{Sword Of God}
It ended with a sword.
A massive, divine blade descending from the heavens, cleaving the Hanged Man's Tree in two.
The roots, twisted by suffering, the branches, sagging under the weight of countless nooses—split clean apart. The force of it sent a shockwave through the realm, a judgment, a final decree.
The loop was broken.
Lyra stood there, bloodied, exhausted, but victorious.
She had slain the prince.
Emir remained.
But there was no time to rest.
Because Emir wasn't there.
{Hope's Kingdom}
He went alone.
The others needed time to recover. Time to heal.
Time to piece themselves back together after what the tree had done to them.
But Emir—he didn't have that luxury.
So he walked. Through realms still fractured by the laws of the trial. Through the forgotten paths, the broken roads. Until finally, he arrived at a city untouched by corruption. A beacon in the darkness.
The Kingdom of Hope.
A place of sanctuary.
But there was no sanctuary for him.
