Chapter 81: The Shattering

The explosion never came.

Instead—silence.

A perfect, suffocating void where sound ceased to exist.

Kael's vision blurred at the edges, the world stretching like taffy. The shard in his chest pulsed violently, its energy intertwining with the crown's darkness, and for a single, horrifying moment, he saw it—

—a fracture in reality, a spiderweb of cracks spreading through time itself—

Then the world shattered.

Aurelia watched in horror as the space around Kael and Lucian folded.

One second, they were locked in a deadly embrace, the next—gone. Swallowed by a rift of swirling black and silver. The ground where they'd stood was untouched, as if they'd never existed.

The Original's laughter echoed through the sudden stillness. "Foolish child. Did you truly think the shard could counter the crown?"

Aurelia's daggers were in her hands before she could think. "Where are they?"

The hooded figure materialized beside her, his golden eyes gleaming with something almost like amusement. "Where else? The only place the crown could take them."

Her stomach dropped.

The First War.

Kael came to on his knees, gasping.

The air here was thick with the scent of blood and burning ozone. The sky—if it could be called a sky—was a churning maelstrom of violet and black, lightning arcing between jagged, floating ruins.

A battlefield.

But not like any he'd seen before.

Bodies littered the ground, some humanoid, others wrong—limbs too long, faces stretched into silent screams. And the silence. No clashing steel, no war cries. Just the distant howl of wind through broken spires.

A hand clamped onto his shoulder.

Kael whirled, fist raised—

—and froze.

Lucian stood over him, the crown's corruption receded, his crimson eyes clear for the first time since they'd entered the fortress. "We need to move."

Kael's voice came out hoarse. "Where the hell are we?"

Lucian's grip tightened. "The last time the crown was used."

A shadow passed over them.

Kael looked up—

—and saw her.

Aurelia.

But not the Aurelia he knew.

This version hovered above the battlefield, her form wreathed in golden light, wings of pure energy spanning the horizon. Below her, an army of shadows clashed with beings of radiant fire.

And at the center of it all—

The Original.

Her true form was monstrous, a shifting mass of darkness and grasping hands, her voice a chorus of shrieks as she tore through the golden warriors.

Lucian's breath hitched. "This is where it began."

Kael's corrupted arm burned. The shard in his chest thrummed, resonating with the energy of this place.

A voice whispered in his ear—

"You were always meant to see this."

He turned.

The hooded figure stood behind them, his grin wider than ever.

"Welcome," he said, "to the end of the world."