Even after Elysium's victory, the continent groaned beneath the weight of war's scars.
Merslin stood with Rian and Ria in the ruins of what had once been the proud capital of Luminaria.The air still reeked of ash and death.The empty stares of the survivors weighed heavier on their hearts than any battlefield.
In the charred remains of a home, a child sat clutching a blackened, burnt doll.
Merslin's steps faltered.
In that instant, he wasn't the King of Elysium.He was a father, and his heart broke.
Rian and Ria saw it—that flicker of pain that even kings cannot hide.
An elderly chancellor of Luminaria approached, robes in tatters, knees buckling as he knelt at Merslin's feet.
"Please…" His voice trembled, raw and desperate."Do not abandon these children, Your Majesty."
When Merslin returned to Elysium, his mind was heavy.
That night, he rested his head on Elena's shoulder.
"Am I…" his voice cracked softly, "…worthy to be their king?
I never wanted to rule the world.
I only wanted to be its guardian—a sentinel, who rises only when balance shatters."
Elena clasped his hand gently.Her voice was warm, but her gaze saw the truth no one else dared to name.
"I know, my love. I know how heavy this burden is.
But the continent needs more than a guardian now.
If we stop here, this victory will fade.
Another Mericis will rise.
Another tragedy will come."
Merslin nodded slowly, her words sinking into him.Cold reality, yes—but also a lighthouse, guiding the way forward.
"You're right. Elysium must be the center…
But force alone will not be enough.
The races of this land must gather under Elysium's banner of their own will."
He summoned his children.
"Rian. Ria."
The twins stood tall.
"You've seen everything," Merslin said.
"The ruin. The cost. The survivors.
Now you will lead the rebirth of Luminaria—not as conquerors, but as the hands of a continent rising together.
Not with our strength alone…
but as a symbol of every race united."
Rian's eyes burned with determination.
"We'll rebuild Luminaria, Father.
We'll bring Elysium's light to every corner of the continent."
Ria nodded beside him.
"We'll work with elves, orcs, and dwarves—every nation—to ensure Elysium becomes the shield of this land."
Under their command, the ruins of Luminaria began to stir with life.
Dwarven engineers carved aqueducts into the earth.
Orc warriors hauled massive stones across the new foundations.
Elven mages planted seeds, and with a whisper of magic, saplings burst into towering trees—their branches spreading shade across the scarred streets.
Different tongues, different songs, different footsteps overlapped—and from that chorus, hope was built.
Under Merslin's leadership, Elysium became more than a kingdom.
It became a union—a vision of coexistence.
The wisdom of the elves, the strength of the orcs, the craft of the dwarves—all bound together, under one sky.
Elysium rose as a new empire,but Merslin did not wear the crown of a conqueror.
He wore a crown of thorns—a guardian who bore the weight of an entire continent.
Their story did not end with glorious victory.
It had only just stepped onto the harsh, uncertain road called peace.
**
Epilogue: Toward a New Path
Months passed under Elysium's sky.Peace had come—but for Rian and Ria, peace was not rest.It was a question.
The Weight of the Wall
In the great training hall,sword met spell in a clash of light and steel.
Rian's blade flashed.
Ria's magic burned.
They were stronger than ever—yet neither looked satisfied.
Their faces carried not pride, but hunger.
"No."
Ria cut the spell short, frustration in her voice.
"No matter how much mana I pour in, it just becomes a bigger spell.But it doesn't change the world itself—not like Father."
Rian wiped sweat from his brow, driving his greatsword into the earth.
"My blade is sharper, faster…
But it still only cuts what it touches.
It doesn't silence a battlefield.
Not like him."
The wall they faced wasn't made of stone.It was the legend of "the man who slew a Titan."
The King Arrives
A soft clap echoed.
Merslin stepped into the hall, his smile calm—as if he had been listening all along.
"You've reached a rare height," he said gently.
"You are already among the strongest on this continent."
He paused.On the table beside them sat a teacup.
The cup rose into the air, weightless.Starlight coiled around it, like a tiny galaxy.
"But what you saw from me," he said, "was not magic.
It was simply… the rules of the world."
The Lesson
"The power I used," Merslin continued,"is one of the four forces that shape the universe—gravity.
Gravity pulls all things together.
It holds the order of the stars.
I only used it… in a way their bodies couldn't endure."
Ria's eyes widened.
"At the pinnacle of magic… it's not really magic at all, but the laws of the universe…"
Merslin nodded.
"There are four forces—gravity, electromagnetism, the weak force, and the strong.
Together, they weave the cosmos."
He traced a line in the air.
Stars bloomed like a web, an endless skein of light.
"And there is an invisible thread that ties it all together.
The one who spins that thread is the Weaver of the Universe.
Not a god, not exactly—but the origin of the laws that hold everything."
Ria's voice was almost a whisper.
"If we understand those laws…
can we change fate?
Or are we bound to the paths they lay?"
Merslin smiled softly.
"The laws guide us.
But they do not chain us.
Choice is ours.
I followed the thread of gravity—
but look…"
He gestured to the infinite web of stars.
"…there are endless threads.
You don't need to follow mine.
Find your own thread.
Weave your own story.
That… is what I truly wish for you."
The vision faded.
The hall was once again just a hall.The stars were gone, the tea cup sat still.
Merslin patted their shoulders—and left the stage to them.
The Future
For a long moment, there was only silence.
Then Rian spoke, voice low, almost relieved.
"I thought I had to follow Father's path.I thought that weight was mine to carry."
Ria took his hand, her voice steady.
"Our path…it might be swordsmanship.
It might be magic.
It might be something else entirely.
But whatever it is…"
She smiled faintly.
"…we won't walk it alone."
They no longer looked up at the stars.
They looked at each other.
And in their eyes burned something brighter than the constellations—
a future without end.
The tale of Elysium closes here.
But their journey?
Their story?
It had only just begun.