The following morning in Therasia brought with it a deceptive calm. The sun rose over the mountains, painting the hot springs in gold, but none of us could appreciate the beauty of the kingdom we had saved. Lyra's absence weighed like an invisible shroud over all of us.
We were preparing to depart when the first sign appeared.
"Takumi, come see this!" Elara called from the balcony of our quarters, her voice tense.
In the central square, where the night before we had held Lyra's funeral, the hot springs now bubbled with a sickly energy. Purple bubbles rose to the surface, and the sweet scent of flowers was replaced by a metallic, acrid odor.
"What's happening?" Vespera joined us, her bow already in hand.
Liriel arrived running, her face pale. "Impossible... He prepared a contingency."
Before we could act, the waters erupted in a jet of corrupt energy that shot toward the sky. From the column of darkness, a familiar figure began to materialize.
"Zephyron," I grunted, my hands instinctively going to the hilt of my sword.
But it wasn't exactly Zephyron. It was a spectral version of the general, his features distorted by the energy that composed him.
"You were mistaken to think you defeated me," the voice echoed in our minds, cold and impersonal. "That battle was only the beginning of the ritual, not its end."
King Fenrir arrived with his guards, his face a mask of fury and pain. "What have you done to my daughter, monster?"
Zephyron's specter laughed—a dry, humorless sound. "Your daughter was... useful. Her sacrifice provided the final energy needed. The Soul Devourer was never my ultimate weapon—it was only the catalyst."
Liriel stepped forward, her hands glowing with divine power. "What have you done, Zephyron?"
"Invocation," the specter replied simply. "While you mourned your princess, I was completing the true ritual. The Soul Devourer was merely the bait—its destruction released the necessary souls."
The ground began to tremble violently. From the corrupted waters, something began to emerge—something that made the Soul Devourer seem like a mere pet.
It was a creature of pure nightmare. Its body was formed of solidified shadows, with multiple eyes glowing with a sickly light scattered across its amorphous torso. As it moved, the very air seemed to freeze around it.
"The Devourer of Realities," Liriel whispered, horrified. "It's attempting to summon a being that can rewrite reality itself."
"Correct, former goddess," Zephyron seemed satisfied. "And with the energy from your beloved princess's sacrifice, I have more than enough power."
The creature emitted a sound that was not a roar, but the very sound of the fabric of reality tearing. Nearby buildings began to dissolve into particles of light, only to reform into distorted, non-Euclidean shapes.
"Everyone, protect the civilians!" I shouted, drawing my sword. "Liriel, how do we fight this?"
"Normally, we don't," she replied, her face pale. "This is a creature that should exist only in Lovecraftian nightmares."
Vespera was already in action, her arrows flying toward the creature's multiple eyes. "Well, we don't have time to be picky!"
The arrows hit their targets, but simply passed through the creature as if it were no more substantial than mist.
"I forgot to mention," Zephyron's specter laughed. "It exists partially outside conventional reality. Your physical attacks are useless."
Elara attempted a purification spell, but the magic simply dissipated as it approached the creature. "My magic isn't working!"
Then Lyra arrived—not the Lyra we knew, but a ghostly apparition, glowing with a soft light.
"Lyra?" Fenrir whispered, hope and pain mixed in his voice.
"Father... everyone... hear my voice," the apparition spoke, its voice echoing like distant bells. "My essence is still bound to the ritual. I can... I can give you a chance."
Lyra's apparition turned to me, her eyes—so vivid and real as in life—meeting mine. "Takumi, there is a way. But I will need to… I need to go completely."
"What do you mean?" I asked, a chill running down my spine.
"My soul is still bound to the ritual," she explained. "I can use it as an anchor to bring it momentarily into our reality. But… it will be the last thing I do."
"No!" Fenrir shouted. "Daughter, you've already given enough!"
"Some of us are born to give everything, Father," Lyra's apparition smiled softly. "This is my choice. My final choice."
She turned to the others. "Elara, Vespera, Liriel… take care of him. And take care of each other. The world needs you."
Before anyone could protest, Lyra's apparition began to glow intensely. She flew toward the creature, her ghostly form enveloping the entity in an embrace of light.
"NOW!" her voice echoed across the square.
Liriel wasted no time. "Everyone, ALL your power! NOW!"
Elara, Vespera, and I channeled all our energy into Liriel. The goddess shouted words in an ancient tongue, and a spear of pure divine light formed in her hands.
The creature, momentarily restrained by Lyra's sacrifice, roared in frustration as it was forced to fully materialize.
"GO!" Liriel hurled the spear.
The projectile of light struck the creature where its heart might have been. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, slowly, the entity began to break apart into particles of light, its monstrous form dissipating like mist at dawn.
Zephyron's specter roared in fury. "NO! I WAS SO CLOSE!"
"You underestimated a princess's love for her people," Liriel said coldly. "And the power of a goddess who learned to care."
With one final scream of rage, Zephyron's specter dissolved.
The silence that followed was absolute. In the square, where moments before a battle for reality itself had raged, only the soft light of Lyra's apparition remained, now weaker than a candle about to go out.
"Lyra…" I ran to her, my hands passing through her now almost transparent form.
"She's gone, Takumi," Liriel said softly. "This is only… an echo. A final farewell."
Lyra's apparition smiled at us, her fox ears twitching slightly in one last characteristic gesture. "Continue… please. The world… needs heroes… like you."
Then, with one final breath of light, she vanished completely.
Fenrir fell to his knees, his body shaking with silent sobs. The price of victory had been paid twice—and each time from the same generous heart.
Zephyron was defeated, but his last message echoed in my mind: "This was only a test."
The true nightmare was yet to come.