The Wraith drifted through deep void space, its engines humming low, cloaked beneath the echoes of the destroyed Nexus Core. Behind them, the Architect lattice had folded in on itself, collapsing like an origami star bleeding sparks and memory into nothingness.
But the silence that followed wasn't peace.
It was aftermath.
In the medbay, Elara sat by Aeron's bedside. He hadn't stirred since the blast wave had knocked him unconscious during the final phase of convergence. His vitals were stable, but his neural scan flickered with residual feedback—the kind only a Seed-linked mind could suffer.
She held his hand in hers.
Cool, calloused fingers. Quiet strength.
"You always followed me into the fire," she whispered. "Even when I didn't ask. Even when I didn't know if I wanted you to."
His eyelids fluttered.
"I chose to end it," she said softly. "But I didn't choose between you and Valen."
The words tasted like betrayal.
To both of them.
