After an unknown time—perhaps a century, perhaps just an instant.
When Elian's consciousness slowly emerged from pure white, warm nothingness, the first sound he heard was a heartbeat.
"Thump... thump... thump..."
Steady, powerful, full of life.
It wasn't his own.
He struggled to open his eyes. First came dawn's gentle golden rays streaming through the cathedral dome's massive breach.
The blood moon had receded.
The air carried fresh, post-rain grass scent. All evil, corrupt energy had been completely purified.
He moved his fingers, discovering he lay in a warm, solid embrace. That steady heartbeat came from this embrace's chest.
He looked up to see Rafe's dust-covered but still well-defined face. He slept deeply, breathing peacefully, even wearing a foolishly satisfied smile as if having a beautiful dream.
His body was covered by Elian's tattered black coat.
Both were gently wrapped in a faint cocoon of gold-and-black intertwined energy film. This energy had protected them through the world-annihilating explosion.
Elian looked at Rafe's sleeping face, then down at their still-clasped hands.
He felt strange changes in his body.
That heart silent for three centuries seemed... attempting to beat again.
His blood now carried traces of sunlight-warm radiance.
Meanwhile, within Rafe, that always-turbulent wolf blood had become unprecedentedly stable and refined. A touch of eternal night's cold silence had merged with his soul, bringing final peace to his ever-burning spirit.
In their life-and-death fusion, they had shared each other's life essence.
You in me, me in you.
Never again separable.
"...Mmm..."
Rafe seemed to sense Elian's gaze. His long lashes fluttered as he slowly opened his eyes.
Those amber orbs were exceptionally clear in morning light.
They gazed at each other wordlessly.
All language seemed superfluous now.
Finally, Rafe smiled first, showing white teeth.
"Good morning," he said. "Your heartbeat sounds beautiful."
Elian paused, then couldn't help curving his lips—an extremely subtle yet world-dimming gentle smile.
"Good morning," he replied. "So does yours."
They slowly rose from the ruins.
Caspian had vanished completely. In that level of purifying energy, he might have returned to primordial dust. The heavy past that had controlled Elian for three centuries finally concluded with his disappearance.
Beside the altar ruins, they found three weakened but unharmed vampire elders. They also found... the chain-bound middle-aged man.
Rafe rushed over, using his axe to break his father's chains.
"Father!" He held that weak body tightly, voice choking with suppressed emotion.
"...Rafe..."
The "Pathfinder" slowly opened his eyes, seeing his grown, excellent son. That always-mountain-firm face showed relieved smile.
His gaze moved past Rafe's shoulder to Elian behind him.
Those eyes held no hatred or suspicion. Only warm, benevolent elder's assessment of a younger generation.
He slowly nodded at Elian.
This was recognition spanning ten years, transcending blood-deep hatred.
...
The All Saints Cathedral incident shook Crescent City's entire supernatural world like a magnitude-12 earthquake.
The Sacred Thorn Knights were destroyed.
Ancient Prince Caspian had fallen.
The "Great Severance" ritual nearly dragging everyone to hell was successfully prevented.
And achieving all this were two young heirs previously considered "sworn enemies" by everyone.
The data pad recording all truth was made public.
"The Great Lie"—this cruel term appeared before all vampires and werewolves for the first time.
Days later.
In the "Silent Hall" where countless "ceasefire negotiations" had occurred, an unprecedented joint assembly of both races' highest levels convened.
The hall was packed. Every vampire clan patriarch and werewolf tribe alpha had arrived.
The atmosphere was no longer tense confrontation, but heavy, complex yet hopeful... silence following massive shock and reflection.
Elian and Rafe stood side by side at the great obsidian round table's center.
They were this assembly's conveners.
"'Lies' have lasted five hundred years," Elian's voice—clear and determined—echoed in everyone's ears. "They made us bleed, made us hate, made us fight meaningless battles like blindfolded gladiators on stages built by our enemies."
"Today we stand here not to assign blame for the past," Rafe's powerful, resonant voice continued, "but to choose a completely new future!"
He drove his battle-tested axe deep into the table's center.
"The old covenant was long defiled by blood and lies. I propose we completely abolish it now!"
Elian stepped forward, placing his prince-blood-stained obsidian blade beside the axe.
"We propose," his gaze swept over everyone present, "establishing a new covenant. One no longer based on suspicion and compromise, but built on truth and trust—a true, eternal—"
"—Alliance!"
Both spoke the final words in unison.
The entire hall fell silent.
All patriarchs and alphas looked at those two figures on stage—one cold as moon, one hot as sun, yet standing together in perfect harmony.
They saw their wordless understanding.
They saw the awe-inspiring powerful aura radiating from them after experiencing life-and-death and merging with each other.
They were the "New Covenant" itself.
The most perfect, only embodiment of this hopeful, brand-new future.
Someone first stood, placing hand over heart in highest salute.
Then a second, a third...
Finally, everyone in the hall rose.
An old era of lies was completely buried in this moment.
A new age of trust slowly began its curtain call.
...
(Epilogue)
One month later.
The former "safe house" had become Elian and Rafe's permanent residence.
Afternoon sunlight streamed through huge floor-to-ceiling windows, leaving warm patches on the floor.
Elian half-reclined on the sofa, unusually not reading but eyes closed, seemingly enjoying this rare, peaceful afternoon.
Rafe sprawled on the carpet like a massive, lazy canine, head pillowed on Elian's leg, sleeping soundly.
Everything seemed so tranquil, so beautiful.
Then slight knocking interrupted this peace.
Elian's butler—that always-expressionless elder—entered. His face showed rare, grave concern.
He carried a box made of unknown metal, ancient and simple.
"Master," he said quietly, "this just arrived. No sender information, appeared directly at our door through untraceable... spatial jumping."
Elian frowned slightly.
He sat up, accepting the box. It felt ice-cold and heavy. No text, only an extremely complex stellar-serpent emblem he'd never seen.
He opened the box.
Inside was no letter or object.
Only a hovering, light-formed information entity constantly changing shape.
When Elian's gaze touched that information entity, ancient, vast data in no known language flowed directly into his soul.
The message was simple yet filled with bone-chilling implications.
"The world's 'echo'... we have received."
"End of 'The Great Lie,' shift in 'Balance'... interesting variables."
"Observation... has begun."
"We anticipate... 'first contact.'"
Elian's expression became extremely grave.
He looked up, meeting Rafe's equally serious gaze—he had somehow awakened and was staring at the information entity.
Both saw identical messages in each other's eyes.
They had won this war, saved their world.
But their earth-shaking final strike—fusing life and death—seemed to have sent an irrevocable "invitation" to more ancient, vast, unknown cosmic depths.
A new story was just beginning.