Liora touched the dragon scale, still dark and quiet. "The dragon gave everything.""As did many others," Therha acknowledged. "But they gave so that everyone else could continue. That's what guardians do. What protectors do. What heroes do.""We're not heroes," Ten said tiredly. "We just made choices and dealt with the consequences.""That's what heroes are," Therha smiled. "People who choose and accept the cost. Nothing more. Nothing less."She began to fade, her duty done. "The Garden no longer needs a guardian. The realms are one. The boundaries I protected no longer exist. I can finally rest.""Wait," Liora called out. "What about the VOID? We defeated it, but can it return?"Therha paused. "Everything can return if given form and belief. The VOID was defeat and surrender made manifest. As long as people sometimes choose to give up, it will exist in some form. But as long as others choose to fight, to hope, to persist, it will never be the cosmic horror it once was. It will simpl

Three days passed without incident.Three days of rebuilding. Of mourning. Of trying to understand what their world had become.Ten stood in his mother's garden, staring at flowers that grew where none had been planted. Green shoots that had emerged from the transformed earth, each one holding traces of essence from the returned dead."Huh." He knelt, touching a petal. "These weren't here yesterday.""They're growing faster," Liora said, joining him. She held the dragon scale, still dark but warm. "The Garden said the dead would be reborn. Maybe this is how it starts.""Maybe." Ten's voice was hollow. He hadn't slept well since watching Elite dissolve. "I keep thinking I should feel relieved. The threat's gone. The dead transformed peacefully. But I just feel...""Empty?" Liora finished."Yeah. Empty."They sat together in silence. Around them, Aethervale stirred to life. Citizens rebuilt damaged buildings. Merchants reopened shops. Children played in streets, their laughter carrying

They took Weave to the council hall, away from the frightened crowds. The child sat in a chair too large for her, legs dangling, eyes tracking invisible threads through the air."Tell us everything you see," Kael said, staff resting across his lap. "Every detail matters.""Everything?" Weave's laugh was bitter for a seven-year-old. "That would take years. The threads are infinite. But I can tell you what's important.""Please," Liora urged gently.Weave pointed at the floor. "There. Right beneath us. Maybe a mile down. That's where it waits. The thing that's been sleeping since the realms were divided.""What is it?" Ten asked."I don't know its name. But I can see its shape in the threads. It's massive. It makes the VOID look like a shadow puppet. And it's not evil. It's not good either. It's just... purpose. Pure, absolute purpose.""Purpose for what?" Helena leaned forward."To judge." Weave's multi-colored eyes focused on Helena. "To decide if you're worthy of the merged reality.

# Chapter 50: The Price of FreedomTen couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. His father stood before him, alive, whole, smiling with confusion at his son's expression."Ten? Are you alright?" Elite stepped closer, reaching out.Ten flinched back. "You're not real. This isn't real.""What are you talking about? Of course I'm real." Elite's smile faded to concern. "Did you hit your head during training? Come on, let me look at you.""No." Ten backed away further. "You died. The Vocans killed you. I saw your body."Elite laughed, but it was nervous now. "Vocans? Ten, there haven't been any Vocan attacks in months. The dragon keeps them away. And I've been here the whole time. Teaching you archery. Helping your mother in the garden." He paused. "Are you feeling feverish? Should I get Helena?"Helena. Ten's heart lurched. "Where is she?""At the training grounds where she always is. Beating recruits into shape." Elite touched Ten's forehead despite his son pulling away. "You're burning up. Com

Ten's mouth opened. Closed. No words came.How could he answer this? How could anyone?Say yes, and Liora was gone forever. Lost to the void between realities, holding the merged world together from the inside. He'd never hold her again. Never hear her laugh. Never see her face except in memory.Say no, and everyone returned to the cycle. Safe. Bound. Liora alive but not his. Elite alive but never truly living. The dragon never transforming. Weave never existing. Everything they'd fought for erased like words in sand."I can't," Ten whispered. "I can't make this choice.""You must," the Arbiter said. "This is the final test. Not of strength. Not of courage. Of conviction. Do you truly believe breaking the cycle was worth the cost? Or was it selfishness disguised as nobility?""Shut up," Helena growled, stepping beside Ten. "He doesn't have to answer alone. We all broke the cycle together. We all face this together.""No," the Arbiter corrected. "He broke it first. He inspired the rest