The flame-road cracked beneath Amina's feet.
Her every step sent ripples across the unstable path as she carried Valec through the burning void. He was barely conscious, the remnants of the Abyssal's poison still swimming through his veins. Behind them, the roar of the collapsing shadowworld grew louder, hungrier.
"Amina," Valec whispered, "you… shouldn't have come back for me…"
She tightened her grip. "And you shouldn't have given up. So I guess we're even."
The light from Amariel had faded, leaving only Amina's own flame to guide them now. The path narrowed into a tight thread of energy, a lifeline through a realm breaking apart.
Suddenly, a shriek tore through the void—inhuman, ancient, enraged.
The Abyssal hadn't perished.
It had transformed.
From the shadows, a creature emerged—serpent-like, its scales made of screaming faces, its wings stitched from dying stars. It moved between cracks in reality, unbound by form or logic.
"Fools," it hissed. "You think you have won because you escaped my grip? I am the grip. I am the fall. There is no world without me!"
Amina turned, fire glowing in her eyes. "Then burn with it."
She hurled a torrent of golden flame. It hit the creature dead-on—but it laughed, slithering through the fire as if it were air.
Valec stirred. "He's beyond us now… a god of ruin…"
"I don't need to kill a god," Amina growled. "I just need to outlast one."
Then came a fracture.
The flame-road split.
Below, chaos churned—a whirlpool of broken memories, dead stars, and fading souls. Above, the real world flickered—Ashar's voice echoing faintly, calling her name from beyond the breach.
They were close.
But the road was gone.
"No…" she whispered.
Valec opened his eyes, a faint smile on his lips. "You remember the leap you were too scared to take that day on the cliffs of Orun?"
She nodded, stunned.
"I'll go first this time," he said.
Before she could react, he pushed her upward—toward the breach.
"VAL—!"
She screamed as light engulfed her.
She crashed through the veil—falling, gasping—emerging from the tomb floor in a burst of fire.
Lumeah gasped. Ashar and Kai rushed forward. "She's back!"
But where was—
"No…" Amina scrambled, reaching toward the seal.
It had begun to close.
She struck it with her fist, flame blazing—but it didn't open.
"Let me back in!" she screamed.
Ashar knelt beside her, stunned. "Where's Valec?"
Tears streamed down her cheeks. "He stayed… he pushed me through… he's trapped!"
The chamber trembled again.
From deep beneath, the Abyssal let out a final, echoing cry.
Then silence.
The seal sealed.
Kai looked shaken. "He gave himself up... for you."
But Amina's flames began to flicker—faint blue glows dancing across her skin.
Lumeah's eyes widened. "She brought something back with her."
From her chest, a flicker of gold emerged—Amariel's spark. It pulsed once, then settled.
Amina's voice was hollow. "He's not gone. He's not saved. He's… somewhere in between."
Ashar placed a hand on her shoulder. "Then we'll find him. Whatever it takes."
She stood, her gaze hard. "The Abyssal isn't finished. And neither are we."