The Choir didn't vanish.
They fractured.
Frozen mid-song, they flickered like dying stars—each one caught between what they were and what they used to be. The light in the chamber dimmed as if the air itself was waiting for a verdict.
Maelin's blade remained buried in the floor.
Caelum whispered, "What did you do?"
"I gave them a choice," she murmured. "The same one I never had."
The Starforge buzzed in the stone, sending quiet pulses across the room. Every beat tugged at the Choir—some leaned forward like they wanted to fall, others pulled back like the light burned them.
And then... one spoke.
> "The Key sings of freedom. That was never in the Song."
---
Memory Rewritten
From the walls, scenes began to peel forward.
Not visions—memories Maelin had never lived, but somehow remembered. Hers, and not hers. A life where she led the Choir. Another where she destroyed it. A third where she wasn't even human anymore.
Each version bore the same truth: the Star had always chosen her.
But this time, she was choosing it back.
Maelin turned away from the floating ghosts. "You locked me in this forge to preserve balance."
> "You were the balance," one of the echoes replied. "Until you shattered it."
She raised her chin. "Then I'll rebuild it. On my terms."
---
The Choir Splits
One of the Choir—an echo wrapped in sapphire light—stepped forward. She looked like Maelin. Younger. Eyes filled with hope, not fire.
> "Let her rewrite the Song."
A murmur shook the chamber. The fire-faced echo turned, furious. "You defy the Harmony?"
The sapphire one smiled. "No. I give it room to grow."
With a single note—one soft hum—the Choir split.
Half fell backward, vanishing into the walls, their light fading like an old dream.
The rest stayed.
Changed.
Caelum grabbed Maelin's hand. "So what now?"
---
The Stairway of Stars
Where the floor once held stone, it now unfolded into a path—a stairway made of light, rising into a void that wasn't sky or space but something deeper. Somewhere older.
The Starforge leapt into Maelin's grip again, alive with new patterns—lines, constellations, maps.
The Choir remained silent, watching.
Caelum squinted up the path. "Where does it lead?"
Maelin turned toward the stairway, her voice soft but clear.
> "To the Star that fell before the world began."
She took the first step.