The sky rift swallowed me whole.One moment I was standing in the square of Oakhaven. The next, I was falling through endless light. Cold. Empty. The kind of light that did not warm. The kind that only reminded you of how small you were.Kenji fell beside me. His violet light blazed around him like a shield."Where are we?" he shouted over the roaring wind.I did not have an answer. I could only see shapes forming in the distance. Broken towers. Shattered worlds. The ruins of realities that had been devoured and forgotten.The Crown of the Primordials.We landed hard on a platform of cracked obsidian. The ground was unstable, shifting beneath our feet like sand. The sky above us was not a sky. It was a wound. A bleeding tear in the fabric of existence."Lyra and Kael are here somewhere," I said. "We need to find them."Kenji nodded. "Stay close. This place is not stable. One wrong step and we could fall through a crack in reality."We moved forward. The path was narrow, winding between

The void pressed against us like a living thing.I stood at the center of Oakhaven, my golden light burning against the growing dark. The villagers huddled around the soul anchors, their lights flickering like candles in a storm. The five suns blazed overhead, their cold light pressing down on us like a weight.And then the attacks began.Lyra burst through the door of the war room. Her face was pale. Her eyes were wide."They are hitting all four realms at once," she said. "The Keepers launched simultaneous assaults. Every allied world is under siege."I felt my stomach drop. "All four?""All four," she confirmed. "The crystal realms. The mountain fortresses. The floating islands. The emerald jungle. They are attacking everywhere at the same time."Kenji stepped forward. His violet eyes were hard. "It is a trap. They want us to split our forces. They want us to abandon Oakhaven."I looked at the map on the table. The markers s

The chamber was silent.We stood in the center of the Crown of the Primordials, our chests heaving, our lights flickering. Malakor was gone. The mechanism was still. For a moment, I allowed myself to believe it was over.Then the void screamed.It was not a sound. It was a feeling. A pressure that built in my chest and crawled up my throat. The air around us grew thick and heavy. The walls began to pulse with a sickly, dark light."Soren," Kenji said, his voice tight with fear. "Look at Kael."I turned.Master Kael was on his knees. His hands were clutching the Ledger of Shadow. The book was glowing with a terrible, violent light. The pages were burning. The names were screaming."It is the backlash," Kael gasped. "The void is fighting back. It is trying to consume me."I ran toward him. "Let go of the book!""I cannot!" he shouted. "If I let go, the backlash will spread. It will consume everything. The void will be unle

The golden blade faded from my hands.I stood in the center of the ruined chamber, my chest heaving, my hands empty. The shards of my iron sword lay scattered across the floor. Malakor's form flickered in front of me, weakened but still standing."You cannot win," he said, his voice a broken whisper. "You have no weapon. No power. Just empty hands and a broken heart."I looked at my hands. They were shaking. But they were not empty."I have never been empty," I said. "I have always had them."I turned to look at my friends. Kenji stood at the edge of the chamber, his violet light blazing. Lyra was beside him, her silver wires coiled around her arms. Marcus was there too, his hammer resting on his shoulder, his amber aura burning bright. And behind them, the allied fleets were arriving. Ships from a hundred worlds, their lights twinkling like stars in the dark."Soren," Kenji said. "We are with you. We have always been with you."I nod

The celebration lasted for three days.Oakhaven was filled with music and laughter. The villagers danced in the streets. The soldiers shared stories of their battles. The allied fleets anchored in the sky-sea, their lights twinkling like a second canopy of stars.But I could not stop thinking about what came next.The war was over. The void was sealed. The prophecy was broken. But the future was still unwritten. And that meant there was still work to do.I stood on the central platform, looking out at the sky-sea. The endless horizon stretched before me, filled with countless worlds. Each one was free now. Each one was finding its own path.But freedom was not easy. It was fragile. It needed protection. It needed guidance. It needed people who would fight for it."Lost in thought again?"I turned. Lyra was walking up the platform, her silver wires coiled around her arms. Her grey eyes were soft. Understanding."Just thinking ab