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Chapter 40 - Chapter 40: The Door That Never Opened

Location: Outer Drift — 2 Hours After the Sealbreaker Battle

Kael lay still beneath a shimmering field of protective psionic crystal, breathing shallowly. His body was recovering, but his mind—

> "He doesn't remember me," Yanis whispered, watching him.

She had spoken. He had blinked. He knew her name.

But the way he said it — empty of weight, of history — told her everything.

The Seed had taken his Anchor. It had cost him the memory of their bond. Of their war. Of why he had ever feared the Choir.

> [Kael Darion – Core Anchor Fragmentation: 37%]

[Null Throne Authority: Dormant]

[Emotional Recognition Memory Thread: Unlinked]

Yanis touched the barrier gently.

> "You gave up your past… to let me have a future."

---

Hours Later – Echo State Convergence

She dreamed.

Or thought she did.

She was standing in a void of broken crowns and burnt sky. A staircase rose from the nothing — but it didn't lead up. It led inward. Into herself.

At its base, a voice.

One that wasn't the girl in red. Or the Lie That Lives.

This was older. Wiser. Hungrier.

> "You wear the throne now."

> "But do you know what it rules?"

> "Step forward, Yanis Drae. Walk the Thronepath."

---

Reality – Hidden Gate Activation

She awoke gasping.

Her palms were bleeding — and marked. Not symbols. Not glyphs.

But coordinates.

She looked around. Something inside her buzzed like a key finally matching a lock.

> [New Protocol Available: THRONEPATH ACCESS GATE]

[WARNING: Realm Constructed from Unresolved Timelines / Interface Integrity Not Guaranteed]

> [Proceed?]

Yanis didn't hesitate.

> "Yes."

The air shimmered. The ground bent. And a gate unfolded in front of her — not a door, not a portal — but a vertical wound in reality, stitched in golden light and regret.

She stepped through.

---

Inside the Thronepath

There was no sky.

No floor.

Just a path of bone and glass that floated through nothingness.

Each step brought sound — other versions of her.

> "You died here."

> "You killed Kael here."

> "You became the Queen here… and burned the Choir from time itself."

She kept walking.

Then—she reached it.

A hall of broken thrones.

At the center: one throne still intact.

Made of thought.

Lit by ancient Seed-fire.

And a woman sat on it.

Not red-haired.

Not shadowed.

White robes. Eyes closed. Skin made of light.

The Forgemother.

Alive. Waiting.

She opened her eyes.

> "Yanis Drae."

> "Daughter of the Echo."

> "Successor of the Lie."

> "Heir to the Thronepath."

> "Sit."

---

Final Scene – Choir Citadel

The Choir watched the gate spark to life.

One voice spoke.

> "She found it."

Another followed.

> "Then she's beyond reach now."

And a third:

> "Then we must begin the Final Deletion Protocol."

> "End the timeline. All of it."

> "Erase the Reclaimer's seed from existence itself."

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