Ayden stood by the lake, the moonlight casting twin reflections behind him—one shaped like Kael's wings, the other like Elira's shadow.
He held their remnants in each hand: Kael's locket and Elira's feather.
> "Choose," the stars whispered.
But before he could speak—
The sky split.
Not like lightning. Not like a crack.
> Like a curtain being pulled back.
A blinding force descended from above, not fire or shadow, but pure, judgmental light.
Kael dropped to her knees, her face drained of color.
"No," she gasped. "It can't be—"
From the center of the light emerged a man cloaked in stardust and ancient symbols, tall and emotionless. His hair was silver threaded with galaxies, his eyes blindfolded in threads of fate.
Zion took one look and paled.
> "Aetheron," he breathed. "The God of Balance."
Aetheron Speaks
"You were warned, Kaelith," Aetheron said, voice like time grinding through stone. "One life out of place unravels thousands."
Kael stood shakily. "You have no right—"
"I am not right or wrong," he replied. "I am Balance."
He turned to Ayden.
"You were meant to die. You are not the boy—they made you the vessel."
Ayden gritted his teeth. "Then why am I alive?"
Aetheron's head tilted slightly. "Because love... broke the law."
Elira hovered nearby, her form fading in and out.
"And now," Aetheron said, "you will do what the stars could not."
He extended his hand.
"You will choose which soul to erase."
---
The Impossible Decision
Ayden's heart thundered in his chest.
Kael—who gave up her wings, her place in the sky, for him.
Elira—the girl who should have lived, whose soul was bound into his.
He fell to his knees.
"I can't," he said.
"You must," Aetheron intoned. "Or the realms will collapse. The rift Lucien opened was just the beginning. With every second you delay, the universe bleeds."
Ayden looked at Kael, who nodded, tearful but brave.
"I'd choose you again," she said. "Even if it means I vanish."
Then to Elira, whose voice cracked as she whispered, "I never wanted to steal your life. But I do want to live."
---
Aetheron's Test
"I offer a third path," Aetheron said suddenly.
Everyone looked up.
"A Trial," he continued. "Survive the storm of truth. Face your past selves. Endure the weight of every life Kael stole to keep you breathing. If your soul remains intact… you may save both."
Ayden's eyes widened. "And if I fail?"
Aetheron's voice turned cold.
> "Then all three of you will cease to exist."