Beneath the fractured spires of the Shard Gate, something pulsed.
A door.
Tall, black as sorrow, rimmed in whispering light.
Lioran stood before it — not alone, but with a shadow beside him.
A child.
Identical to him in every way.
But where Lioran's ember glowed with life, this one's heart was hollow.
"I'm what you left behind," the shadow-boy said. "The part of you that doesn't want to protect. Only to know."
Lioran reached out.
The door opened.
And far across the realms, Aran dropped to his knees, eyes wide, flame dimming.
"Elira…" he gasped. "He opened it."
The Hollow King smiled in the dark.