The forest was on fire.
Shadow clashed with flame. Screams tore through the air. The battle was collapsing into chaos—until the light appeared.
At first, it was faint, like a sunrise behind thick mist. Then it grew brighter, warmer, pushing back the dark. The clouds split, and the wind shifted.
Everyone paused—Elara, Kael, Evelyn, even Thorne—drawn to the strange energy blooming beyond the treeline.
From the woods stepped a figure cloaked in pale silver robes, eyes glowing with a soft luminescence. A woman. Regal, ancient, and powerful.
Elara's breath caught. "Is that…?"
Kael narrowed his eyes. "No... it can't be..."
The woman spoke, her voice like bells ringing in a cathedral. "You stand at the edge of two worlds—light and shadow. The time for balance has come."
Nyra hissed, raising her hand to strike, but her magic fizzled in the air.
The stranger lifted her palm. "Enough."
A shockwave of light rippled outward, knocking Nyra and her shadow army backward. The dark beasts screamed and melted into dust. Even Thorne faltered, his expression shaken.
Lucien, still barely breathing, stirred faintly. Evelyn wept beside him, her blood-streaked hands clutching his chest.
The woman turned to her. "His soul hangs by a thread—but it is not yet time."
With a single touch to Lucien's chest, a golden shimmer spread across his body. He gasped, air rushing back into his lungs.
Evelyn sobbed in relief. "You brought him back…"
"I returned his path to him. The rest is up to you both."
Elara, speechless, stepped forward. "Who are you?"
The woman's gaze softened. "My name has long been forgotten. But your blood remembers me, Elara."
Elara froze. "My… blood?"
"I am what remains of your mother's line—guardians of balance, light-bearers of the old world. You are the last born of it."
Kael looked at Elara, stunned.
"I've always felt different," Elara whispered. "But I thought it was because of the curse. The past."
The woman shook her head. "You are more than your pain. You were born to bring peace."
Thorne, now rising from the broken soil, let out a bitter laugh. "Peace? There's no peace left in this world."
Elara stepped forward, blade still in hand. "You chose destruction, Thorne. But I won't let you take us with you."
Thorne's face twisted in pain—then anger. "You could've been like me. You were broken, just like I was. But instead you let them fix you."
"They didn't fix me," Elara said quietly. "They loved me. That's what saved me."
Kael came to her side. Their fingers intertwined.
The silver-robed woman raised her hand. "This world can only survive if balance is restored. Nyra must fall. And you, Thorne… you must choose."
Nyra screamed, dark power exploding from her. "I will not fall! I was born in shadow! I am—"
Her cry was cut short.
A spear of light, formed from Evelyn's flame and Kael's ancient magic, struck her through the heart.
Nyra's eyes widened in shock. Her body disintegrated into black ash, and the shadows shrieked as they fell into nothingness.
It was over.
Thorne dropped to his knees, staring at the place where Nyra had stood. His expression wavered—anger… grief… regret.
Elara approached him. "You still have a choice, Thorne. You can let the darkness die with her. Or you can go down with it."
Thorne looked up, tears in his eyes. "I don't know how to be anything else."
Elara reached into her satchel and pulled out the old silver charm she had once found in the ruins—the one that had belonged to both of them when they were children.
"You were more, once," she said. "You can be again."
He took it with shaking hands. And for the first time in years… Thorne didn't look like a villain.
He looked like a boy who'd finally stopped running.
The wind settled. The trees calmed. The war was over.
Kael wrapped his arms around Elara, his forehead pressed to hers. "You did it."
"No," she whispered, smiling through tears. "We did it."
Behind them, Evelyn held Lucien's hand as he leaned into her, alive and whole.
The silver-robed woman began to fade, light lifting her like smoke. "The balance has been restored. My time is done."
Elara looked up. "Will I see you again?"
"In every sunrise."
And then she was gone.
Only the living remained.
Only the future lay ahead.