Seraphine's steps were light, but each step shook the ground. The light from her sacred staff flickered, as if wavering between blessing and wrath. I could feel her magic was still pure, still strong. But it was also burdened with a doubt she could not hide from me. Not from someone who once knew her heart. "I didn't want this to happen," she said when we were only ten paces apart. "But the world needs one truth. And you… you are the obstacle."
I stared at him deeply. "It's not the world that needs one truth. It's you. The Order. And all those who fear losing control over the people who are finally starting to think." The wind blew, carrying the roar of the two lines that now stood in silence awaiting the outcome of this meeting. From behind me, I could hear Kurin turning the mechanism of the magic stone launcher. The elves prepared their lunar light arrow spells. And the beastkin were no longer savage, only hungry for a place in the world that rejected them. Seraphine raised her staff. Light spread like the petals of a heavenly flower. "By the Light of the Source, I bring down divine punishment for the sins of treason and perversion."
"I do not ask for forgiveness," I replied, raising my hand. Demonic magic rose from my body, not dark and wild, but orderly and calm, enveloping my body in a transparent shield like obsidian glass. "I only ask that the truth speak its own way." Then we fought. Light and darkness collided in the middle of the field. But this was not a clash of chaos and order. This was a battle of two beliefs. Two loves that had changed direction. Two souls who had both prayed for a better world and now stood at odds because their definitions of "good" no longer aligned.
Seraphine's magic pierced like the morning sun burning through the mist. Her spells hummed in an ancient language, calling upon the holy spirits to judge. I fought back with binding spells, blue fire that did not burn but restrained. Every blast was a conversation. Every strike a question. "Why did you choose them, Raelzar?" she shouted through the crashing light. "Why did you choose the bringers of disaster?!"
"I did not choose them because of what they were born for!" I cried. "I chose them because they chose to live, even though the world told them to die!" We were thrown back by the wave of energy from the final impact. Seraphine gasped, her staff shaking in her hand. I fell to my knees, blood dripping from my temple. But neither of us gave up. In the distance, beyond the limits of our magic, screams began to erupt. The Order of Light advanced, led by blind zeal. But before they reached us— Suddenly, from the west, a long whistle sounded.
The troops from the neutral city of Arvellis… poured out of their gates. But not to attack. They stood in the middle, unarmed, forming a living wall between the two armies. Farmers, shopkeepers, even children. They carried torches and homemade banners, inscribed with one word: "Enough." Seraphine froze. Her eyes trembled. "What is this…?" I stood, though my legs were unsteady. "This is a world that wants to speak for itself. No prophets. No kings. No war."
And at that moment, it was as if the sky heard. The clouds parted. Sunlight fell onto the battlefield. Not divine light. Not magic. But the usual morning light… that had long been invisible in the fields that only knew darkness. Seraphine slowly lowered her wand. The Order knights looked at each other… and some dropped their weapons.
I looked at Lysette, who was holding back tears on her horse. And for the first time since I was reborn, I believed… Maybe, the world could change. But I also knew it wasn't over. Great changes always start with a small spark. And I… am that spark.