Kael's army was a humming, grey tide filling the valley. Hundreds, perhaps thousands. Among them were empty-eyed Ash Hunters, conscripted villagers, and warriors empowered by the Void's twisted energy. And at their forefront, two silhouettes: On the right, the "Shadow that Swallows Light," her armor black as night, her face hidden by an unseen helmet, slender and lethal. On the left, Kael, with his simple, powerful stance.
Moaito crouched behind a rock at the cave entrance, assessing the situation. "A direct assault is suicide," he whispered to Sere, his voice utterly calm. "But we can stall them. We won't let them pass this cave."
Sere's hands trembled, but this time not just from fear, but from pure fury. Behind them were the sounds of children and innocents. "How?"
"By showing them we are not afraid," Moaito replied. His eyes fixed on Kael. "And by showing the crack in his faith."
Kael gave a signal to his army. Their advance halted. The silence in the valley was more terrifying than the army's hum. Kael took a few steps forward.
"Moaito!" he called, his voice echoing through the valley. "Look around you. These people are the ones you and yours failed to protect. They are the victims of the cycle. And I have brought them a cure."
Moaito rose from his hiding place. Sere took her place beside him. The two of them faced a massive army. The sight was desperate.
"A cure, Kael?" Moaito shouted, his voice bouncing off the rocks. "Or do you just want to be the executioner? What do you offer them besides nothingness? Look at these people! They want to live, to love, to hope! You offer them only an END!"
A ripple crossed Kael's face—a flash of anger, quick as lightning. "Life is pain! Hope is a lie! I am freeing them from this lie!"
At that moment, the "Shadow that Swallows Light" moved. With a gesture of her hand, she created a trail of black, smoke-like flame in the earth before Moaito. The flame wasn't combustible, but it erased everything it touched—light, color, sound—leaving behind only silent, cold nothingness.
This was not an attack, but a display. A show of force.
And it was the last thing Sere would tolerate.
Her fury overcame her fear. Without thinking, she stepped forward. She raised not the sword in her hand, but the Threshold Stone on her chest.
"ENOUGH!" she cried, her voice young and frail, yet filled with a will that could pierce mountains. The entire army looked at her. "It's easy to show off your power from a distance! But that's not real power!"
She fixed her eyes on the conscripted villagers within the army, trembling with fear. She called out to them:
"I am Sere! I am one of you! I am afraid! We are all afraid! But look!" She held the Threshold Stone out towards them. The stone, fueled by Sere's pure fury and hope, glowed with a warm, golden light. It was the complete opposite of the Void's cold nothingness.
"This light is not a light of destruction! It is a light of life! It is the light of hope that you will conquer your fear, that you will fight for your children! Kael promises you nothingness! But I promise you... a FUTURE! A future not of fear, but of life!"
Her words rang through the valley. A stir went through the army. People looked at each other. In some of their eyes, something long lost sparked: Doubt.
Kael saw it. For the first time, real anger appeared on his face. This small, ordinary girl was threatening his strongest weapon: "faith."
The "Shadow that Swallows Light" turned her attention directly to Sere this time. She shot forward like an arrow, closing the distance between them in seconds. A dagger formed of pure darkness appeared in her hand.
But Moaito was faster.
Umbra, the shadow sword, parried the Shadow's dagger at the last moment. Two dark energies collided, but Moaito's was balanced and controlled, the other's destructive and ravenous. Lumer, the light sword, flared like lightning, forcing the Shadow back.
Two ancient powers clashed for the first time at the cave entrance. Light and balance against pure destructive nothingness.
Amidst this chaos, Sere continued to speak, now shouting:
"Do you see? Even they fight together! Light and Shadow, together! That is balance! And this balance can protect you! Not Kael's nothingness!"
Kael was about to give the order for his army to attack when something unexpected happened.
On the right flank of the army, a group of villagers threw down their weapons. Then another group. Holes were opening in the grey river, pierced by humanity's hope. Sere's words had worked.
Kael was enraged. This was not a battle; it was an insurrection. And an insurrection must be crushed mercilessly.
"Forward!" he roared, no longer philosophizing. "Destroy them all!"
But at that moment, from high in the mountains, a long, echoing horn blast was heard. Then another. It was the sound of Naje war horns.
Everyone, including Kael and the Shadow, looked up.
On the ridge of the hill, lined up in blue and silver armor, were at least a hundred Naje warriors. Before them stood an old but steadfast warrior. These were the fighters from the last bastion of the scattered Naje resistance. Finn's escape and Sere's message of hope had moved them to action.
Moaito looked at Sere. On his face was the first real smile of victory in years.
"You see?" he whispered. "A single spark can start a forest fire."
War was now inevitable. But now there was hope. And sometimes, hope is the strongest weapon.