Selene Dreamveil stood atop the highest spire of the estate, the wind tugging at her silver hair. The sky above Aetherion was fractured with faint residual light from the portals Arios had faced, yet she did not flinch. Her aura radiated control, calm, and inevitability—the unmistakable signature of the Queen of Inevitability.
Her gaze lingered on her son, now settling into the estate, surrounded by the Revenants, Mirrored Six, and cousins. She allowed herself a faint smile. Arios would grow under their guidance. He had Seraphyx by his side. He would not falter.
"Time," she murmured to herself, letting the wind brush across her face. She moved deliberately, stepping into a faint halo of mirrored energy that rippled across the spire. A portal opened, shimmering silver and void-black in equal measure, reflecting her image back at her.
Seraphyx hovered silently beside her, respect apparent even in her usually indifferent posture. "Young Lord will be in capable hands. And you, Queen, are certain this journey is necessary?"
Selene's eyes were distant, yet steady. "It is. Lucien awaits, and matters with the outer god front require my presence. I will return in three months. Arios must be allowed to grow in my absence, not coddled by it."
She stepped into the portal, the mirrored energy rippling and folding around her like liquid glass. Seraphyx inclined her head respectfully, tendrils coiling and retracting as the portal absorbed the Queen of Inevitability's presence.
Portal closing in 3…2…1…
The spire was empty, yet the aura Selene left lingered, suffusing the estate with calm authority.
Far beyond the layers of dimensions, in the Citadel of the Sole Exception, Lucien's violet gaze pierced infinite planes. A ripple—faint, yet unmistakable—sliced through the void like a beacon.
Selene.
His lips curved into a faint, rare smile. The signal of her departure was no surprise—he had known the moment she chose to leave. Yet the sudden pull of her presence called to him, a tether between inevitabilities.
Lucien rose from his throne, aura flaring, light bending around him as if the void itself was anticipating movement. His hand extended, and in a blink, the distance between Aetherion and the Citadel collapsed. He moved with absolute inevitability, the very fabric of space folding to his will, and emerged at the edge of Selene's portal, catching the Queen just as she stepped fully into the void's current.
Selene turned, eyes meeting his. Calm met calm, inevitability met inevitability.
"You didn't need to," she said softly, her tone holding no anger, only observation.
Lucien's gaze studied her, faint amusement in the tilt of his head. "I sensed you leaving. And, as always, I do not allow… disruptions in my equilibrium."
Selene's lips curved faintly. "Equilibrium, hmm? Always so dramatic. Very well. I will allow myself to be retrieved—this time."
Lucien inclined his head, and in the next instant, the void folded around them both. They moved together through dimensions, seamlessly, inevitably. The outer realms bent around them as if acknowledging the union of two of the most powerful beings in existence.
Behind them, the ripples of Selene's departure began to settle on Aetherion. The estate, Arios, the Revenants, and the Mirrored Six—all remained untouched, protected by the Queen's lingering aura and Seraphyx's vigilance.
Yet in the distance, across the fractured skies, the threads of inevitability were weaving a new story—one where Selene, Lucien, and their son would inevitably meet again in ways even the outer gods could not predict.