The woman stood tall in the heart of the broken Nexus—wrapped in flames that didn't burn, cloaked in shadows that whispered.
Her skin glowed like molten stone, and her eyes shimmered with the dying light of forgotten worlds.
Selena instinctively stepped in front of Lorenzo, her body trembling with the aftershock of the Core's explosion. The ruins of the mirror still crackled with energy beneath her feet.
"Who are you?" she asked, voice hoarse.
The woman's lips curved into a haunting smile. "I am what comes after the end. What you released when you shattered the seal."
She lifted her hand, and the void behind her twisted—taking shape.
A throne rose from the ashes. Tall. Jagged. Ancient. It pulsed with power so raw, Selena's knees almost buckled.
The woman walked toward it, every step sending tremors through the Nexus.
"You cracked the lock," she said. "But the Core was only a gatekeeper. Not the master. I am what it was guarding."
Selena swallowed. "Then why are you still here?"
"Because I have no vessel yet." Her gaze landed on Selena's chest. "But your soul… it glows like a phoenix. You are strong enough to hold me."
"No." Selena shook her head. "You won't use me."
"You already bled for the seal. That blood bound you to the throne. You made yourself the new conduit."
Lorenzo let out a soft cry. "She didn't know!"
The woman's voice hardened. "Ignorance doesn't absolve power. She is chosen. Not by me. By fate."
Selena's hands curled into fists. "Then fate is broken. And I will rewrite it."
The woman blinked slowly. "You would stand against me? Against destiny itself?"
"I've done it before," Selena growled.
Power surged through her—the lingering bond with Dante, the glyphs still etched into her skin, and the fire of her own spirit.
For the first time since entering the Nexus, Selena wasn't afraid.
The woman studied her. "Interesting. You defy me… and yet the throne still calls to you."
"I'm not yours to command."
"No. You are mine to consume."
Without warning, the woman raised her arm—and the void screamed.
Flames and shadows spiraled together, forming a storm of pure destruction. It roared toward Selena.
She barely had time to raise a shield of glyphs—just enough to absorb the brunt of it. But the force still sent her flying across the ruined plane.
Lorenzo screamed her name.
Selena landed hard, pain shooting through her ribs.
She coughed, blood staining her lips, but her grip on her power didn't waver.
"I won't break," she whispered. "I can't."
The woman stepped down from the half-formed throne. "Then you'll burn instead."
A second blast formed—hotter, faster.
Selena's mind screamed for help.
And then—
Dante's voice.
"Fight. Don't give in. I'm coming."
A spark of gold flared in her heart.
Her eyes snapped open, glowing white.
She stood.
And this time, she didn't block the blast—
She absorbed it.
The storm collided with her chest—but instead of tearing her apart, it was swallowed whole.
The glyphs on her skin pulsed violently, rewriting themselves.
Her hair lifted around her shoulders, fire dancing through each strand.
The woman recoiled. "Impossible…"
Selena stepped forward. "You're not the only one who evolved."
She drew the Core's power inward, reshaping it with her will.
A weapon formed in her hand—a blade of light and darkness, forged from the seal itself.
Selena's voice echoed with layered tones—not just her own, but Dante's, Lorenzo's, and something older.
"I am no one's vessel. I am the Key. I am the Lock. I am the Flame."
And she struck.
The blade slashed through the Nexus, severing the tie between the woman and the throne.
She screamed—a sound like galaxies shattering.
The throne cracked.
Selena pressed forward, eyes burning with fury. "This place dies with you."
The woman shrieked and lunged, claws of fire aiming for Selena's heart.
But Lorenzo—his true form—stepped in front of his sister.
The claws pierced him instead.
His blood hit the ground.
And the Nexus froze.
Selena caught him as he fell, her scream echoing through eternity.
"No—no, no, no—"
Lorenzo smiled weakly. "Guess I'm still good for something…"
Tears blurred her vision. "You didn't have to do that."
He coughed. "I did. I wasn't strong enough to fight her, but I could protect you."
He reached up, brushing her cheek with a trembling hand. "End it, Selena. For all of us."
Then his body went still.
And the Nexus shattered.
---
Outside—
The temple collapsed with a deafening roar.
Elias shielded Dante from the debris as energy crackled through the air.
Then—
Light.
A blinding column of golden fire tore through the sky.
From its heart, a figure emerged—cloaked in flame, carrying a body.
Selena.
She landed gently, her clothes tattered, her hair wild, her eyes glowing.
In her arms—Lorenzo's broken form.
She laid him down, brushing his hair back tenderly.
The silence that followed was deafening.
Then Dante rushed to her.
They collapsed into each other's arms.
He whispered against her hair, "You came back."
"I couldn't leave you," she breathed.
Behind them, the fire faded.
But the seal on the ground remained cracked.
Elias stared at it. "It's not over, is it?"
Selena stood slowly, her eyes still glowing faintly.
"No. That throne still exists. And something else is trying to claim it."
Dante's jaw clenched. "Then we destroy it. Together."
Selena nodded.
But as they turned away, neither noticed the shadow that crept from the temple ruins…
The woman's voice whispered faintly:
"You lit the flame. Now watch it burn."
---