The inside of the Voidspire was… wrong.
It didn't have walls—it had memories.
Kaito stepped onto a floor made of old battlefield echoes. The torches lit themselves with flame from his past. And every stair whispered a failure.
Kaelyra touched the wall.
"This place… it's alive."
"No," Isha corrected. "It's possessed. By him."
They moved upward, each floor warping to match a different regret.
Floor One: The siege of Emberhold—where Kaito lost his first captain.
Floor Two: The Academy halls—where he betrayed a lover in pursuit of glory.
Floor Three: His coronation—where he stood alone, wearing a crown too heavy.
By Floor Four, even Kaelyra's strength faltered.
"How do we fight guilt?"
"You don't," Kaito said quietly. "You walk through it."
And so they did.
---
Halfway up, the path split.
Three doors.
Each pulsing with a name: Kaelyra. Isha. Kaito.
Raien's voice echoed:
"Come face yourselves."
Kaelyra looked to Kaito. "We split?"
Kaito nodded. "We end this alone."
---
Kaelyra's Trial
She entered a hall of fire. Her siblings stood there—burning, dying, accusing.
"You left us!"
"You chose him!"
Kaelyra wept.
Then gritted her teeth.
"I did choose him. Because he fights for something greater than revenge."
With that, the flames parted.
---
Isha's Trial
A black mirror showed her younger self—innocent, bright-eyed, untouched by blood.
"I became you to survive," the reflection whispered.
"I became me to protect others," Isha replied, stabbing the mirror.
It shattered.
---
Kaito's Trial
He faced a throne.
Himself—older, crueler—sat on it.
"You could rule again," the reflection said. "Take it all back. Be feared."
"I'd rather serve and be remembered with love."
Kaito sliced the throne in half.
---
At the top of the Voidspire, the three reunited.
Raien stood before a portal—pure Void, unstable, swirling.
"This is what remains," he said. "A new beginning—or a final end."
Kaito raised his sword.
"Then let's end you."