---
The sky above the Third Circle wasn't collapsing—it was releasing. As if the very layers of this world had finally exhaled, shedding fragments of the past long bound by oath and blood.
But our steps halted when a heavy voice shattered the silence.
"You cannot go any further, Elara."
I turned. A tall figure in a black cloak stood at the center of the glowing path. His eyes were hidden behind a copper-red mask etched with the Astoria crest—a thorn and a droplet of blood.
"Who are you?" Aldric stepped forward, hand on the hilt of his sword.
"I am the Keeper of the Blood Pact. I am the shadow of the first agreement. And you—you, Elara—have dared to undo something not written in ink, but in soul."
My chest clenched. I knew that voice.
"Kaelen," I whispered. "You... my mother's brother."
He slowly removed his mask. His face was unchanged from the flash of the past—cold, handsome, marked by a long scar across his temple. A scar I had given him in another life.
"You started all of this," I said. "You whispered vengeance into our bloodline."
Kaelen smirked. "Because vengeance is the only true legacy. Love? Forgiveness? Fragile illusions. But curses... curses endure."
Aldric moved to shield me. "You destroyed Elara. You turned her into a weapon."
"And now," Kaelen stepped forward, "you think you can break it? It won't be that easy."
From the ground, blood-thorns rose, spiraling upward like starving serpents. The air echoed with the pulse of ancient magic, swallowing light from every direction. I felt my soul shiver. This wasn't just a battle—it was a confrontation with the roots of who I truly was.
"Elara," Aldric whispered, "don't be afraid."
I nodded. "I won't run anymore."
Suddenly, Kaelen snapped his fingers. The earth trembled, and from the shadows emerged another figure—little Seraphine. She was crying, hugging her knees, her eyes filled with pain as she looked at me.
"What is this?" I asked.
"This is the part of your soul you've never accepted," Kaelen said. "Your fear. Your rejection of your own legacy. As long as she remains separated, you will never be whole."
I stepped forward. "You're not my enemy."
The girl looked at me with tear-streaked red eyes. "Everyone hurt me... even you."
I knelt down, my hands shaking. "I'm sorry for ever hating you. For pretending you never existed. But I can't fight this curse without you."
She slowly stood, trembling. And in an instant, our bodies merged. A burst of crimson and violet light exploded, and I felt as if I was reborn—my soul no longer fractured, but complete.
Kaelen roared. "Too late!"
He leapt into the air, swinging his bloodstaff straight at Aldric.
"ALDRIC!"
But Aldric didn't flinch. He drew his white blade—an heirloom from the sacred line of the first guardians—and cleaved the magic with a single cross-cut.
Kaelen's spell shattered, but part of it struck Aldric's arm. He staggered and fell to one knee, blood pouring from a wound burning deep red.
I rushed to him. "Aldric! Don't die. Don't—"
"Seraphine… or Elara… whoever you are," he murmured. "I don't care. I just want to be with you. If that kills me... so be it."
Tears flooded my eyes. "Don't say that."
Kaelen raised his staff again. "One life must be paid to end the curse. If you wish to break the blood pact… one of you must die."
I stood slowly. "One of us... or you."
My voice no longer trembled.
I raised my hand, summoning the magic now pulsing whole within me. The Valeria crest burned on the back of my hand—a thorn and moon, now entwined with the transformed Astoria sigil, no longer bleeding from vengeance, but redemption.
"This vow," I whispered, "demands no more blood. Only truth."
Kaelen laughed bitterly. "Then prove it. Prove you're more than your past."
I stepped forward, each stride unshaken. "I am not the Elara I once was. But I am not entirely Seraphine either. I am the continuation of them both, with a new choice. I choose not to answer wounds with wounds."
And in that moment, Kaelen's staff shattered. The world around us split open in blinding light, and from the collapsing sky, the voices of our ancestors rang out like a hymn—mournful, yet at peace.
Kaelen fell to his knees. "No…"
Aldric rose with effort. "It's over."
I looked at him, then stepped before Kaelen.
"I forgive you," I said. "But this curse... will live no longer."
I touched his forehead.
A red light spread, and Kaelen's body began to dissolve into silver dust. But before vanishing completely, he whispered:
"You think this is the end? Elara... the strongest curse is... the truth."
And he was gone.
---
The Third Circle began to crumble.
Aldric pulled me into his arms. "We have to go before this world collapses with us."
I nodded, but my body trembled. The wounds from magic and soul were too deep. "I… I don't know if I can make it out…"
"Take my hand," he said gently. "Trust me."
We ran toward the light forming in the distance—a stone gate slowly closing.
"Hurry!" Aldric shouted.
But just as we were one step away, the ground beneath me collapsed.
"Elara!"
My hand slipped free.
I fell into the void, Aldric's voice fading… fading… gone.
---
In the endless dark, a red light suddenly glowed from within me. Not a wound. Not a curse.
A voice—strange yet deeply familiar—whispered in my ear:
"Welcome back… Crownbreaker."
---