The battlefield had become a sea of darkness and light.
Architects clashed with creatures born from the void.
Devourer ships fired crimson beams into the endless army.
Crystal dragons tore through the sky.
The Harbinger stood at the front line, its blue armor covered in cracks.
And at the center of it all...
Kael stood before the Last Core.
Eryx watched him carefully.
"You've already decided."
Kael nodded.
"I have."
Eryx stepped closer.
"Then I'm coming with you."
Kael looked at him.
"No."
Eryx frowned.
"You can't do this alone."
"I'm not asking you to."
Kael placed a hand against his brother's shoulder.
"You've already sacrificed enough."
Eryx shook his head.
"We both made the same mistake once."
"We tried to carry everything alone."
He smiled.
"I'm not letting you do it again."
Kael stared at him.
Then smiled.
"Fine."
The two brothers turned toward the battlefield.
The creature beyond reality was advancing.
Every step it took erased pieces of existence.
Stars vanished.
Planets disappeared.
Entire galaxies were swallowed by darkness.
Nox appeared beside Kael.
"You understand what destroying the Core means?"
Kael nodded.
"I'll lose everything."
Nox's crimson eyes narrowed.
"Not everything."
Kael looked at him.
Nox pointed toward Eryx.
"You'll still have him."
Eryx smiled.
"And we'll still have each other."
A massive explosion shook the battlefield.
The creature had reached the First World.
Its enormous hand descended.
Kael and Eryx raised their hands together.
White and black energy merged.
A gigantic shield formed above the planet.
The hand collided with it.
BOOM!
The shield cracked.
Kael screamed as the pressure pushed him backward.
Eryx grabbed his arm.
"Together!"
The brothers pushed forward.
The shield strengthened.
For a moment...
The creature stopped.
Then it spoke.
"You still don't understand."
Kael gritted his teeth.
"Understand what?"
"The Last Core isn't your prison."
Kael froze.
The creature's eye opened wider.
"It is your heart."
The words echoed through him.
Kael looked at Aetherion.
Aetherion's face fell.
The creature continued.
"Destroy it..."
"...and you will destroy yourself."
Silence.
Eryx looked at Kael.
"Is that true?"
Aetherion slowly nodded.
"The Last Core isn't simply connected to Kael."
"It is Kael."
Kael's eyes widened.
His entire life flashed before him.
The rooftop.
The dying star.
Aetherion's voice.
His first awakening.
Every battle.
Every loss.
Every person he had saved.
All of it had begun with the Core.
If he destroyed it...
There would be no Kael.
The creature smiled.
"Now choose."
Kael looked toward the First World.
Millions of lives depended on him.
He looked at Eryx.
His brother.
His family.
Then he looked at the Last Core.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"I've spent my entire life asking who I am."
He placed his hand over his heart.
"Maybe that's the wrong question."
Eryx looked at him.
Kael whispered—
"The real question is..."
"What am I willing to become?"
The Last Core began shining brighter than ever before.
Aetherion's eyes widened.
"Kael..."
"What are you doing?"
Kael looked toward the sky.
"I'm not destroying the Core."
"I'm changing it."
The white and black energies inside him began merging.
Something new was forming.
Something none of the Architects had ever seen.
Even the creature stopped moving.
For the first time...
It looked afraid.
Kael raised his head.
"Let's finish this."
The Last Core released a pulse of energy that reached beyond the stars.
And somewhere at the edge of existence...
Something answered.