It happened on a quiet morning.
Selene and Eryth were sitting by the pond when the sky cracked.
Golden fissures spread across the heavens, and through them came the familiar, suffocating presence of the Architects.
"FOUND."
Selene stood slowly, her black hair catching the wind. Eryth looked at her, finally realizing who—or what—she truly was.
"…Selene," he whispered, "what are you?"
She turned to him, her silver eyes soft. "…Something I don't want to be anymore."
From the rift descended three Core Bearers, each radiating the godlike power she once feared:
One cloaked in endless flame.
One surrounded by shifting black geometry.
And… Lyra.
Lyra's gaze was conflicted. "Selene… you can't win this time. Come quietly."
Selene smiled faintly. "You should know by now, I don't do quiet."
The Final Battle
The ground split. The air twisted. Selene unleashed everything she had learned in those five years—no longer raw destruction, but perfect, precise creation.
She shaped shields of starlight, illusions that trapped even Core Bearers, and waves of reality-bending power that danced like silk. The battlefield became a living dreamscape, every breath a masterpiece of controlled chaos.
The other Core Bearers struck with everything—fire that erased memory, blades that cut through timelines—but Selene adapted. She wasn't just imagining anymore; she was understanding.
Finally, it was only her and Lyra.
Lyra raised her blade, hesitating. "…You've changed."
Selene nodded. "So have you. But I can't go back."
They clashed one last time. Blades of thought and concept collided in a flash that lit up the entire sky.
When it ended, Lyra was on her knees, her blade shattered.
"…You win," Lyra whispered. "But they'll keep coming."
Selene helped her up gently. "Then I'll keep stopping them. I'm done being their weapon."
Lyra looked at her long and hard… then stepped aside.
The Choice
The Architects' voice thundered one last time through the rift.
"SELENE VEYR. YOU DEFY THE DESIGN. CHOOSE: RETURN OR BE ERASED."
Selene held Eryth's hand tightly.
She lifted her gaze, calm and resolute.
"I choose… to live."
She closed her eyes and imagined something new.
A world beyond their reach. A place they couldn't touch. A dimension sealed from even the Architects themselves.
And in a single breath—she created it.
The rift collapsed. The golden voices faded. Origin's connection to her was cut forever.