had been quiet since the last rift closed behind them.

The world breathed slower now. Kael remained still, lying where the starlight met the earth’s glowing roots. The air shimmered around him—time curved gently, refusing to move without his permission. But someone else had already changed. Marcus stood at the edge of the obsidian tree, its crystal-like branches weaving silently behind him. He looked… almost the same. But not quite. His skin now held faint constellations that moved beneath the surface like memory echoing under flesh. His eyes had lost their whites entirely—replaced by smooth spheres of starlit gray. He didn’t blink. He didn’t need to. When Selene stepped closer, she felt it immediately. He wasn’t human anymore. “Marcus,” she whispered. “Is that still you?” He turned slowly, and when he smiled—it was gentle. Sad. “In part,” he said, echoing the same words he had spoken when he first emerged from the black tree. “But not all.” Pamela watched him warily, arms folded. She had been quiet since the last ri

The Gate didn’t open so much as it revealed itself.Not with fanfare. Not with cosmic explosions or memory-glitching light. Just a silent ripple, like a curtain being drawn back in the middle of the universe.One moment, there was only sky.The next, the Gate of One stood before them.A structure of impossible symmetry—black, jagged, yet perfect. It shimmered in and out of visibility, like reality couldn’t decide whether to keep it or hide it. The air around it was too quiet, too clean. There were no stars near it. No wind. No gravity. Just… pause.Kael emerged from the valley floor, his body cracking and reforming as he ascended. His form was different now—not the war-born Kael, not the fractured god-form, and not Valis.He was something else.Something scarred. Incomplete. But conscious.Pamela ran to him first. “You’re back.”He looked at her, but his eyes were distant—glassy with layers of thoughts too wide for language.Riva stepped forward next, cautious. “You went inside the fi