Beneath the Hollow King's obsidian throne lay a chamber unlike any other—no flame, no light, no truth. Only a black stone basin, filled with stillness.
Here, Lioran stood.
The boy's eyes were silver. His flame dimmed—but not extinguished.
Beside him, the shadow-child waited.
"This is where things become what they truly are," the shade whispered. "Do you want to see your father's truth? Your mother's doubt? Your own?"
Lioran hesitated. "I don't want to become like you."
"You already are," said the shadow.
And when Lioran stepped to the basin, he saw something that shattered him—
Himself.
Grown. Crowned. Alone. And burning the world.