Kael did not open the seal.
He unwove it.
Slowly. Carefully. Layer by layer, he released his hold not all at once, but in deliberate surrender. Power he had hoarded for ages dispersed into the world, diffusing instead of concentrating.
The void recoiled.
It had never known resistance without opposition.
The sky darkened, then softened.
The dead did not rise.
They rested.