The Veil of Echoes could not hold.
Lyra's unleashed power surged outward like a sun tearing itself apart. Pillars of light split the battlefield, carving through shadow and steel alike. The Harbinger's army screamed—not in fear, but in rage—as they were unmade, reduced to drifting cinders in the void.
"Lyra, stop!" Kaelen's voice barely reached her. The energy had consumed her form, leaving only a figure of pure brilliance in its place. Her scream—half pain, half defiance—ripped through every mind on the field.
The Harbinger raised his void-blade to strike her down—
—and froze.
The Seed responded to his intent, tearing reality itself apart. Around them, wormholes bloomed like flowers, hundreds of them, overlapping, unstable, each one leading to a different part of the galaxy… or beyond.
"This is not victory," the Harbinger murmured, staring into the maelstrom. "This is invitation."
"Kaelen!" Rhyss shouted. "We have to MOVE!"
Ceyra was already at the controls of a shimmering gate-node. "I can stabilize ONE exit—just one—"
"Do it!" Kaelen ordered. He lunged for Lyra, trying to reach her through the torrent of light. "Lyra, you have to let go!"
Her eyes—if they could still be called eyes—locked on his. "Find me," she whispered, and released the Seed.
The explosion was silent but infinite.
Light consumed everything. Kaelen felt himself hurled through a wormhole, tumbling through galaxies, seeing flashes of alien worlds, strange civilizations, and war fleets preparing for conflict. Then, nothing but darkness.
When he awoke, he was alone.
The sky above him was a crimson haze, twin suns burning over a shattered landscape of crystal plains. His comm crackled with static—then a voice, faint, unknown:
"Infinity spark detected. Welcome to Nexus Prime."
Across the galaxy, Lyra opened her eyes on a world of living oceans. Admiral Veyric's fleet broke orbit around a dying star. Seer Azhira knelt in her temple of mirrors, whispering: "They are scattered. The hunt begins."
And somewhere, deep in the void, the Harbinger laughed.