The journey to the Eternal Cave took two days through the merged reality's strange landscape.Roads shifted beneath their feet, sometimes solid stone, sometimes translucent possibility. The sky cycled through colors that had no names. Trees grew and un-grew in loops, their branches reaching for stars that appeared in daylight."I'll never get used to this," Sari muttered, watching a river flow uphill before remembering gravity and correcting itself. "Reality shouldn't be this flexible.""That's what makes it beautiful," Weave said, walking beside her. The child's form had stabilized since judgment, no longer flickering. "Everything can be anything. Nothing's locked into one state.""That's what makes it terrifying," Torin countered. "What if the ground forgets to be solid while we're walking?""Then we adapt," Lira said calmly. "As we've adapted to everything else."Ten walked at the front, dragon scale warm against his chest. Every pulse reminded him why they were here. What they wer

Seven days passed.Ten stayed in the Garden. He didn't leave. Didn't sleep much. Just waited by the spot where he'd poured the ritual mixture.The others brought him food. Made sure he ate. Made sure he didn't waste away waiting."Any change?" Helena asked on the third day."The scale pulses faster," Ten said. "That's something.""That's good. It means she's fighting.""But is it enough?"Helena sat beside him. "I don't know. But you staying here won't make it faster.""I know. But I can't leave. What if she comes back and I'm not here?""Then we come get you. Ten, you look awful. You need real rest.""I'll rest when she's back."Helena sighed but didn't push. She knew that tone. Nothing would move him.On the fifth day, Weave came. She sat cross-legged, reading threads only she could see."She's gathering," Weave said. "Pulling pieces of herself together. But it's slow. So slow.""Why?" Ten asked."Because she's everywhere. In the air. In the ground. In every drop of water. In every

"Three days to stop something that eats entire realities," Sari said flatly. "Fantastic. Just fantastic.""We can't stop it." Weave's voice was small. "The threads show no path to victory. Only endings. All of them bad.""Then we find a new path," Ten said. "We've done impossible things before.""This isn't like before." Weave pointed at the descending horror. "The VOID was a concept. The Paradox was a thought. The Boundary Keeper was a law. But that thing? It's a predator. It doesn't think. It doesn't negotiate. It just consumes."The dragon scale against Ten and Liora's chests suddenly burned. Hot. Painful."Ah!" Liora grabbed it. "What's happening?"The scale blazed golden. Brighter than it had ever been. And from within it, a voice. Familiar. Ancient. Kind."My children. You face the final test.""Dragon?" Ten whispered. "You're still here?""I never left. I transformed. Became the foundation of your merged reality. But I retained awareness. Retained purpose." The dragon's voice re

Helena picked up the dragon scale. It was warm. Pulsing. Two rhythms overlapping like echoes."They're gone," she said. Her voice cracked."No." Weave knelt beside her, eyes tracking threads that shouldn't exist. "Not gone. Changed. They're everywhere now. In everything. I can see their consciousness spread across... oh.""Oh?" Sari demanded. "What's oh?""They're in the paradox. The space between yes and no. Between existing and not existing. They're conscious but not present. Aware but not here." Weave's face went pale. "They can see us. Hear us. But they can't touch. Can't speak. Can't be.""That's not living," Torin said. "That's prison.""It's sacrifice," Mara corrected, tears streaming down her face. "They trapped the Devourer inside themselves. Became its cage. And cages can't move. Can't change. Can't escape."The sky was clear now. No descending horror. No thousand hungry eyes. Just stars and the merged reality's impossible colors."We won," Helena said. "Why doesn't it feel

"Ten's screaming," Weave said, clutching the dragon scale. "In the paradox. He's screaming and I can hear it through the threads.""Then we move faster." Helena pushed through exhaustion. They'd been traveling for eighteen hours straight toward the Scar. No rest. No food. Just running."I can't keep this pace," Torin gasped, stumbling. "I'm not built for this.""None of us are." Sari grabbed his arm, hauled him forward. "We do it anyway."The Scar appeared ahead. A massive wound in reality. Black. Empty. Wrong. Just looking at it made Helena's eyes water."That's where we're going?" Mara asked."That's where Devol hid whatever can stop Mordain." Weave stopped at the edge. The ground just ended. Dropped into nothing. "We have to jump.""Jump into concentrated VOID?" Kael stared at her. "That's suicide.""Maybe. But Devol survived it long enough to hide something. Which means there's a way through." Weave held up the dragon scale. "This is our anchor. As long as we hold it, we stay conn