The world was beginning to forget light.
Not because the sun had vanished…
But because Veyrix was rewriting what it meant to exist.
Shadows moved even where there should be none. Flowers wilted in Arielle's footsteps. Time stuttered like a failing clock. And at the edge of the sky, stars turned away.
---
Arielle's Fracture
In her sleep, she whispered in two voices—Kael and Arielle. Sometimes overlapping. Sometimes conflicting.
But then came the third.
A deep whisper that wasn't hers.
> "You should not be."
> "Give me the light, and I will let the boy live."
She woke screaming.
Ayden rushed to her side, holding her tight as her body trembled with power too vast for her form.
> "He's inside me," she gasped. "He's… trying to pull me apart."
---
Elira's Discovery
Elira and Aetheron uncovered a forbidden prophecy hidden in the celestial archives:
> "When a star falls and chooses love over duty, the heavens will split."
"One will rise to bless, and one will rise to consume."
"Only the light who forgets herself can seal the dark."
They looked at each other.
Arielle's rebirth wasn't a miracle.
It was a trigger.
---
The Impossible Choice
Aetheron called Ayden to the sacred grove.
There, among stone pillars etched with star-runes, he offered a dagger forged from pure celestial essence.
> "If she dies by your hand, Veyrix will vanish. She is his tether."
Ayden stared at the blade.
> "You're asking me to kill the person I love."
"I'm asking you to save the world."
Ayden lowered the blade.
"No."
> "Then may the world hope your love is stronger than fate."
---
Arielle's Decision
She heard it all.
Every word.
And when Ayden returned, she smiled gently—Kael's calm wisdom and Arielle's fire blending in her voice.
"I have to go to him."
Ayden grabbed her arm. "Absolutely not."
"I won't be a weapon, Ayden. I won't let my existence destroy everything."
He shook his head
. "You're not a weapon. You're home."
Arielle cupped his cheek.
> "Then let me be the one to fix what I broke."