The light of the restored dawn lingered longer than usual, as though the cosmos itself hesitated to resume its rhythm. Kairo stood at the edge of the newly reformed horizon, feeling the hum of countless worlds stabilizing through the Ember's pulse. The storm of the Convergence had ended, but its echoes still trembled beneath creation's surface.
Ayla was the first to break the silence. "Do you feel it?" she whispered, her gaze fixed on the swirling auroras above. "Something's… listening."
Ryo frowned. "After everything we've done, I'd hope the universe would give us five minutes of peace."
Kairo smiled faintly. "Peace isn't silence, Ryo. It's the breath between battles."
They had won—yet the Ember within Kairo's chest still flickered with unease. The relic no longer burned with destructive power; it pulsed like a heart seeking something lost. When Kairo closed his eyes, he heard whispers threaded through the resonance of the worlds—fragments of voices, calling from beyond time.
"The balance is not yet complete… the cycle continues…"
A familiar shimmer split the air. Lyra's image reappeared, softer than before, like a reflection caught between dimensions. "You've done more than anyone could ask, but the Ember's song hasn't ended. The Warden's imprisonment left ripples—echoes that seek hosts in forgotten realms."
"Hosts?" Ryo asked. "You mean there are more of those things?"
Lyra's gaze drifted toward the skies, where constellations flickered in patterns unseen before. "Every Convergence births its shadow. The next one will not come as war, but as memory. Be ready to face what was… and what could have been."
Before they could respond, her projection dissolved into golden motes that merged with the aurora. The world felt heavier.
Ayla stepped closer to Kairo, her eyes reflecting the Ember's glow. "If there are echoes, then maybe they're reaching out for help. We can't ignore them."
Ryo stretched his arms, forcing a grin. "Guess retirement's canceled again."
Kairo laughed quietly, though his expression soon hardened. "We'll need allies—new ones. The realms beyond the Convergence… we've never charted them. It's time to learn what lies past the Flame's reach."
As they prepared to depart, the Ember emitted a low harmonic tone, projecting faint sigils across the ground—coordinates, pathways leading to distant worlds. Among them was one symbol Kairo recognized instantly: a mark shaped like a blade made of light, split down the center.
"The Starblade," Kairo murmured. "It's calling us."
Ayla sheathed her weapon. "Then we follow. Wherever it leads."
The trio stood beneath the shimmering horizon, the world around them alive with rebirth and promise. The war for balance had ended, but destiny's tapestry was far from complete.
The Ember flared once more, brighter than ever before, and the light swallowed them whole—carrying their story into realms yet unnamed, toward the next legend waiting to be forged.