Inside the Spire
Lyra's knees hit the stone, but her light burned brighter still.
She wasn't just wielding the Seed anymore—she was channeling it, weaving the threads of lives and wills that now tethered to her.
Kaelen dragged himself up, broken blade still clutched in his hand like a symbol of defiance. "If you want her," he rasped to the Echo Lord, "you'll have to kill me first."
The Echo Lord laughed, a sound like galaxies splitting apart. "Mortal, you cannot comprehend what I am."
But even as he spoke, his attention flickered—because Lyra's light was pulling, reaching past the chamber, connecting with ships, fleets, and lives beyond.
The Admirals React
On the Sovereign, Admiral Veyric's crew shouted as controls went haywire. Every star chart shifted. The labyrinth was collapsing into a singular path—toward the spire.
"Damn him," Veyric hissed. "He's forcing us all into his arena." He slammed his gauntlet down on the console. "Signal the Iron Phalanx. We cut through or we burn here."
Across the void, Azhira trembled, clutching her staff as visions battered her mind. In her foresight she saw a thousand possible futures—
—and in almost every one, the Echo Lord's wings blotted out the stars.
"No… this isn't fate," she whispered, shaking. "This is theft. He is stealing destiny itself."
Her second-in-command pressed her for orders.
Azhira raised her head, eyes blazing. "Hold the line. Delay his ascent. The Seed must resist him—if it falls, everything falls."
The Harbinger's Gambit
While others hesitated, the Harbinger roared with savage delight. His war-beast fleet charged headlong through collapsing corridors, ships ramming aside rivals as if the labyrinth itself were prey.
"Let him rise!" the Harbinger bellowed. "And let us be the ones who chain him! With his fire, I will forge a galaxy that kneels!"
Blood-red banners lit his armada, and even the labyrinth bent beneath their ferocity.
Back in the Chamber
Lyra's light met the Echo Lord's shadow in a sphere of colliding storms. For a heartbeat, it looked like she was losing—her silver flames guttering.
Then Kaelen staggered forward, placing his shattered blade across her lap, a gesture more vow than weapon. "You carry all of us," he whispered. "But you don't carry it alone."
The Seed pulsed.
Lyra gasped as her strength doubled—not from her own will, but from Kaelen's unyielding bond, and the countless threads tethered to her through the Seed.
The Echo Lord's wings flared, black fire scorching the chamber. "Fools. Even united, you are but sparks. And I—"
His roar cut across the labyrinth, making fleets quake.
"—am the abyss unending."