The plaza before the Obsidian Citadel trembled with the clash of two powers. When the sphere of pure shadow energy in Shadow Lord Malachar's palm met Finis's Twilight Light, the resulting shockwave sent even the Legion soldiers in the square staggering backward. The ground, paved with black volcanic stone, melted at the epicenter of the collision, turning to lava.
Finis slid backward from the force of the blow. His feet left deep gouges in the stone floor. Malachar, however, stood his ground; the expression on his face was one of mere mild surprise.
"Twilight Light," Malachar said, his voice carrying both hatred and a strange admiration. "So you found the Sphere of Balance. But that power is far more than a child like you can hope to control."
He raised his hand again. This time, he formed not a single sphere in his palm, but dozens of small shadow spears. The spears hung suspended in the air, then were launched at Finis all at once. Each one moved with the speed of an arrow and the force of a sledgehammer.
Finis formed a shield from the Twilight Light. But as the spears struck the shield, each dispersed with a small explosion, numbing Finis's arms. The last spear pierced the shield and grazed Finis's shoulder. Blood spread across his white tunic. But the wound closed within seconds.
"You heal," Malachar said. "That is the curse of Albaris. Immortality. But immortality does not mean you do not feel pain."
He snapped his fingers. The Legion soldiers in the plaza moved as one. Hundreds of soldiers began advancing on the group. All of them moved in synchronization, like a single body.
"Do not interfere in our duel!" Malachar shouted at his soldiers. "But kill the others. Slowly. Let the Lightbearer listen to the screams of his friends."
Torin raised his axe. The golden flames of Iron's Secret danced along its blade. "Come on, then, you shadow freaks! Torin of the Hammerback clan will show you his hospitality!"
The first wave of soldiers clashed with them. Torin's axe split a soldier's shield, shattered the armor behind it, and scattered the shadow flesh. But the soldier did not fall. The shadow energy kept him standing. Torin took the soldier's head off with a second blow. This time, the soldier dispersed into smoke.
Liriel began to sing the Lament of Light. The notes of the song clung to the soldiers, slowing them. But she could not stop them completely. The song tried to suppress not only the shadow creatures, but also Malachar's power. Malachar looked at Liriel and narrowed his eyes.
"That song... Her mother's daughter. Your voice resembles hers."
Liriel paused for a moment, stunned. "Did you kill my mother?"
"No. But I was the commander of those who did. The Silverbough clan guarded the Lament of Light. That song was a threat to the Legion. It had to be destroyed."
Liriel's eyes filled with rage. Her song became stronger, sharper. The notes targeted not only the soldiers, but Malachar himself. The Shadow Lord staggered for a moment under the vibrations of the song. But then, he raised his hand and suppressed the song with a wave of shadow.
"Beautiful. But insufficient."
Mira, accelerated by the power of the royal seal, had plunged among the soldiers. Her blades moved like a dance of death, turning a soldier to smoke with every strike. But the soldiers were too numerous. In a moment of distraction, Mira took a soldier's spear to the stomach. The spear pierced her armor and sank into her flesh. Mira cried out in pain, but did not retreat. She drove her sword into the soldier's neck, destroying him. Then, she pulled the spear from her stomach, blood spurting forth. But she kept fighting.
"Finis!" Kael shouted. "Deal with Malachar! We'll hold the soldiers!"
Kael released the light within himself. A faint, flickering light coated his sword. This was the light deep in his heart, the light Theron had taught him. The light he had suppressed during his years in the Shadow Legion, but now set free. The light cut through the soldiers along with his sword, destroying a darkness with every blow.
Elara used her light-blessed bow, landing every arrow on a soldier's weak point. Using tactics she had learned in the Valdorian Resistance, she disrupted the soldiers' formation, turning them against one another.
Sirius, meanwhile, was waiting for an opportunity to attack Malachar. The young lion stood beside Finis, baring his teeth and emitting a deep growl. Malachar looked at Sirius and smiled.
"The lion of the Crystal Desert. His mother died honorably. But her cub has become a human's pet. How pitiful."
As if understanding these words, Sirius roared in fury. And without waiting for Finis's permission, he leaped at Malachar. He sank his teeth into the Shadow Lord's arm. But Malachar's armor was made of pure shadow energy. Sirius's teeth sank in but could not tear anything away. Malachar lifted Sirius by the arm into the air.
"Brave, but foolish."
He hurled Sirius to the other end of the plaza. The young lion flew through the air, crashed into a pillar, and collapsed to the ground. He lay motionless.
"Sirius!" Finis screamed.
In that moment, the balance within Finis was shaken once more. Rage caused the darkness to outweigh the light. The Twilight Light took on shades of violet and black. Finis attacked Malachar uncontrollably. The unbalanced mixture of light and darkness struck Malachar in the chest, hurling him backward. The Shadow Lord cried out in pain for the first time. His armor cracked from the impact.
"There it is!" Malachar said, his voice carrying both pain and excitement. "The power of darkness! You still deny it, but inside, you are no different from me!"
Malachar unleashed his own shadow energy. Pitch-black darkness engulfed the entire plaza. In this darkness, only Finis's Twilight Light and Malachar's violet eyes shone. Everyone else was frozen in the darkness; they could neither move nor make a sound.
"This is my realm, Lightbearer. Here, only you and I exist. And here, you will see the truth."
Finis was alone in the darkness. Malachar's voice came from every direction. "Albaris took my family, my clan, my people from me. I was only a child. They slaughtered innocents in the name of 'balance.' Light only destroys, Finis Ferrum. You do not know this because you are not Albaris's victim, but its heir."
Finis saw a shape in the darkness. A small child stood in the middle of a burning city. His hair was black, his eyes brown. He was crying. Around him, white-robed mages were destroying shadow creatures, but also slaughtering innocents. The child's mother leaped in front of a mage to protect him. The mage destroyed the woman without a moment's hesitation. The child was left among the ashes of his mother.
"That was me," Malachar's voice said. "Albaris made me an orphan. Just like you. But you accepted their legacy. I chose to fight against them."
Finis looked at the child. He felt his pain, his loneliness, his rage. Because he had experienced the same pain, the same loneliness, the same rage. At three years old, in the middle of a highway, beside the bodies of his mother and father.
"You and I," Finis said, "are the same. But I chose to let go of my anger. You nurtured it. And now, that anger is consuming you."
The Twilight Light rebalanced itself in Finis's palms. This time, it contained not anger, but understanding. The light shone in shades of gold and silver, calm yet powerful. And it began to slowly illuminate the darkness.
"No!" Malachar shouted. "Don't use that light!"
But Finis spread the light towards Malachar. It was not an attack, but an embrace. The light pierced Malachar's armor and reached the child inside. It gave that child something he had not felt in years: peace.
Malachar collapsed to his knees. The infinite darkness in his eyes dispersed for a moment, revealing human eyes beneath. Brown eyes, filled with fear, but also with gratitude.
"You... What have you done to me?"
"I healed you," Finis said. "Or at least, I have opened a path for you to begin healing. Albaris caused you great pain. But you spread that pain across the entire world. Now, the choice is yours. Will you continue your rage, or will you let it go and seek true balance?"
Malachar looked at his hands. The shadow energy in his palms was slowly fading. The expression on his face shifted from rage to bewilderment, from bewilderment to sorrow. Tears streamed from his eyes for the first time in years.
"I... What have I done?"
The darkness dispersed. The plaza was illuminated once more. The Legion soldiers, seeing their commander fall, hesitated for a moment. Then, one by one, they began to lay down their weapons. Malachar's shadow magic had been controlling them. With the spell broken, the soldiers were freed. Some of them were human, elf, dwarf; innocents who had been bewitched and enslaved by the Legion. Now, they looked around in confusion, not knowing what to do.
Sirius rose from where he lay. He was still dazed from the impact with the pillar, but he was alive. Seeing Finis, he limped over to him. Finis embraced him, tears streaming from his eyes.
"You're alright. You're alright, my friend."
Torin leaned his axe against the ground, gasping for breath. "Is it over? Is it really over?"
Kael approached Malachar. As a former Legion soldier, witnessing the fall of the Shadow Lord was an indescribable moment for him. "Malachar... Has he truly changed?"
Finis looked at Malachar. The Shadow Lord was still on his knees, weeping. "Changing is up to him. But I have given him a chance. Just as you were given a chance once, Kael."
Elara lowered her bow and looked around. "The Obsidian Citadel... Has it fallen? Has it truly fallen?"
"No," Finis said. "The Obsidian Citadel has not fallen. But perhaps it doesn't need to fall. Perhaps this fortress can become a center of hope. A place where former Legion soldiers regain their freedom and learn true balance."
Malachar raised his head. His eyes were still wet with tears, but within them, there was a new light. "You... You truly are the heir of Albaris. But you are different from them. They knew only light. You know both light and darkness. Perhaps... Perhaps that is true balance."
Finis extended his hand to Malachar. The Shadow Lord hesitated for a moment. Then, he placed his trembling hand in Finis's. Finis helped him to his feet.
"This is only the beginning," Finis said. "The Shadow Legion has hundreds of fortresses. And all of them need leaders like you. But this time, leaders who maintain balance, who hold light and darkness together."
Malachar nodded. "I will help you, Lightbearer. But this will not be easy. The other lords of the Legion may not be as... understanding as I am."
"Then we will heal them too. Or stop them. But we will always try to talk first."
That night, a feast was held in the great hall of the Obsidian Citadel. Legion soldiers, innocents freed from the spell, warriors of the Valdorian Resistance, and Finis's group all sat at the same table. The food was simple; dried meat, bread, water. But for everyone present, this meal was a victory feast.
Finis took out his journal and wrote on the last page:
"At the Obsidian Citadel, I healed an enemy. Malachar is no longer a foe, but an ally. This has given me hope. It seems that wars can be won through talking, through understanding, through healing. But this is only the first fortress. Ahead of us lie hundreds more fortresses, dozens more lords. And not all of them may be as easy to persuade as Malachar."
"But tonight, I will savor this victory. Sirius sleeps beside me. My friends are safe. And in this world, hope still exists. Tomorrow, we will begin a new journey. To the Shadow Keep, to the Tower of Nothingness, to all the other fortresses of the Legion. And at each one, I will talk first. Then, if necessary, I will fight."
"But no matter what happens, I will maintain the balance. The Twilight Light will guide me. And Sirius will always be at my side."
He closed his journal and stroked Sirius's head. The young lion murmured and twitched his paws. In his dream, perhaps he was seeing his mother. Or perhaps, the victories of tomorrow.
Finis looked at the stars. The sky of Eterra seemed brighter than ever. And the Sirius star, among all the stars, was the brightest of all.
The journey would continue. But tonight was a night for rest. And Finis Ferrum, the Last Seed of Albaris, the Lightbearer, the Immortal Wanderer... slept in peace.