Silence.Not the absence of sound, but the stillness before a world decides whether to continue existing.
The glass plains had turned black, scorched by the eruption of the Sixth Seal. Above them, the aurora twisted into spirals, bleeding from red to gold to void.
Umbra's shadow clung faintly to Lyn, their fusion barely holding. —Your pulse is unstable, the spirit warned. The Sixth's power still burns through you.
Lyn exhaled slowly, watching steam curl from his fingertips. "I can't stop it. It's like the world is breathing through me."
Rhea pressed a hand to her chest. "The mana field's collapsing—every leyline is bending toward you. Lyn, the planet's core is resonating with your crest."
Arden drew both blades, though his knuckles were white. "So that's the Seventh, huh? The world itself."
Umbra's eyes glimmered. —Not the world. The truth behind it.
The sky split.
No thunder, no lightning—just a vast, soundless tear that exposed the cosmos beneath: endless light, rivers of runes, the reflection of infinite Seals turning like gears.
From that rupture descended a single drop of luminescence, falling in slow motion until it hovered above the plain. It pulsed once—then a voice older than memory filled the air.
"The cycle completes. The Tamer of Shadows stands before the gate of Rebirth."
The light coalesced into a colossal figure—neither man nor woman, cloaked in a tapestry of starlight. Seven crests glowed within its chest, one dimmer than the rest.
"You have broken what was meant to bind," the entity said. "Will you bear what follows?"
Lyn looked up, defiant but calm. "If that's the price of freedom."
The being extended a hand. "Freedom is not defiance—it is burden. To shatter the Seal is to claim its weight. Your rebellion has rewritten the covenant of creation."
Umbra's wings rose protectively. —We are done kneeling.
The being's many eyes turned toward Umbra. "Shadow of the First Flame… you speak as though you are not its echo."
Umbra snarled softly. —I am more than the echo. I am the consequence.
Lyn stepped forward. The crest upon his hand glowed like molten silver. "Then let's end this. If Rebirth means remaking what was broken, I'll bear it. But not as their puppet."
The ground trembled. Every rune buried in the soil began to rise, spinning around him in a storm of light. His allies shielded their eyes as the entire valley became a whirlpool of energy.
Rhea cried out, voice breaking. "Lyn—your crest! It's merging with the Seventh!"
"It's choosing me," he whispered. "Or maybe it was always mine."
The entity lowered its hand. "Then prove it. Rebirth demands death."
The Seventh Seal cracked open with a sound like a heart breaking.
A wave of blinding radiance surged outward, erasing everything it touched—stone, shadow, sky—until only Lyn remained standing in the center of the storm.
He felt himself unravel, every bond, every scar, every memory of what it meant to be mortal slipping away. And yet—Umbra's voice stayed.
—Do not forget who you are.
"I won't."
He reached into the torrent and seized the heart of the Seal. Power screamed around him, raw and infinite, but his will anchored it. He pulled, tearing through divinity itself until the radiance bled into his veins.
The storm broke.
When the light receded, Lyn stood alone amid the ashes of the plains. His hair shimmered faintly, eyes glowing with both shadow and starlight.
Umbra's form hovered behind him—no longer separate, but part of his own aura.
Rhea stumbled forward, trembling. "Lyn… what have you done?"
He turned slightly, his voice calm yet unearthly. "Ended one world. Begun another."
Arden gave a low whistle, equal parts awe and dread. "So… what now?"
Lyn looked toward the distant horizon, where dawn struggled to rise over the wreckage. "Now we see what the gods left for those who refuse to kneel."
The wind shifted—gentle this time, almost reverent. And for the first time since the rebellion began, the world felt alive.