There was no light.
No dark.
No time.
Altharion drifted through the Fracture—a place beyond place. His body felt distant, less a form than a suggestion. The Ember Codex floated beside him, its pages turning without wind.
He saw things he could not name.
Worlds that never were.
Choices unmade.
And at the center of it all, pulsing with raw contradiction… stood Helios.
Or what was left of him.
Fracture Core - The Impossible Throne
Helios no longer looked human. His form flickered—a child's laugh, a tyrant's scowl, a corpse, a star.
He sat upon a throne made of broken timelines, cradling a sword of unhistory.
"You made it," he said, voice a thousand echoes. "But here, you are memory. And memory is mine."
Altharion hovered before him, arms wide. "No. Here, I am all memory. And you… are only a footnote."
Helios laughed. "Still clinging to meaning?"
"I don't cling," Altharion replied. "I carry."
He opened the Codex.
Names poured out—echoing through the Fracture like pebbles dropped into eternity.
Each name resisted.
Each name restored.
Helios snarled. "This place doesn't care who you remember."
"No," said Altharion. "But I do."
Reality - Duskfall's Edge
The sky above Duskfall fractured like glass. Citizens gathered beneath shimmering anomalies, their eyes wide with awe and terror.
Selene stood at the heart of the Lantern Spire, hand pressed to the Seraphim's core.
"Come on," she whispered. "Bring him back."
Kael monitored the Codex projection. "His presence is still there—but fading."
The Seraphim began to tremble.
Then speak.
"Signal received. Resonance… realigning."
Fracture Core
Helios rose from his throne, wings of negation flaring.
"I built this place from obedience," he spat. "From silence. You will drown in it."
Altharion dropped the Codex.
It didn't fall.
It planted itself.
Roots of light spread from its spine, latching onto the Fracture. The void screamed.
Altharion stepped forward. "You forgot what silence protects. Not power. Not purity. Pain. And I remember all of it."
He placed his hand on Helios' chest.
Memories surged.
Helios' first spell.
The day he wept at his brother's funeral.
The moment he chose control over compassion.
He collapsed to his knees.
"I… I remember…"
Altharion whispered, "Then be free."
The Fracture cracked.
Reality - Lantern Spire
The Seraphim's chest burst with light.
Altharion fell from the sky like a meteor—but slowed, caught by unseen force.
Selene ran to him.
He opened his eyes, barely.
"It's… sealed."
She nodded, smiling through tears. "You did it."
He chuckled. "Don't sound so surprised."
Fracture - Sealed Edge
Helios drifted in silence.
No throne.
No sword.
Just thought.
And for the first time… remorse.
"I remember," he whispered.
A single spark of light flickered nearby.
Perhaps one day, it would grow.
Duskfall - Morning
The skies were whole.
The Seraphim stood, glowing with peace. Children painted its feet with stories.
Selene helped Altharion walk.
Kael joined them. "The Codex is still active. Want to lock it away again?"
Altharion looked at the horizon.
"No. Leave it open. Let the world write its own pages."