The valley’s air burned with an acrid tang, as though the Rift of Dracolys itself had set the very atmosphere aflame. Every breath carried the sting of smoke and storm, and the ground quivered with a rhythm like a heart about to burst. Sparks of raw energy leapt from the fractured cliffs, their jagged spires trembling beneath the weight of powers too ancient and vast to be contained.Ten stood at the center of it all, fixed upon the radiant bridge that stretched across the abyss like a strip of living light. The Tear of the Last Dragon pulsed in his palm, its azure glow no longer pure but streaked with veins of shadow, the mark of the essence he had fused into himself. The relic seared his skin and set his blood on fire, its rhythm merging with his own heartbeat until he could no longer tell where he ended and the Tear began.The shadow-self that had once whispered in corners of doubt now bellowed inside his mind with the authority of a god. We are the Rift’s power, it thundered, voic

The council’s chamber pulsed with a soft golden luminescence, fractured walls echoing the hum of ancient power. The air was heavy with the scent of ozone and faded silver, like the memory of storms long past. Liora’s hand trembled, the dragon scale warm in her palm, its golden runes flickering as though alive with the starlight woman’s merged essence. Her breath came in shallow bursts, her gaze fixed on the sixth entity forming from the nexus—a chaotic antithesis that twisted light into snarled knots of shadow.“You bind the equilibrium,” it thundered, voice a discordant symphony that rattled the chamber’s thrones, “but I am the chaos that births it anew.”The ancient bearers, their glowing silhouettes struggling for solidity, sent their thoughts like a soft current through Ten and Liora’s minds: The chaotic antithesis is the Rift’s counterforce. Bind it, or the cycle restarts in eternal turmoil.Above, the void’s tendrils recoiled, yet the new Rift spanning the Four Kingdoms lingered

The transcendent eclipse had scarcely faded when the valley quaked anew, shadows folding upon themselves until they gave birth to a deeper presence. From the Rift’s core emerged the ninth entity, its form shifting like fractured mirrors, each movement unveiling glimpses of truths long buried. The air shimmered with phantoms of forgotten secrets, and the void itself seemed to hesitate before this revelation.Liora’s fingers clenched around the dragon scale, its golden runes scattering erratic light across her skin. The starlight woman’s essence within stirred like a storm ready to break, whispering warnings through her blood. Her pulse thundered in her ears as she locked her gaze on the towering figure rising from the abyss."You bind the eclipse," the entity proclaimed, its voice cascading like a thousand echoes. "But I am the revelation that illuminates it. I unveil what has been hidden, I strip bare what you cling to. Can you endure truths without their veils?"The ancient bearers a

I told him no.""You lied to him.""I protected the kingdoms.""You protected yourself." Ten's lightning eyes flared bright. "Because if Leo had refused the cycle, if he had chosen differently in that moment, you would have lost your hold over us. You need us to believe we have no choice. That's where your power comes from."Helena stepped forward, hammer resting on her shoulder. "I'm Helena, daughter of the General Overseer of Ironcrag. I grew up watching my father make deals with merchants, with other kingdoms, with anyone who could help us survive. And you know what I learned? Any deal where one side cannot say no isn't a deal at all. It's extortion. It's slavery with prettier words.""I do not extort. I preserve. I protect.""You preserve your own existence," Kenal rumbled, red eyes glowing. "We have bound nine entities from the Rift. We can bind you too.""You cannot bind inevitability itself.""Watch us." Liora's voice was cold and certain. She looked at Ten. "Together?"He nodd

"How could we not?" Therrin said, voice rough with emotion. "You have burned for us. Bled for us. Given everything for us. The least we can do is be here at the end." "The pattern did not demand this," the dragon said softly. "No." Therrin stepped forward, placing a weathered hand on the dragon's scaled nose. "We choose this. Just as you chose your rest. That's what freedom means, doesn't it? Choosing to be here even when we don't have to be." The dragon's breathing eased slightly. "Yes. That is exactly what it means." Liora felt the dragon scale in her hand grow warmer. Not the burning cold of before, but a gentle warmth. Like saying goodbye. "What happens to the Forbidden Garden now?" she asked. "The Eternal Cave? Your duties?" "The Garden will remain. Therha will guard it as she always has, pattern or no pattern." The dragon's voice was fading, each word softer. "The Cave will endure. It was here before me. It will be here after. As for my duties..." Its gaze found Ten a