Location: Outer Drift — 2 Hours After the Sealbreaker Battle
Kael lay still beneath a shimmering field of protective psionic crystal, breathing shallowly. His body was recovering, but his mind—
> "He doesn't remember me," Yanis whispered, watching him.
She had spoken. He had blinked. He knew her name.
But the way he said it — empty of weight, of history — told her everything.
The Seed had taken his Anchor. It had cost him the memory of their bond. Of their war. Of why he had ever feared the Choir.
> [Kael Darion – Core Anchor Fragmentation: 37%]
[Null Throne Authority: Dormant]
[Emotional Recognition Memory Thread: Unlinked]
Yanis touched the barrier gently.
> "You gave up your past… to let me have a future."
---
Hours Later – Echo State Convergence
She dreamed.
Or thought she did.
She was standing in a void of broken crowns and burnt sky. A staircase rose from the nothing — but it didn't lead up. It led inward. Into herself.
At its base, a voice.
One that wasn't the girl in red. Or the Lie That Lives.
This was older. Wiser. Hungrier.
> "You wear the throne now."
> "But do you know what it rules?"
> "Step forward, Yanis Drae. Walk the Thronepath."
---
Reality – Hidden Gate Activation
She awoke gasping.
Her palms were bleeding — and marked. Not symbols. Not glyphs.
But coordinates.
She looked around. Something inside her buzzed like a key finally matching a lock.
> [New Protocol Available: THRONEPATH ACCESS GATE]
[WARNING: Realm Constructed from Unresolved Timelines / Interface Integrity Not Guaranteed]
> [Proceed?]
Yanis didn't hesitate.
> "Yes."
The air shimmered. The ground bent. And a gate unfolded in front of her — not a door, not a portal — but a vertical wound in reality, stitched in golden light and regret.
She stepped through.
---
Inside the Thronepath
There was no sky.
No floor.
Just a path of bone and glass that floated through nothingness.
Each step brought sound — other versions of her.
> "You died here."
> "You killed Kael here."
> "You became the Queen here… and burned the Choir from time itself."
She kept walking.
Then—she reached it.
A hall of broken thrones.
At the center: one throne still intact.
Made of thought.
Lit by ancient Seed-fire.
And a woman sat on it.
Not red-haired.
Not shadowed.
White robes. Eyes closed. Skin made of light.
The Forgemother.
Alive. Waiting.
She opened her eyes.
> "Yanis Drae."
> "Daughter of the Echo."
> "Successor of the Lie."
> "Heir to the Thronepath."
> "Sit."
---
Final Scene – Choir Citadel
The Choir watched the gate spark to life.
One voice spoke.
> "She found it."
Another followed.
> "Then she's beyond reach now."
And a third:
> "Then we must begin the Final Deletion Protocol."
> "End the timeline. All of it."
> "Erase the Reclaimer's seed from existence itself."