The sky was silent.
The battlefield—frozen in light.
Two flames, locked together: Voidfire and the Forgotten Flame.
Kai hovered, blood trailing from his mouth, his arms shaking under the weight of power no mortal body was ever meant to hold.
The Sovereign pressed forward, his eyes wild, silver fire crawling along his fingers.
"You don't even understand what you carry!" he roared. "That flame is a curse! It was meant to burn everything!"
Kai's reply was steady. Calm.
> "No. It was meant to cleanse."
---
The power of the Rootheart wrapped around the Forgotten Flame, taming its chaos, guiding its purpose.
Kai thrust his arms forward—
And the light turned into wings.
Two massive, radiant wings of fire and vine unfurled behind him, pulsing with the will of the world itself.
The Sovereign hesitated. "You don't know what you're doing…"
"I don't have to," Kai whispered. "Because I'm not alone anymore."
Behind him, Ayaka and Ren appeared—wounded, but standing. Dozens of cultivators from the awakened lands followed, drawn by the call of the flame.
Kai raised his voice:
> "This world is done kneeling!"
---
He surged forward, wings ablaze, and struck.
The Sovereign raised his defenses—but they shattered.
The flames remembered every pain he caused, every world he tainted, every promise he twisted.
And they responded.
> With judgment.
---
A pillar of light swallowed the sky.
From the ground, it looked like a second sun rising.
And at its center—Kai and the Sovereign disappeared.
---
Moments later…
Silence again.
The flames vanished. The earth cooled.
And from the light, Kai fell—burned, unconscious, but breathing.
Ayaka caught him before he hit the ground, tears in her eyes.
"You idiot," she whispered. "You actually did it…"
Ren exhaled. "Tell me someone got that on crystal."
All around them, the land healed. The decay faded. New roots broke through the soil.
The Sovereign was gone.
---
But something still lingered.
Far beyond the edge of the battle, in a realm forgotten by all but the stars…
A shadow opened its eye.
And smiled.
> Let him bask. It won't last long.