[Molten Eternity – Core of the Flame Caverns]
Ash hovered in silence.
Flames twisted unnaturally around him—not in destruction, but in reverence.
His body no longer bled gold, but something deeper—aether, the raw essence of reality before time had a name.
Reyansh stepped back.
Even Vaikraas recoiled.
> "That aura…" the flame dragon whispered, its voice cracking like magma. "That is not of this cycle…"
Ash's eyes pulsed. His voice thundered—not loud, but absolute.
> "I remember now."
---
[17.3 Billion Years Ago – The Birth of the First Cycle]
There was no light. No dark.
Only a being—a thought that gave itself form.
It was the First Flame.
It dreamed galaxies into being. It sang stars into existence. It danced with nothingness and gave it meaning.
And it was alone.
Until it fragmented itself—into seven shards.
Each shard became a god.
Each god became a force: Life, Death, Void, Water, Fire, Nature, and Time.
And the final piece—the fragment too powerful to divide—was hidden…
…until now.
---
[Now – Ashraya]
Akarshan and the others reached the final gate. Above it: seven symbols burned—the marks of the goddesses.
Goddess Agni appeared before them.
> "You are not ready."
> "That chamber holds the truth… and not all truths are kind."
Akarshan stepped forward.
> "We don't need kindness. We need answers."
Agni hesitated. Then she stepped aside.
> "Then enter. And remember—once the truth is known, it cannot be unseen."
The gate opened.
---
[Back in the Core – Present]
Ash floated above Reyansh, surrounded by blazing constellations.
> "You thought I was just the Supreme Being of this world," he said softly.
> "But I am not from this cycle."
> "I am the last piece of the being that created everything."
Reyansh staggered, rage and awe battling in his heart.
> "Then why destroy it all?! Why order the death of humanity?!"
Ash looked down, and for a moment—he looked… tired.
> "Because every cycle… ends in failure."
> "And maybe, just maybe… destruction is the only mercy left."
---