The ground cracked around the containment vault as the Void-Titan fully emerged—a towering entity of stone, starlight, and ancient fury. The energy leaking from its heart bent gravity, warping the chamber into a surreal vortex of past and present.
Titan stepped closer, feeling its pulse echo in his bones.
Kaela grabbed his arm. "You don't have to do this alone."
Titan looked at her, then at Merek and Lira's hologram, flickering from static. "I'm not. I've got all of you. But this part… this part is mine."
The Vaelari's voice returned, heavy with the weight of eons.
"You carry our blood and our failure. But within you is something new. Will you become the gate—or the sword?"
Titan took a breath, then placed his palm on the Void-Titan's core.
Visions flooded his mind.
He saw the moment the Rift was opened… the Council's future experiments… billions of lives hanging in the balance. But he also saw a third path.
Not destruction. Not containment.
Integration.
"I won't seal it," Titan said aloud. "And I won't destroy it. I'll take it in—and end this war from within."
His body lit with brilliant energy as the core's tendrils wrapped around him—not to consume, but to bond.
Merek yelled, "Titan, your vitals are—!"
A blast of light exploded from the chamber.
When the smoke cleared, Titan stood—transformed.
Eyes glowing with cosmic fire. The Void-Titan now dormant, its essence inside him.
"I am the new seal," he said, voice resonating with power. "Let the stars bear witness."