The light from the Core swallowed Eira's figure until she seemed like part of it — a silhouette wrapped in blinding radiance.
Kai shielded his eyes against the glare, his heart hammering against his ribs.
"Eira!" he shouted, but his voice was lost in the rising storm.
Inside the sphere, memories collided.
Not just Eira's — but thousands of lives, voices tangled together in a chaotic surge.
Pain, love, fear, rage — emotions layered into an endless stream.
Eira gritted her teeth, forcing her way deeper into the Core's mind.
"Identify: User Profile... Vanguard-09... Access Granted."
The Core's mechanical voice was cold, ancient.
It didn't recognize her as an intruder — it recognized her as a lost part of itself.
A puppet.
A tool.
"No," Eira whispered fiercely, reaching toward the Core's central nexus — a burning node at the heart of the crystal matrix.
"I'm not your weapon anymore."
The Wraiths shrieked in fury, circling the chamber faster, their energy distorting reality around them.
Riven and Lune stood back to back, fending off tendrils of corruption that lashed out from the walls.
Kai tightened his grip on his blade.
He had to help her — but how?
Charging into the Core now would only kill him.
Instead, he closed his eyes, reaching inward toward his own System — the mysterious force that had carried him through every impossible moment.
And for the first time, he didn't ask it for power.
He offered it.
"Synchronize with Eira," Kai whispered.
"Share strength."
The System hesitated — then pulsed in agreement.
A thread of golden light shot from Kai's chest, arcing across the chamber, striking the Core like a lightning bolt.
Inside, Eira gasped as the surge of Kai's energy flooded her.
Hope.
Memory.
Humanity.
Bolstered by his strength, she reached the nexus — and plunged her hand into its burning core.
The chamber exploded in a storm of color and sound.
The Wraiths wailed — some collapsing, others fading into peace at last.
The tendrils withdrew, the corrupted systems crumbling like ash.
The sphere cracked — fractures running along its perfect surface — and with a final pulse of light, the Core shattered into a million falling stars.
Silence fell.
The storm was over.
Kai stumbled forward, blinking through the fading radiance.
And there — standing at the center of the ruined Core — was Eira.
Alive.
Changed.
The mechanical parts of her body shimmered, less harsh now, woven seamlessly with her human form.
Her eyes were no longer cold blue — but a warm, fierce gold.
"Kai," she said, her voice stronger than he'd ever heard it. "We're free."
He ran to her, and without hesitation, pulled her into a tight embrace.
Around them, the ruins of the Spire began to crumble.
But they didn't need it anymore.
What mattered was standing right here.
Together.