"…Eryndor…"
Kaelira stood there.
In armor.
Not the elegant silk from the ballroom.
Not the fragile image of survival she once wore.
Now—
She looked like someone who had endured.
Her armor was dark steel, layered and reinforced, worn down by years of use. Deep scratches ran across the surface—some shallow, some carved so deeply they almost split the metal apart. Faint violet runes flickered across the chestplate, unstable… like something that had been repaired too many times.
A torn cloak hung behind her, fluttering weakly in the heat rising from the burning battlefield.
Her hair—once long and free—was tied back tightly now.
Practical.
Controlled.
Different.
But her eyes—
They hadn't changed.
And that was the problem.
They still held him.
Eryndor didn't move.
Not at first.
His blade hung loosely at his side, blood dripping steadily from its edge, tapping against the ground in slow… quiet rhythm.
Around him—
Bodies.
Hundreds.
No—
Thousands.
Knights.
Soldiers.
People who had screamed, begged, fought—
All reduced to silence.
And yet—
For the first time since the slaughter began…
He hesitated.
"…What are you doing."
His voice was low.
Flat.
But not empty.
Not completely.
Something moved beneath it.
Something he refused to acknowledge.
Kaelira stepped forward.
Her boots crushed glass.
Bone.
Fragments of the past.
"…Eryndor…"
Her voice trembled.
Not from fear.
From everything she had been holding back for thirty years.
Eryndor tilted his head slightly.
"You should've died with the others."
No hesitation.
No emotion.
Just truth—
Or at least, the version of truth he forced himself to believe.
Kaelira froze.
And for a moment—
The battlefield felt colder.
"…I should have."
Her voice softened.
Almost peaceful.
"…But I didn't."
A pause.
Her hand tightened around her sword.
"…He didn't let me."
Eryndor's eyes narrowed beneath his hood.
"…Of course."
A quiet laugh escaped him.
Cold.
Sharp.
"…So you lived."
He stepped forward.
"…Under him."
That one sentence—
Cut deeper than any blade.
"…You think I chose this?!"
Her voice broke.
Years of silence shattered in an instant.
"YOU THINK I WANTED THIS LIFE?!"
Her breathing grew uneven.
"YOU THINK I WANTED TO STAND THERE—SMILE—SERVE HIM—AFTER WHAT HE DID?!"
Eryndor didn't flinch.
"…You followed him."
"…You obeyed him."
"…BECAUSE I HAD TO!"
Her voice cracked completely.
"…HE KEPT ME ALIVE, ERYNDOR!"
"…HE DIDN'T KILL ME WHEN I SHOULD'VE DIED!"
"…I HAD NOTHING LEFT—!"
Eryndor laughed.
Quiet.
Hollow.
"…Saved you?"
He stepped closer.
Each step heavier than the last.
"…Or owned you?"
Silence.
And that—
Was the answer.
"…You don't understand—"
"I understand perfectly."
Eryndor's voice dropped.
Darker.
"…I lost everything."
A pause.
"…And I came back."
The air shifted.
The flames bent away from him.
"…Different."
Kaelira steadied herself.
"…Then you should understand…"
Her voice softened again.
"…why I endured."
Another step.
"…why I waited."
Eryndor stopped.
"…Waited?"
Kaelira looked straight at him.
No hesitation.
No fear.
"…For you."
Something inside him—
Snapped.
"For me...?"
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!"
He moved.
The ground exploded beneath his feet.
BOOM—
He crossed the distance instantly.
Kaelira barely raised her blade—
CLANG—
The impact shattered the air itself.
Her arms shook violently—
Then—
She was gone.
CRASH—
Her body slammed into a broken wall.
Stone shattered.
Dust swallowed her.
Before it could settle—
He was already there.
His hand shot forward—
Grabbing her by her tied hair—
YANK—
He threw her upward.
Jae's eyes widened.
"…He's not even letting her breathe…"
Eryndor vanished.
Reappeared above her.
And—
CRASH—
His kick drove her back into the ground.
The earth collapsed beneath her.
A crater formed.
Silence.
Then—
She moved.
Slowly.
Painfully.
"…You got stronger…"
She whispered.
Eryndor landed.
"…You got weaker."
She smiled.
Faint.
"…Yeah…"
"…I know."
Then—
He attacked again.
Faster.
Sharper.
More violent.
CLANG—CLANG—CLANG—
Their blades collided again and again.
Each strike from Eryndor—
Heavy.
Precise.
Unforgiving.
Felt like he was holding back...
Each block from Kaelira—
Late.
Strained.
Barely holding.
She was losing.
Not slowly.
Not evenly.
Overwhelmingly.
"…Why didn't you come back sooner…?"
She asked between strikes.
No answer.
"…I waited…"
CLANG—
"…I endured everything…"
CLANG—
"…FOR YOU—!"
"YOU CHOSE YOUR PATH!"
His blade slammed down harder.
"I CHOSE TO SURVIVE!"
Their swords locked.
Faces inches apart.
Breathing heavy.
Eyes burning.
"…Then survive this."
He kicked her.
She blocked—
But still flew back.
Rolling.
Bleeding.
Struggling—
Still standing.
And then—
Something changed.
"…If truly hated what you went through…"
Eryndor said quietly.
"…Then come with me."
Kaelira froze.
"…What…?"
"…Leave this place."
"…Leave them."
"…Come with me."
His voice dropped.
"…We'll destroy everything."
"…Together."
For a moment—
The world held its breath.
Jae whispered—
"…Say yes…"
Kaelira's hands trembled.
"…Eryndor…"
"…I…"
Silence.
"…No."
Everything—
Stopped.
"…What…?"
"…I can't."
Her voice broke.
"…Not like this…"
"…Not if it means becoming… you."
That—
Was it.
The last thread snapped.
Ernydor stopped holding back.
Eryndor disappeared.
The wind shifted.
A whisper brushed against her ear—
"…Then this is goodbye."
Her eyes widened—
"h—!"
Too late.
He reappeared.
SLASH—
Time slowed.
A deep—
Brutal—
Diagonal cut tore across her body.
From shoulder—
To waist.
Blood exploded outward.
She collapsed.
Her body hitting broken stone.
Hard.
Cold.
Final.
Eryndor stood over her.
Silent.
Kaelira was dying due to the loss of blood she was losing.
"…So tell me…"
She coughed blood.
"…Do you really think… you can win…?"
No response.
"No awnser huh? Then tell me this..."
"…are you really doing all of this…"
"…for Ellie…?"
"…Yes."
No hesitation.
"…I will destroy this world."
"…And build a better one."
"…Anyone who stands in my way…"
"…dies."
Kaelira coughed.
"…Millions…?"
"…Innocents…?"
"…Yes."
Ernydor said coldly.
Her heart—
Shattered.
"…You've gone too far…"
"…No."
He turned away.
"…I've gone far enough."
And then—
He walked.
Each step—
Heavy.
Final.
But something fell.
Tears.
Not loud.
Not dramatic.
Not seen by the world.
Just…
Real.
Because no matter how much he hated her now—
No matter how much he tried to tell himself she deserved this—
She was still—
The girl who walked beside him.
The girl who smiled at him.
The girl who stayed—
When he had nothing.
And now—
She was dying.
Because of him.
Behind him—
Kaelira lay there.
Bleeding.
Fading.
Alone.
"…I wish…"
Her voice barely existed.
"…I didn't join them…"
A tear slid down her face.
"…I wish…"
She smiled.
Soft.
Peaceful.
"…you knew…"
Her vision blurred.
Darkness closing in.
"…how much…"
A tear fell.
Hit the ground.
"…I loved you…"
Silence.
Her eyes closed.
And this time—
They didn't open.
The world—
Cracked.
Shattered.
Collapsed.
And Jae—
Stood there.
Frozen.
"…no…"
His voice trembled.
"…no…"
His fists clenched.
"…NO—"
The vision broke.
Like glass.
Like fate.
Like something that was never meant to be seen.