Light fell like rain. Not sunlight—but the slow, heavy shimmer of something divine, something wrong. The halo's afterglow bathed the ruins in pale gold as Lyra walked toward Rai, her feet leaving ripples on the air. Her beauty hadn't faded, yet her presence felt distant, as though she wasn't truly here. The light behind her trembled with every breath she took.
Rai couldn't move. The last time he saw her, she had died in his arms—smiling, whispering his name before the seal devoured her soul. But now she stood there, flawless and alive. A goddess reborn, or something much worse.
Kael drew his blade instinctively. "Stay back, Rai. That's not her."
Lyra tilted her head, her golden eyes sad. "You always were the cautious one, Kael. You still think in terms of enemies and allies."
"Because that's how we survived," Kael growled.
Rai rose slowly, his hand gripping his sword, knuckles white. "How… are you here?"
Lyra smiled faintly. "Because you never let me go."
Her words sliced deeper than any blade. The black seal on Rai's arm flared, reacting to her aura. For a moment, he saw flashes of memory—Lyra laughing beside him, kneeling beside his throne, whispering a vow as blood soaked the battlefield. "If you fall, I fall. If you rise, I'll follow you through eternity."
"You were sealed," Rai said softly, almost to himself. "You were consumed by the Vowbound."
"I was," Lyra replied, taking another step closer. "But your curse feeds on devotion. Every soul that prayed for your return—every ounce of love you denied—it all became part of me. I am the devotion you left behind."
Kael's eyes widened. "You're… part of the seal?"
Lyra nodded. "The living echo of every vow broken in your name. And now the seal is waking."
The air grew heavy. The ruined city began to tremble again, cracks spreading through the ground as the golden light thickened, forming shapes—faces, hands, entire bodies made of faith and despair. The Vowbound fragments.
Lyra extended her hand toward Rai. "Come back to where it began. Together, we can rewrite the world before the gods awaken again. We can finish what we started."
Rai took a step forward—then stopped. His eyes darkened, and the crimson glow returned. "No. I've seen what happens when we play god."
Lyra's smile vanished. "You think denying me will save you? You are the curse, Rai."
Her expression changed—beautiful yet terrible, divine energy flooding through her form. Wings of light unfurled behind her, their edges flickering with flame. Kael stumbled back as the pressure nearly crushed him.
"Rai!" Kael shouted. "She's merging with the fragments!"
Rai's seal burned black. "Then I'll stop her."
Lyra's voice was soft but trembling. "You'd kill me again?"
Rai hesitated. For a heartbeat, his blade lowered. Then, his jaw tightened. "If you're not really her… I already did."
The ground erupted as their powers clashed—black flame against golden radiance. Every strike tore the air apart, sending shockwaves through the city. Lyra moved like light itself, her wings cutting through ruins, while Rai's sword carved shadows that devoured her brilliance.
Between each blow, fragments of their shared past resurfaced—laughter, betrayal, the night she sealed him.
When the dust finally settled, Rai stood amidst the rubble, his sword trembling, blood dripping down his arm. Lyra knelt before him, half of her form fading into mist.
She smiled weakly. "You've grown stronger… but you still hesitate when it matters."
Rai's voice was quiet, almost broken. "Because I still see the woman I loved."
Her golden eyes softened. "Then remember this—what you love is what will destroy you."
She dissolved into light, scattering into the wind. But before she vanished completely, she whispered a single phrase:
"The gods are not returning, Rai… they never left."
The ruins fell silent. Kael walked up beside him, clutching his shoulder. "What did she mean?"
Rai looked at the fading light, his voice hollow. "That everything we've been fighting… might already be inside us."
And in the distance, beneath the ashes of Halion, something stirred—an ancient heartbeat, deep and slow, echoing through the world like a promise waiting to be broken.