In the final watch of night, as the flames that devoured _Seraphiel_ began to fade, Xiao walked among the wreckage, the sound of his footsteps over stone echoing like the heartbeat of a soul exhausted by war.
The place was eerily quiet, yet within that silence… something stirred. Something watching.
---
*The Forgotten Throne*
Hym led them deep into a crumbling temple, pulling aside the heavy drapes as he said:
> "A thousand years ago, this was no ordinary throne — not for a king, but for a kingslayer.
It was called the _Throne of Transcendence_… and only those with divine blood may sit upon it."
Xiao halted him, eyes sharp:
> "Why are you bringing me here?"
Hym replied, his voice laced with wisdom and foreboding:
> "Because you're the only one not made to serve — but to break every chain."
---
*The Unseen Foe*
But the path to the throne was not free of cost.
At every step, haunting visions appeared:
Fallen soldiers, familiar faces screaming, children burdened with unbearable curses…
None of them real — trials of the soul.
Aster stumbled at the ghost of her deceased father.
Hym fell to his knees before a memory of old betrayal.
But Xiao… did not falter.
He walked, though his limbs dripped with phantom blood, though every step tried to unravel his will.
---
*The Voice in the Dark*
From the depths of the stone hall, a voice rose — inhuman and cold:
> "Who are you… to claim what is not yours?"
Xiao stood before the shattered throne and answered with steady resolve:
> "I didn't choose my blood… but I chose my fate."
A being emerged — frozen shadow made flesh, eyes veiled, face featureless, yet exuding a terrifying power.
Hym stepped back and murmured:
> "That's… the Throne Keeper. Not even the gods could destroy him."
---
*Battle to Break Fate*
The clash began. Every blow rang through the fractured throne.
But Xiao was no longer the wavering boy who had entered _Seraphiel_.
Now, every wound, every loss, every sacrifice — had become fuel.
His strikes echoed pain; his steps followed a rhythm of unbreakable fate.
Aster tried to step in, but the winds surrounding the fight kept her back — this was a trial no one else could face.
Blow after blow… until the Keeper dropped to his knees, his body crumbling to ash.
---
*Sitting Upon Nothing*
Xiao stood before the broken throne — half eroded, the other cracked from battles long past.
Hym spoke:
> "The throne won't be restored… until the one fated to break it sits upon it first."
Xiao sat. The throne trembled — then the earth fell still.
---
*The Vision – and the Key to the Realms*
From behind the throne, a portal of light surged forth — as if the heart of a world pulsed with truth.
Aster whispered:
> "This isn't just a portal… It's a summons from one of the Nine Realms… _Niflheim_."
Xiao rose, replying:
> "No one knows what awaits us. But there's no turning back now."
---
*In the shadows, Loki watched them — smiling with that grin that never meant good:*
> "Well then… let's see how your tale ends, Children of Blood."