The Archives seemed different now.
As if, after revealing part of the truth to them, they had changed in nature.
The air was heavier.
The luminous threads vibrated more slowly.
And above all…
they seemed to be watching.
Lyra walked at the center of the room, her gaze drifting from one thread to another without truly seeing them.
Her mind was elsewhere.
Caught between two impossible thoughts:
save the world…
or never lose Kael.
Kael walked beside her, silent.
But not distant.
Not this time.
He wasn't trying to reassure her.
He wasn't trying to deny reality either.
He was doing something harder:
he was accepting it.
And that made everything even more painful.
Eryan, meanwhile, was carefully observing the threads.
His gaze sometimes stopped.
As if he were searching for something specific.
— There's a pattern, he murmured.
Lyra slightly raised her eyes.
— What kind of pattern?
Eryan pointed to several threads around them.
— Look closely.
Kael narrowed his eyes.
The threads formed clusters.
Some were close to each other.
Others were isolated.
But at the center…
there was an empty area.
Completely empty.
Lyra frowned.
— Why is there nothing there?
Eryan hesitated for a second.
Then he answered:
— Because something was erased.
Silence fell immediately.
Kael crossed his arms.
— Erased how?
Eryan slowly approached the area.
— Not broken.
Not lost.
Erased.
As if that bond had never existed.
Lyra felt a shiver run down her spine.
— Is that possible?
Eryan murmured:
— It shouldn't be.
A breath passed through the Archives.
Cold.
Unnatural.
Then—
a thread appeared.
Very slowly.
As if it were rebuilding itself before their eyes.
But this thread was different.
It was black.
Not dark.
Not dim.
Black.
Like an absence of light.
Lyra immediately felt her heart tighten.
— I don't like this…
Kael stepped in front of her.
Instinctive.
Protective.
But without tension.
Just present.
The black thread vibrated.
Then—
an image appeared.
Without anyone touching it.
—
A war.
Not a battle.
A total war.
The sky on fire.
The earth shattered.
Bodies.
Screams.
And at the center—
Kael.
But not the Kael she knew.
This one…
was different.
His eyes were completely black.
His body surrounded by a dark, unstable energy.
Powerful.
Terrifying.
Lyra felt her breath catch.
— No…
In the vision, Kael moved forward.
Slowly.
And everything around him disappeared.
Not burned.
Not destroyed.
erased.
As if his very existence canceled that of others.
Eryan murmured:
— This is impossible…
Then—
Lyra appeared.
Facing him.
Her eyes filled with tears.
But she didn't step back.
— Stop, she said.
Her voice trembled.
— This isn't you.
Kael looked at her.
For a long time.
Then he spoke.
— It is.
His voice was calm.
Empty.
— This is what I become when you're no longer there.
Lyra's heart shattered.
In the vision, she stepped toward him.
— I'm here.
— Not in every life.
Silence.
Then—
he raised his hand.
And the world behind her disintegrated.
Eryan gasped sharply.
— He's—
— Resetting the cycle, the woman of light murmured behind them.
They immediately turned around.
She had returned.
Weaker.
But present.
Lyra shook her head.
— No… no, this isn't possible…
The woman looked at the vision.
— This is what happens when the Thread is completely broken.
Kael said nothing.
Not a word.
But his eyes never left the scene.
As if he were watching something he already understood too well.
— Without the bond, the woman continued, some souls… get lost.
Eryan clenched his teeth.
— And Kael?
Silence.
Then:
— He becomes a breaking point.
Lyra's heart started racing violently.
— What does that mean?
The woman looked at her.
— An existence incapable of coexisting with the world.
Lyra felt her hands tremble.
— You mean…
— That he destroys everything.
Silence exploded.
The vision continued.
Lyra—the one in the vision—was screaming.
Trying to reach him.
But Kael—
was already no longer himself.
Then—
she did something.
She raised her hand.
And she chose.
Light flooded everything.
—
The vision disappeared.
Lyra stumbled back violently.
— No…
Her breathing was chaotic.
— Tell me this isn't real…
The woman remained silent.
And that silence was an answer.
Kael, meanwhile, hadn't moved.
Still motionless.
Still standing.
But something had changed.
Very slightly.
— So if she chooses to save the world…
His voice was low.
Calm.
— She erases me.
The woman nodded.
— Yes.
A beat.
— And if she doesn't…
Kael closed his eyes for a second.
Then opened them again.
— I destroy the world.
Lyra felt her heart completely crack.
— No… there must be another way…
Eryan murmured:
— We haven't seen everything yet.
But even he…
didn't really believe it anymore.
Lyra looked at Kael.
Her eyes trembling.
— I can't choose this…
Kael finally looked at her.
And this time…
there was something new in his eyes.
No fear.
No anger.
But a darker acceptance.
Heavier.
— You haven't chosen yet.
His voice was soft.
Too soft.
— And you won't choose alone.
Lyra's heart tightened.
— How can you stay so calm?
Silence.
Then he answered:
— Because no matter the choice…
He stepped toward her.
— I'll already be ready.
Lyra's breath caught.
— Ready for what…?
Kael looked at her.
And for the first time in a long time…
he didn't try to soften the truth.
— To disappear.
The world stopped.
Completely.
Lyra immediately shook her head.
— No.
Her voice trembled.
— No, I refuse.
She stepped back.
Then another.
— I refuse this story. I refuse this prophecy. I refuse this choice!
The threads around them vibrated violently.
As if the Archives were reacting to her emotions.
The woman of light looked at her.
With infinite sadness.
— Then find another truth.
Silence.
Then:
— Before this one becomes inevitable.
Lyra remained frozen.
Her thoughts in chaos.
Her heart in pieces.
And for the first time…
she truly understood:
this was no longer a story of impossible love.
It was a story where—
loving could destroy the world.