The battle ended not with a scream but with a breath.
A breath so loud it stopped the city of Trivane.
A breath that wasn't human.
Steve's body lay burning, cracked open like glass left in a forge. But he was smiling. Even as Elias stood over him, black flames dancing from his hands, Steve smiled.
"You did it," he whispered.
"I did what?" Elias asked coldly, his voice no longer echoing—just resonating, as if the world trembled to understand it.
"You opened the door."
Elias's eyes widened.
The ground beneath them cracked. Time itself stuttered.
And from beneath the plaza, a rupture tore the air apart—a gate, swirling with shadows and frozen light.
> [SYSTEM ALERT]
Realm Between Unsealed
Dimensional Lock Breached
Warning: This passage leads to unquantified origin threads.
Myra shouted from the outer circle, "ELIAS! The gate! What is that?!"
But he was already walking toward it.
Kael tried to stop him, but Elias's presence alone shoved him back.
