Beneath the capital lies a city forgotten by time.
No stars. No sky. No laws.
Only stone, shadow… and silence.
They call it the City Below.
But I know its real name.
I gave it one.
Sanctuary.
I descend alone.
Cael wanted to follow. Ashen offered his sword.
But this place answers to no blade.
Only to memory.
Only to me.
Once, I ruled from above.
But I created what lay beneath.
When the gods demanded I choose which mortals to bless, I gave refuge to the rest.
The broken. The cursed. The unwanted.
I did not raise them to worship me.
I gave them freedom.
And for that, the gods cursed Sanctuary.
Buried it.
Erased it from every map.
But they forgot
I was born to remember.
As I step into its depths, my flame dims.
Not from fear.
From recognition.
Murals still mark the tunnel walls me, drawn in soot and gold.
But there's something new.
A prayer carved beneath my image:
"Let Her burn the world, if it means She remembers us."
They knew I would return.
Even when I forgot myself.
Even when I played villainess in a story too small for me.
At the heart of the City Below lies a single door.
Black stone. No handle. No key.
Only a question carved across it:
"What did you leave behind?"
I answer with one word.
"Mercy."
The door opens.
Inside is not light.
It's a girl.
Small. Barefoot. Eyes like mine.
She looks up and whispers.
"Did you come back for me this time?"
I kneel.
"I never should've left."
She steps forward and places her hand in mine.
And suddenly
I burn without cruelty.
Far above, Aveline screams.
Because she feels it.
I am whole again.
Fire and forgiveness.
Wrath and grace.
Lyraxis, reborn not as a weapon. But as a god who chose to love.