The final battle against the Puppet Master was inevitable. Veran and Raigor, after facing countless trials, now found themselves facing the being that had pulled the strings of war for centuries.
But behind the Puppet Master lurked something even darker. The Shadow behind the Throne, the superior entity that even the Dragon of Time feared.
The Last Revelation
The Puppet Master waited for them in the center of an immense circular room, the walls covered with thousands of silver threads that extended into the void. Each thread corresponded to a manipulated life, a forced destiny.
His figure was wrapped in a dark cloak, his face hidden behind an emotionless silver mask.
"Did you come all this way to stop me?" his voice was emotionless, as if he were only a conduit for a higher will.
Veran clenched his fists. "You have sacrificed thousands of lives. You have destroyed entire kingdoms. Today it all ends."
The Puppet Master slowly raised his head. "Ends? Fools… I am only an instrument. Even my will is no longer mine."
"What does this mean?!" Raigor growled, brandishing his sword.
"It means that even killing me will not change fate. I am only a thread… and behind me, the true architect of the war still watches."
A shiver ran through Veran. Was even the Puppet Master just a puppet?
But there was no time for questions. The battle had begun.
The Puppet Master Clash
The Puppet Master raised his hands, and the strings in the room came to life, transforming into sharp weapons of light. The puppets of fallen kings, generals, and heroes of the past took shape around him.
Veran and Raigor charged.
Raigor faced the puppets, breaking their chains one by one.
Veran dodged the strings, moving like a shadow between the deadly blows.
But the Puppet Master was too powerful. Each blow seemed not to really touch him, as if he were not really there.
"I cannot die," the Puppet Master whispered. "I am nothing but an idea. A concept written in the fate of this world."
Veran understood. The only way to destroy him was to sever his connection to time and fate itself.
And there was only one way to do that.
Veran's Sacrifice – The Fourth Death
Raigor was about to be overwhelmed, when Veran made his choice.
He hurled his blade directly into the Puppet Master's heart… but with it, he poured out his own life essence.
The energy burst forth in an explosion of light and shadow. The strings that kept the Puppet Master alive snapped, and the being let out a heart-rending scream.
For the fourth time, Veran died.
But this time… it was different.
The Puppet Master was disappearing with him.
"It… doesn't… make… sense…" the being whispered, as its form dissolved. "Even if you cut the strings… you can't stop the inevitable…"
With a final look at Raigor, Veran smiled.
"This time… I'll break the strings."
Then, he was swallowed by the light.
Victory… or Just the Beginning?
Raigor fell to his knees. The palace shook, the puppets fell to the ground like broken dolls.
The Puppet Master had been destroyed.
But the atmosphere did not bring peace. The shadow in the sky was still there.
Raigor felt a shiver down his spine.
The Shadow Behind the Throne… had not yet been defeated.
And could Veran, now dead for the fourth time, still return? Or was it really the end?