The broken sky trembled.
Light folded in on itself…
A soft hum echoed across Nexus realm…
The rifts were thinning.
Their time was nearly up.
Then…
A golden streak tore through the dim heavens.
Seriel returned.
His wings were frayed, feathers burned black at their edges, his armor cracked from battle and haste.
He descended with urgency, breath uneven, but eyes bright.
Zephyr rushed forward.
"You made it."
Seriel nodded firmly, though his voice trembled.
"All angelic kin have been retrieved.
The wounded, the lost, the strayed—none remain across realms.
No one will be stranded."
Relief washed over the group.
Helena smiled softly.
"Good job, little brother."
Seriel swallowed hard.
"Now… I must face the part I have dreaded."
He turned to Isaac.
All eyes followed.
Isaac stood still, the fading embers of abyssflame drifting from him like dying stars.
Behind him, the last trace of Irithel lingered, a warm echo that refused to fade.
Seriel approached slowly and placed a hand on his arm.
"Thank you… for your courage..
For your sacrifice..
For everything...."
It looks like Seriel have more to say, but cant put it in words.
"Irithel.. Im sorry Isaac."
Isaac's voice cracked.
"I never wanted it to end like this."
Sariel shook his head gently.
"Neither did she."
Silence enveloped them.
Then the rifts above roared.
A thunderous snap shook the ground, and three beams of light spiraled apart, retreating into the void.
Zephyr looked up, jaw tight.
"It's time…"
Kael grinned painfully.
"Guess this is it, huh?"
Lysara crossed her arms, but her eyes shimmered.
"Don't you dare cry, Kael."
"Y-Yeah right—why would I cry?"
His voice cracked instantly.
Laughter bubbled through the group, soft, bittersweet.
Myst
He stepped forward, placing a firm hand on Isaac's shoulder.
"Boy… you take care of yourself. You're too damn special to die stupidly now."
Isaac huffed a weak laugh.
"I'll try."
One by one, they approached him.
Helena
She hugged him tightly.
"As long as your heart stays gentle… she will never truly be gone."
Zephyr
A hand to Isaac's chest.
"Stand tall. You carry two souls now—make sure both walk proudly."
Kael
Red-eyed, trying to hide it.
"Bro… don't forget us, okay?"
Isaac smirked.
"As if I could forget you."
Lysara
A rare, small smile.
"You're an idiot… but a good one.
Live well, Isaac."
Myst
"Boy.
You ain't alone, not while I still breathe as a mortal."
Isaac nodded, gratitude heavy in his eyes.
Then Sariel stepped back, his wings glowing.
"This is where we part.
The realms must be sundered… permanently."
Isaac inhaled deeply.
"I'll stay here.
Irithel's Nexus realm needs someone to stabilize it…
And I… want to watch over what remains of her."
Seriel's eyes softened with understanding.
"May peace find you someday."
The ground cracked.
The sky split.
The realms pulled away with violent force—
Crimson withdrawing
Gold ascending
Azure drifting outward
The heroes stepped backward toward the golden light of their own world, drawn by the pull of their fading connection.
"ISAAC!" Kael yelled over the roaring distortion.
"DON'T DIE ALONE, YOU HEAR ME?!"
Isaac shouted back, voice breaking:
"NONE OF YOU WILL EVER BE ALONE!
NOT WHILE YOU REMEMBER ME!"
Their silhouettes stretched—
Then vanished into their own realms.
Isaac stood alone.
The rifts sealed with a final, thunderous snap.
Silence.
A silence deeper than anything he had ever known.
Only the dim glow of abyssflame and the soft whisper of the ethereal soul answered him.
Irithel's realm—Nexus.. now his home—settled into quiet twilight.
Isaac exhaled.
"This… is where I shall remain."
The last connection to every world closed behind him.