The moment Julius stepped through the final door, everything disappeared.There was no Lyra, no Aster, no forest or Northern Ruins.There was only darkness.Julius stood alone, surrounded by a silence so complete that he could hear his own heartbeat. He turned around and there was nothing.“Lyra?” He called. His voice disappeared into the darkness, “Lily? Mother?” There was no response. Julius clenched his fists, “Show yourself”A soft laugh came from behind him, Julius turned sharply and a figure stood several feet away.At first, it looked like a reflection, then it stepped forward.Julius stared at himself, the man standing before him had the same face, the same body, and the same silver eyes but everything else was different, his clothes were black, his hair was slightly longer,dark veins ran across his neck and disappeared beneath his shirt and his eyes were filled with something Julius had never seen in his own reflection, Just pure hatred.The Shadow smiled, “You finally came”Ju

Nobody moveThe darkness that had filled the chamber seemed to have a life of its own. It pressed against the walls, crawled across the floor, and swallowed every trace of light.Julius stood at the center of it, he could hear Lyra breathing behind him, Sophia whispering Lily's name, Marcus shifting his feet, preparing for another fight but Julius barely noticed any of it.He was listening to the voice, his own voice. The Ancient One had spoken with it, “Julius”He slowly raised his head, “Show yourself”The darkness trembled, then something stepped out. At first, Julius thought it was another version of himself but as the figure came closer, he realized he was wrong, it was taller and its body was covered in what looked like cracks in reality, through those cracks, Julius could see stars, galaxies, and strange worlds appearing and disappearing.Its face was almost human.The eyes were completely black, no pupils, no light, just endless darkness. The Ancient One stopped several feet awa

They all went mute after Julius made his decision about keeping the baby. The baby was still in his arms, its tiny fingers were wrapped around his, and despite the terrifying power surrounding them, Julius couldn't bring himself to let go.Seraphine stared at him as if he had lost his mind, “You don't understand what you're holding”Julius looked down at the child, “Maybe I don't”“The Ancient One is inside him” she said“I know” he replied “It will destroy this world” Seraphine added again “Then I'll stop it” he insisted Seraphine shook her head, “You can't”Julius looked at her, “You said the same thing about me” She went silent and Julius turned away, “I'm not killing a child because of what it might become”Lyra stepped beside him, “I'm with you”Julius glanced at her and muttered, “You should be afraid”“I am”, then she looked at the baby, “But I'm more afraid of what we'll become if we start killing innocent children because we're afraid of their future”Julius smiled faintl

Seraphine remained standing at the edge of the forest, her face unusually pale.Julius watched her carefully, the last words spoken by the stranger were still hanging in the air, the one who created Seraphine has awakened?Julius looked at her and instructed, “Start talking”Seraphine didn't move, “Julius”“No more secrets” he insisted His voice was calm, but there was enough power behind it to make the ground beneath their feet tremble, “You told me you were my creator, you told me the Ancient One was the greatest threat and now you're telling me there is something even older than you? Does that makes sense?”Seraphine lowered her eyes, ‘Yes”“What is it?” He further ashesShe took a slow breath and replied, “His name is Veyron”Aster's expression changed immediately, “Veyron?”Seraphine nodded, “do you know him??Aster looked at Julius, “I only know the name”“Then tell me” Julius instructed Aster hesitated, “Veyron wasn't created, neither was the Ancient One”“That's different” Ju

The Void was collapsing as there was no longer any sense of direction and above, below, left, and right had become meaningless as cracks spread through the darkness in every direction. Kael stood weakly beside Lyra and Aster, staring at the enormous figure before them.Veyron had finally revealed his true form, he was no longer a man and his body stretched across the darkness like a living universe, with countless stars burning beneath his skin. His eyes were larger than worlds, and every movement caused entire fragments of the Void to disappear, yet Julius remained standing, he looked almost small compared to Veyron but he wasn't afraid.Kael stared at his son and called, “Julius”Julius didn't look back, “Stay with Lyra”Kael frowned, “What are you planning?”“I'm ending this” Julius replied Veyron laughed with his voice shaking the entire Void, “You still believe you can defeat me?”Julius slowly raised his head, “You should have stayed in human form”Veyron's enormous eyes narrow