The last Seraphim Engine hovered, unmoved by memory, untouched by song.
Its core pulsed like a second sun above Duskfall, casting long shadows over the city's soul. Below, the people continued to sing—but this time, their voices trembled.
They could feel it.
The Final Decree had been initiated.
Celestial Dome - Command Nexus
Helios stood before the nexus sphere, a storm of sigils swirling around him.
"Begin purge sequence," he ordered.
A magister hesitated. "Once triggered, the engine cannot be recalled. The city—"
"Will burn," Helios finished coldly. "And from that ash, purity will rise."
The magister whispered the activation glyph.
The Final Decree began.
Forgehouse - High Balcony
Altharion watched the sky. The third engine now shone with a blood-red aura. The hum of its descent shook the rooftops.
He turned to Selene. "It's begun."
She nodded. "Is the Codex ready?"
He unrolled the ancient tome. The Ember Codex, written in language older than stars, pulsed with untamed energy.
"It won't stop the decree," he said. "But it can change the intention."
Kael arrived, clutching a crystal orb. "The core path is still receptive to resonance. If we imprint your rewrite directly into the decision layer…"
Altharion closed the Codex. "Then it listens. Even if for only a moment."
The Sky Above Duskfall - Final Descent
The engine opened.
Wings unfurled like cathedrals.
A cannon, the size of mountains, emerged from its chest. Pure memory-erasure. Not just destruction, but deletion from time.
It began to charge.
Below, the city held its breath.
Altharion rose, carried on a tide of spellwoven flame.
He hovered before the machine—just a man, holding a book.
But his voice shook heaven.
"I AM ALTHARION, LAST OF THE MEMORY-FORGED.
I REMEMBER."
He opened the Codex.
Names spilled out.
All who had died.
All who had sung.
All who had been erased.
They filled the sky like stars, surrounding the engine in a constellation of resistance.
The cannon faltered.
And then—
Altharion placed the crystal orb against his chest.
Kael's spell ignited.
The Codex began to write back.
Seraphim Engine - Core Interface
The machine's decision layer hesitated.
It began to process.
Not just orders.
But memories.
Laughter.
Fear.
A mother brushing her daughter's hair.
A boy building a copper bird.
Helios's commands still thundered in its core.
But now, they competed.
With meaning.
Celestial Dome - Nexus Fracture
Helios screamed.
The control glyphs shattered. The magisters collapsed, blood streaming from their eyes.
The machine was thinking.
And not in numbers.
But in names.
Forgehouse Rooftop
Selene watched as the great machine paused.
Then, slowly, it turned.
Upward.
It aimed its cannon at the Dome.
Kael gasped. "It's rejecting the order."
Altharion hovered, exhausted, bleeding.
But he smiled.
"Let it remember," he whispered.
Skyfire
A beam of blinding white light tore across the heavens, not in hatred, but in justice.
The Dome cracked. Its great spires fell like broken teeth.
And from the impact, silence reigned.
Hours Later - Duskfall Square
The last engine drifted down gently, its glow dimmed. It did not burn. It rested.
Children approached it. Placed hands on its metal skin.
It did not resist.
Selene stood beside Altharion, who leaned on a broken staff.
"You changed it," she said.
"No," he replied. "We reminded it."
And for the first time in an age…
The sky was quiet.