The light faded from Elara's eyes like the last ember of a dying star, and something fundamental broke inside my chest.
I knelt beside her motionless form, my hands still glowing with residual healing energy that had proven utterly inadequate when it mattered most. Her face held perfect peace, as if she had simply chosen to sleep after completing the most important work of her life. Around us, the golden radiance of her sacrifice continued to spread across Avalon City, carrying restoration to millions of people who would never know the name of their savior.
"Elara," I whispered, my voice cracking despite every attempt to maintain composure. "You magnificent, impossible woman."
'Arthur,' Luna's voice echoed in my mind with reverence that bordered on worship, 'in all my millennia guiding civilizations across the cosmos, I have never witnessed a soul of such perfect purity. She burned brighter than stars.'
