Light poured through the cracks in the sky.
Where chaos had raged moments ago, a strange stillness now hung over Vel Talem. The gravitational pressure lifted slowly, like a great cosmic sigh.
Kael landed hard, coughing. His vision blurred. His limbs trembled, muscles pulled too tight from exertion. Beside him, Nex lay sprawled in a shallow crater, unmoving.
But not gone.
Kael could still feel him—a weak pulse, like a dormant star.
"Is it over?" Liora's voice came through the comm crystal.
Kael pressed a hand to his ear.
"For now. Nex is down. The leyline's stabilizing. But he's not dead."
"Should we extract him?"
Kael looked at the boy's unconscious form—his own face, younger and twisted.
"No. Not yet. Lock him in a stasis field. We need answers first."
Sera arrived moments later, limping but alive.
"You look like hell."
Kael cracked a weak grin. "You should see the other me."
They stood over Nex together, a haunting silence stretching between them.
"So," Sera said, "What now?"
Kael looked up at the swirling sky, where fragments of the battle still shimmered.
"Now... we find out why the Vessels are waking up faster than predicted. And who lit the first match."
Because Kael knew this was just the beginning.
If Nex was born from a piece of his power—then there could be others.
And someone, somewhere, was orchestrating this.